We would like to congratulate the City of Bainbridge, the Bainbridge Convention & Visitors Bureau, and all the other organizations whose hard work allowed our port city to host two major fishing tournaments this weekend.

Thursday evening was the start of the FLW Everstart Series bass fishing tournament, with a top cash award of $40,000 as well as a fishing boat. More than 250 fishermen are expected to compete in this event, which runs through Saturday. Also this Saturday, anglers from 50 different colleges will participate in an FLW College fishing event.

City officials have estimated that the events will bring a $400,000 economic boost to local businesses. These fishermen and their families will spend money in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and shop in our stores.

Lake Seminole is a beautiful treasure, but simply having a well-stocked lake isn’t enough to attract major fishing tournaments. It also takes organization, and a lot of effort. We salute the community members who attracted FLW to our area, and wish them success in bringing even more of these kinds of events to Decatur County.