Bass tournaments garner interest from youth
Keith Lusher Jr I recently attended the weigh-in at the last RP3 Bass Tournament held at Heritage Park and I noticed something that I haven’t noticed before. Amongst all the tricked out $30,000 fishing machines flocking towards the dock on Bayou Bonfouca, one boat stood out. It was a 14 ft. flat boat manned by what looked to be a boy. The youngster was on the bow of the boat operating the trolling motor and the first thing that crossed my mind was, “maybe his engine was acting up.” Then I looked at the engine and to my surprise. There was none! This peeked my interest as I wondered if he was one of the anglers competing in the tournament. I watched as the boy pulled up to the bulkhead where all the other boats were tied. He walked up to the weigh table and assumed the familiar pose of leaning back and arms folded just like all the other men there in anticipation of the winners names being announced. This peeked my interest as I began asking some other anglers if he was entered in today’s tournament. One after one they nodded yes and each one of them couldn’t help but smile. Zachary Zimmermann is a 14 year old bass fisherman and has competed in two tournaments here on the Northshore. He is only in 8th grade but he is already making waves in the bass community. In Zack’s first tournament he showed up ready to compete but there was one thing that separated him from the other anglers besides his age, In the back of his father’s truck was a kayak. Tournament organizer Ronald Pierre says when he saw him with that kayak he knew he just had to offer him a spot in his boat. Ronald talks about fishing alongside Zack in the RP3 Tournament, “He was so excited when I opened up the motor. I let him wear one of my extra helmets and he was all pumped up! He had all of his gear together, had his maps with him, and waypoints. He was determined to catch fish that day. That guy is an animal or better yet, a little "manimal" when it comes to determination and fishing for bass!” Not only does Zack fish hard, he also puts in the time to study different spots. I asked Zack if he studies for school as hard as he studies for tournaments and he said “If I did as much homework for school as I do for fishing, I would be valedictorian! Whatever venue is being fished I read all of the past reports and could probably recite them off the top of my head. I make maps with points of drains and cuts, or a group of trees all on Google Earth. I watch hundreds of videos on bass fishing and read magazines. In the morning when my alarm clock goes off I jump out of bed faster than Usain Bolt! I have my clothes laid out and ready to go!”
Zack Zimmermann After the RP3 Tournament all Zack could talk about was getting a boat and Christmas presented the perfect opportunity to ask for one. Zack talks about the excitement he felt on Christmas morning, “It was literally the only thing that I wanted for Christmas! It felt like the night before a tournament because I couldn’t get any sleep. Christmas morning finally came and I woke up to no boat, but opened a couple tiny boxes to see a picture of a flatboat. It was a 10 ft. Alumacraft with a 30 lb. thrust trolling motor. My parents said that it hadn't come in yet and we would get it the next day. I was so excited!”
Zack wasted no time in christening his new flatboat. The next RP3 Tournament was the following week on Bayou Bonfouca and Zack was there bright and early ready for blast off! Chris Basey fished that tournament and recalls seeing Zack on the water, “I saw him running down the bayou with his trolling motor headed down to Palm Lake which is miles away from the launch. I almost stopped to give him my number because I was sure he was going to need a tow back. I talk to his dad at the launch and told him I would like to see him with a bigger motor but his dad said, ‘No, don’t give him a motor, that boy will be running all the way across the lake with that thing!”
For Zack the future is bright and he only looks to get better with age. His goals this year are lofty. Zack says he wants to qualify for the Nothshore Bass Series Classic at the end of the year. “I want to make the NBS Classic when it’s all said and done, that would be so cool!”
Zack wasted no time in christening his new flatboat. The next RP3 Tournament was the following week on Bayou Bonfouca and Zack was there bright and early ready for blast off! Chris Basey fished that tournament and recalls seeing Zack on the water, “I saw him running down the bayou with his trolling motor headed down to Palm Lake which is miles away from the launch. I almost stopped to give him my number because I was sure he was going to need a tow back. I talk to his dad at the launch and told him I would like to see him with a bigger motor but his dad said, ‘No, don’t give him a motor, that boy will be running all the way across the lake with that thing!”
For Zack the future is bright and he only looks to get better with age. His goals this year are lofty. Zack says he wants to qualify for the Nothshore Bass Series Classic at the end of the year. “I want to make the NBS Classic when it’s all said and done, that would be so cool!”
Lee Hillman Tournament Results
The RP3 Bass King tournament on Bayou Bonfouca is in the books and it was Lee Hillman came out on top with a 4-fish bag weighing in at 6 lbs., 12 oz. Ricky Benitez took second with a 3-fish bag that weighed an even 6 pounds. In third was Darren Paternostro with 4 fish that totaled 5 lbs., 4 oz.
The RP3 Bass King tournament on Bayou Bonfouca is in the books and it was Lee Hillman came out on top with a 4-fish bag weighing in at 6 lbs., 12 oz. Ricky Benitez took second with a 3-fish bag that weighed an even 6 pounds. In third was Darren Paternostro with 4 fish that totaled 5 lbs., 4 oz.
