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Innovative Weigh-In System At Cabela's Top Gun Championship
8/13/2005

(Editors: More information on this "unification" tournament is available at http://www.bassfan/topgun.com . Media information, including releases, logos and photos, are available at: http://www.bassfan.com/topgun/media_center.asp .)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2005

For more information, contact:
> Scot Laney, BassFan COO, (503) 502-5331, slaney@bassfan.com

Innovative Weigh-In System At
Cabela's Top Gun Championship
Maximizes Fish Survival
- Also Provides More Excitement -

FT. WORTH, Texas -- To maximize bass survival at the Cabela's Top Gun Championship, BassFan is using an innovative weigh-in system, one different from any other professional tournament weigh-in. Here is how it works.

All fish are weighed at the lake, rather than being transported 45 minutes to the Cabela's retail store in Ft. Worth, where the weigh-in shows are held. After the fish are weighed, they are immediately released into the lake.

Friday's weigh-in at the lake took 26 minutes -- that's from the first fish going into the bump tank, to the last fish being loaded into the Skeeter live-release boats. Twenty-six minutes averages out to 1.08 minutes per competitor.

The Skeeter live-release boats then take the fish out to the lake, and the bass are released in deeper water (important for fish survival during hot weather) in a grid pattern around the lake.

So far all fish from the Cabela's Top Gun Championship (and the Skeeter BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship, which ended Tuesday) have been released alive.

This weigh-in system also makes the Cabela's weigh-in shows more exciting. On days 1 and 2, the fish are weighed at West Bay Marina and the anglers see their weights, but tournament director Jerry Stakely does not announce the weights over the P.A. system. Anglers are asked not to reveal their weights to each other, and the weights and standings are only revealed at the weigh-in at the Cabela's in Ft. Worth.

On day 3, the final competition day, the pros don't even see their own weights until the evening weigh-in show. The fish are weighed at the marina in the anglers' presence, and the weights are recorded and witnessed in their presence, but the weights and the final standings are only revealed during day 3's weigh-in show at Cabela's.

That means that the pros will be waiting on pins and needles to see who won the tournament.

The Cabela's weigh-in show begins at 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, Aug. 13 and at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14. But fishing fans should allow more time for autographs, and for shopping the boat and tackle show, and the massive Cabela's store.

Video of the fish caught by each angler will be at each weigh-in show, so fans will see fish – and Fish. Noted tournament host Fish Fishburne will emcee all 3 days, and professional anglers Denny Brauer, Tommy Martin and BassFan Radio host Terry Brown will be doing a Q&A and providing tournament analysis for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes before Fish takes over.

Anglers launch at West Bay Marina (817-444-1622) at 6:30 a.m. They launch and are weighed in order of their current State Farm World Ranking, starting with Greg Hackney and going down the list.

About the event:
The Cabela's Top Gun Championship takes the 25 top-ranked bass anglers in the world, regardless of which tour or tours they fish, and puts them on the same body of water. The anglers are the best in the world according to the State Farm World Rankings, the only statistical rankings of professional bass fishermen.

The event is title-sponsored by outdoor outfitter Cabela's (www.cabelas.com), and is presented by Skeeter Boats (www.skeeterboats.com), the Outdoor Life Network (www.olntv.com) and BassFan (www.bassfan.com). Supporting sponsors include State Farm Insurance (www.statefarm.com), Mann's HardNose Baits (www.mannsbait.com), Bagley Bait Co. (www.bagleybait.com), Lowrance Electronics (www.lowrance.com), Oakley sunglasses (www.oakley.com) and Tru-Tungsten (www.tru-tungsten.com).

Television coverage:
The Cabela's Top Gun Championship telecast will air Saturday, Step. 24 at 10:00 a.m. EST on the Outdoor Life Network. Additional coverage of the event will appear on FOX Sports and OLN (Americana Outdoors and Fishing and Hunting Texas). Full 24/7 coverage will also be on BassFan.com.

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