Special to The Post-Searchlight

The eyes of the bass fishing world will be on Bainbridge’s Lake Seminole, as the nation’s top couples arrive to compete in the sixth-annual American Couples Series (ACS) national championship, from Aug. 26 through Sept. 1, according to an ACS press release.

The two-day championship tournament draws angling couples from 16 states to compete for a week-long trip to Hawaii and other exciting prizes.

Each morning, anglers will put in at Lake Seminole’s Earle May Boat Basin mega ramp for up to eight hours of fishing that will conclude each day with the weigh in at 3 p.m. As a catch-and-release tournament trail, American Bass Anglers’ regulations call for each competitor to take special care handling their fish, and points are deducted for any that die prior to weigh-in.

Spectators are invited out to meet and cheer on their favorite couple throughout the tournament.

“The couples will begin to arrive in Bainbridge on Sunday, Aug. 26, to begin practice fishing,” said Debra Talley, national marketing director of American Bass Anglers, Inc., the tournaments’ parent company. “Two sightseeing tours are planned for the couples on Monday, Aug. 27, and Tuesday, Aug. 28, by the Bainbridge Convention & Visitors Bureau, to give visitors the opportunity to see and visit the area’s top sites. While in town, several restaurants are offering special pricing for the visitors as a way of welcoming them to the area.”

This is not the first time American Bass Anglers have brought their tournaments to Bainbridge. In 2010, the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Southeast Regional held their championship on the newly completed mega ramps. And, in the spring of 2013, Bainbridge will be hosting the Military Bass Anglers national championship.