Bassmaster Classic Coming To Grand Lake

The Super Bowl of fishing comes to Oklahoma. In a little less than a month, 53 of the nation's top anglers will be on Grand Lake for the Bassmaster Classic.

Before the first line is cast, the transformation of this cove in Grand Lake will be completed to host the nation's top fishing tournament.

"It was a shock I didn't know this was going on down here," said angler, Doug Testerman.

Testerman may not be a professional, but he does enjoy spending time on the water.

"I've heard they are catching some stuff in deep water, so we kinda came this way to see what we could do," Testerman said.

In less than a month, it will be anglers from across the county seeing what they can do. But before the tournament can start, there's still a lot that needs to be done.

"It's gonna be one of the top 5 facilities in the entire country," said Tad Jones.

Jones is helping oversee the project. He says planning for the event started over a year ago, but that most of what you see going on here, has happened in the last nine months.

"You've got a lot of permits you have to go through, a lot of federal regulations you have to go through," said Jones. "So it was a minor miracle that it was done in this amount of time."

Five-million dollars has been invested in new boat ramps, a 200 foot dock, a restroom facility and two huge parking lots to accommodate all the spectators and anglers.

"The city of grove put up money, the state pitched in, the federal government pitched in," said Jones.

Jones says those investments will last long after the Bassmaster Classic.

"This is a long term event, we're looking at 15 to 20 years into the future of tournaments coming back to Grand Lake," Jones said.

And provide a unique opportunity for fisherman in Oklahoma, professional or not.

"You as an angler can come to grove, launch from the same ramps that the pros launched at, and you can go fish in the same area that the pros fish, and you can't do that in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, but you can right here in Grand Lake for the super bowl of fishing," Jones said.

Jones says the rest of the pavement should be poured before the anglers arrive on the Feb. 15. He says after the tournament, they hope to build a pavilion, when the fisherman to weigh what they catch in the future.