For Immediate Release
Contacts:
- Scot Laney, BassFan COO, 503-546-8137, slaney@bassfan.com
- Terry Brown, BassFan chief sales officer, 309-452-0313, tbrown@bassfan.com
- Darrin Bryan, Skeeter, 903-983-5668, darrin_bryan@yamaha-motor.com

BassFan, Skeeter Boats Announce
$100,000 Purse For August
Weekend Warrior Championship

PORTLAND, ORE., January 26, 2005 -- The Skeeter BassFan Army is coming out of the gate with a bang -- a $100,000 bang. That will be the purse at the inaugural Skeeter BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship, which will take place at a still-undisclosed location this August.

The Championship pulls from all the major pro-am, draw and team trails in North America, and thus, for the first time ever in the 35-year history of tournament bass fishing, will crown the best weekend fisherman in North America.

On the purse, BassFan CEO Jay Kumar said: "We're incredibly psyched that Skeeter Boats and our other partners in the BassFan Army have stepped up to the plate in this big a way. They realize the huge potential the BassFan Army has and, more importantly, know that weekend warriors are the heart and soul of bass fishing. It will be great to see someone from the weekend angler ranks hoist that check in August."

"While everyone loves to watch the big-name pros fish in the national tours, we all know that it is the weekend angler who keeps this industry alive," said Jeff Stone, Skeeter Boats senior vice president and general manager. "With the BassFan Army, we've found a way to reward weekend anglers across the country with the title of 'best weekend angler in America' and a $100,000 purse at the first-ever Weekend Warrior Championship. We enjoy being a part of bass anglers' experience on the water, and wanted to show our thanks by being a part of the Skeeter BassFan Army."

The Skeeter BassFan Army is the most exciting membership program to come along in bass fishing since B.A.S.S. was founded in the late 1960s. For a modest $19.95 annual fee, anglers have a chance to have more fun, and earn more money and prizes via numerous contingency programs, while out on their local waters.

Tournament programs include qualifying for the Skeeter BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship and the opportunity to earn contingency money from companies like Strike King Lures, Solar Bat sunglasses, Dual Pro batteries, Kistler rods and many others for wins. Non-tournament programs include contingency programs for catching record bass, as well as bragging rights for earning the world's first Big Bass Slams. Sign-up information is available at www.bassfanarmy.com.

BassFan LLC is the global leader in daily news reporting on professional fishing. Over the past three and a half years, people have logged on to BassFan.com more than 150 million times for up to-the-minute reporting on the sport.

Skeeter Boats (www.skeeterboats.com) is one of the top three bass-boat manufacturers in the world. It manufactured the world's first fiberglass bass boat, and has parlayed that innovation into the high-performance boats it is known for today.

/00
_____

Appendix: List of 2005 Skeeter BassFan Army-sanctioned tournament trails (**THIS HAS SINCE BEEN UPDATED AT http://www.bassfanarmy.com/ww_qualify.asp)

A. Pro-Am/Draw Trails

- American Bass Anglers
- BASS Federation
- Bassmaster Opens
- BFLs
- Canadian Fishing Tour
- Central Pro-Am
- ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster (Weekend) Series
- EverStart Series
- Heartland Tournament Association (Elite 100 Tour)
- Texas Tournament Trail
- WON Bass

B. Team Trails

- Bass Champs
- Competitive Anglers Tournament Trail
- Fishers of Men
- Media Bass
- National Bass Anglers Association
- Skeeter/Yamaha Tour (Oklahoma)
- Team Supreme
- WON Team

C. Wildcards

- There also will be two wilcard slots, through which BassFan Army members who do not fish one of the above trails can qualify.