KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee river will soon be the sight of the Superbowl of bass fishing. But it won’t just be the pros chasing the fish. Thousands of people will take to the water to follow their favorite athletes along as they compete in the Bassmaster Classic.
"We’re going to have 52 of the best anglers in the world fishing on our waters. We’re also going to have a high volume of spectators out on boats," said Lt. Andy Collins with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. "We’re really concerned about trying to get out to the public that there is a lot of debris out on the water."
TWRA is warning boaters that the recent rain and flooding left piles of debris floating in the lakes and rivers. Logs pushed into the water after the recent storms are often big enough to make a boat crash if the operator is not watching out for debris while driving.
"The operator could be ejected, the boat could tip or capsize, it could go airborne if it hit that thing," said Collins. "This is just an example of things you’re not going to see until you get right up on top of it. We’re seeing the tip of it. It could be 20 feet long underneath it."
TWRA is enforcing slower speeds on some stretches of water and will be out patrolling to make sure the fans stay out of the way of the pros.
They say fans are allowed to follow the pros out on the water but should stay a safe distance away.
"There may be two boats following one guy or possibly 60, 75 people following another," said Collins. "They can come out here and watch, they just need to be mindful of the safety parts and be respectful of the anglers.