Bass fishing tournament this weekend on Grand Lake

Professional bass fishing has long been known as a male sport, but there is also a professional circuit for women and they have a tournament on Grand Lake this weekend. <br><br>News on Six meteorologist

Friday, June 14th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Professional bass fishing has long been known as a male sport, but there is also a professional circuit for women and they have a tournament on Grand Lake this weekend.

News on Six meteorologist Dick Faurot did some pre-fishing with one Tulsa angler who is one of a growing number of women participating in the Womenâ€™s Bass Fishing Association bass tournaments. Sonya Mahaffey's been casting her line at women's fishing tournaments since 1994; she says it was her husband who first reeled her in to the sport. "I started with my husband. I met him, he was fishing. He got me into tournament bass fishing."

Fishing has become a passion for the both of them. She says it's something you can probably tell if you happen to drive by their house. "My lawns like this high, you know you can tell, a fisherman's lawn is like that high, my neighbors are probably mad at me. I really love fishing, I love bass fishing, I love going with my husband to the tournaments."

Mahaffey's husband is pretty proud of her, and while she says she definitely needs his support she doesn't always take his advice. Sonya husband, Dan, "When she comes in. I get her equipment ready for the next day. I want her to do well and in doing that I try to make it as easy for her as possible, advice maybe, she doesn't listen to my advice."

There's probably plenty of good advice to go around with 75 pros fishing the five Women's Bass Fishing Association tournaments held every year. Mahaffey says she hopes to be as successful this year as she was her first year. "And I won rookie of the year my first year I fished it, that kind of spurs you on to keep fishing the rest of them.â€

The Women's bass fishing tournament is this weekend on Grand Lake.