A Kentucky Angler Wins a Record $1.25 Million on Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake has seen plenty of Saturday weigh-ins, but not many like this one. On Oct. 31, Matt Robertson of Kuttawa, Ky., won World Bass Enterprises’ inaugural “The Champions” tournament with a five-fish catch of 20 pounds, 2 ounces and a first-place check of $1.25 million — the largest winner’s payout ever awarded in a bass tournament, the Hendersonville Standard reported.
The three-day event, fished out of Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, carried a $3.25 million purse. Sixty of the world’s top anglers were in the field, along with two “Average Joes,” with competitors from the United States, Canada, and Japan. The top 15 advanced to Championship Saturday. The field was split into Team Stars and Team Stripes; Team Stars took the Champions Cup and sent 10 anglers into the final, against five from Team Stripes.
“I just won the biggest tournament ever in bass fishing,” Robertson said afterward. The opening ceremonies featured ambassador and NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss, legendary Tennessee angler Bill Dance, and two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle.
For families who live along the lake, the spectacle was close to home: a world-class field working the same water we see from the dam, the village bluff, and the Hendersonville shore. The cameras have moved on. The lake, a little lower this month for the Corps drawdown, is ours again — and it just added another line to its reputation as a place where big fish, and now very big prizes, still come in.
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