Big Bass Bash! Illinois Man Lands A $100K Fish As 3,200 Anglers Compete At Lake Of The Ozarks,

Jim Morrison has been fishing for more than 10 years, and it all paid off last weekend when he caught a $100,000 dollar fish at the Big Bass Bash, on Lake of the Ozarks.

“I’ve fished down there for years and this is the biggest I’ve ever gotten. A hundred thousand dollars worth of big!” laughed Jim about his winning fish. “It was really special.”

This fall's Bass Bash dangled more than $325,000 in total payouts to lure anglers to the hugely popular event, with the biggest prize hinging on a single big fish. The biggest fish of the weekend wins $100,000, and the largest fish in each time slot across the two-day tournament wins $1,500. Cash prizes continue down the roster with the 45th-largest winning the final $190, every two hours.

For Morrison, the owner of a plumbing, heating and air conditioning business in Caseyville, Ill., the winning fish tipped the scales at 7.11 pounds. He was fishing around the 1 Mile Marker with a group of friends that fish the Bash together when he pulled in the lunker using a topwater lure. “Once I put the fish in the live well, the adrenaline hit and I was pretty excited,” said Jim said.

morrison 2.jpeg — courtesy Big Bass Bash/Anglers In Action

Morrison knows Lake of the Ozarks like the back of his hand. He says he comes down here to fish most weekends and has been participating in the Big Bass Bash for the last eight years. He once won a time slot prize at the Bash and occasionally participates in other tournaments, but this is his first big win.

“It’s fun, we love it,” Morrison said of the Bash. “A bunch of us get together and fish it every single year. It’s a great tournament.”

Competition this year was steep, with 3,200 anglers from 37 states coming out to participate. Organizer Charlie Terrell reported that it was another successful Bash.

“Everything went good, everyone was happy, all the anglers were happy. Everything went smoothly except for the rain,” Terrell said.

When asked if he had any plans for the prize money, Jim answered, “None. I tell you what, I wanted to win more than [I wanted] the money. It’s so hard to win that tournament and I was really excited that I did.”

And his advice for anglers trying to win the Bash next year is simple: “Just put your head down and fish. To catch a fish that size is all right place, right time.”

Learn more at MidwestFishTournaments.com

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