SAN CLEMENTE — Saying he wants to get back to the basics of growing the sport of tournament bass fishing, Harvey Naslund has agreed to once more take the reins of the WON BASS circuit, announced Western Outdoors President/CEO Bob Twilegar.
This will be the third time Naslund has been in charge of the top bass fishing tournament organization in the West and he admits the challenges have never been greater. Naslund says the answer to those challenges is to increase participation in the sport at a grassroots level.
“We’re going to support bass fishing from the bass club level on up with everything from first timer certificates to the exposure offered by Western Outdoor News, wonews.com, wonbass.com and our WON BASS publication,” said Naslund. “There are a lot of options out there and we want to make it easy and fun to fish a WON BASS event.”
Naslund first ran a bass circuit in 1974 when Western Outdoors Publications bought Western Bass. He stayed on until the circuit was sold in 1982, then returned in 1987 with the debut of WON BASS.
“Our first event we had 224 pros at Clear Lake,” recalled Naslund. Under his direction, WON BASS revived tournament bass fishing on the West Coast and in the process resurrected the U.S. Open on Lake Mead.
Naslund retired as director in 1995, but kept his connection to bass fishing by fishing the U.S. Open and team tournaments with friends like longtime Southern California pro Dave Nollar.
“The outdoors field and fishing has always been a big part of my life,” said Naslund. “Here’s hoping the third time’s the charm.”
Look for updates on the WON BASS tournament circuit at wonbass.com, wonews.com and in Western Outdoor News.
Advertising