RAY SCOTT OUTDOORS
NEWS RELEASE

Team Jesus Tournament Set

For Alabama’s Logan Martin

Ray Scott, the “Bass Boss”,

Top Pros Will Be On Hand, June 10

PELL CITY, AL (May 30, 2000) – Ray Scott, the mastermind behind the formation of the world’s largest fishing organization, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), readily admits, “At catching bass I’m not all that great, but at catching fishermen I’m pretty darn good.”

 Scott will be on the weigh-in stage, June 10, as the 5^th annual Southern Comfort Team Jesus Tournament takes place at Logan Martin Lake, according to tournament director and Southern Comfort owner Rod McSweeney.  Having Scott as the master of ceremonies fits his description as a “fisher of fishermen.” 

 The Team Jesus Tournament, sponsored by the Trussville, Alabama-based Southern Comfort Conversions and hosted by Earl Bentz’s Triton Boats of Ashland City, Tennessee, is a unique, wide-reaching event in fishing formats.  Four categories, including a Pro Division, Youth, Buddy and newly instigated Ultimate Mobility Division for the physically challenged, will keep Scott and tournament weighmaster Bob Melvin of Birmingham, Alabama busy at the scales.

 “I’ve been on the big stage at the BASS Masters Classic world championship with 20,000 fans in the stands and a national TV audience,” says Scott, “but this is one tournament that touches the heart and soul of bass fishing.  I’m excited about being the master of ceremonies again.”

 Scott won’t be the only well-known celebrity.  Nationally known fishing professionals and members of the SCAT (Southern Comfort Angling Team) will share their fishing know-how with youngsters paired in the Special Youth Division.

 Entered are SCAT pros Guy Eaker of Cherryville, North Carolina; and Alabama-based pros Gerald Swindle of Warrior; Randy Howell of Trussville; Fred Bland of Birmingham; and Dalton Bobo of Northport.  Also, fishing in the pro division are tour pros Gary Howington of Gadsden and Craig Daniel of Cullman.

 Dalton Bobo’s return to Lake Logan Martin may be with mixed emotions.  As an amateur qualifying for the world championship, Bobo came within one-ounce of winning the BASS Masters Classic on August 7-9, 1997.  Ounces lost for a dead fish at weigh-in cost Bobo his chance of a fishing lifetime.  He had been forced to quit his job with a Tuscaloosa, Alabama company in order to have time off to fish the Classic.  But his faith in his fishing has served him well as evident by qualifying to fish the elite Bassmaster Top 150 pro tour.

 “Dalton Bobo is certainly a leap of faith,” notes Ray Scott.  “A strong belief in yourself, your abilities and a guiding spirit are all virtues of a top performing fishing pro.  Not many men would crawl out on a limb like Dalton – with a wife and family to support – but his is a wonderful story of faith.”

 The pros will be paired with 14 to 19-year old entrants in the Youth Division, as well as, competing in the Pro Division, where a #150 horsepower Mercury outboard is the top prize.  The top youth division angler will win a boat and 9-horse Mercury motor. 

 The big pay-off will be in the two-man Buddy Division with $10,000 first place and $50,000 spread over the top 50 places.

 Launch site and the 7 p.m., June 9 registration and rules meeting will be at the Lake Side Marina, Pell City Civic Center in Pell City.

 For entry blanks or further Team Jesus Tournament information, contact Southern Comfort Conversions in Trussville, AL at (205) 655-0919.

 Prior to the 3:00 p.m. weigh-in, Ray Scott will be on hand to sign autographs, talk bass fishing or explain features on the new Triton Boats.  Scott, as national spokesman, is appearing as the guest of Triton Boats.

 The inspiring story about Ray Scott’s dream of creating the professional bass fishing sport is told in the 336-page “Bass Boss” by Robert H. Boyle, long-time writer for Sports Illustrated magazine.  The book reveals the insider’s look at the history and founding of the world’s largest fishing organization (B.A.S.S.), and the fishing heroes spawned by the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.  Autographed copies of the “Bass Boss” book will be personally signed by Ray Scott at the Team Jesus Tournament weigh-in.

 After building B.A.S.S. to a worldwide membership of 650,000, Scott left the company in 1998 to form Ray Scott Outdoors™, a marketing and consulting group located at Pintlala, Alabama.  Besides Triton Boats, Scott is national spokesman for Mercury Outboards, MotorGuide trolling motors, and Sporting Lives, the manufacturer of the Coast Guard-approved SOSPENDERS inflatable life vest.