The 2006 Jr. World Championship was held on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida on February 18 and 19. Launching out of Venetian Gardens Lakefront Park, this event has gotten better and better each year, with BASS/ESPN continuing to add new twists to this affair to excel it to greater heights. I was fortunate enough to be at Charlotte, North Carolina for the 1st Jr. World Championship and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the following year. These have always been great tournaments, but this year’s event was extra special for the young competitors. In the morning, the contestants were loaded in the boats with their Classic pro contenders prior to the boats being dropped in the water. At the end of the day, the boats were pulled from the water and staged in the parking area prior to being towed into the building for the official weigh-in. The building was erected especially for this event, taking a day and a half to set up. At the first two Jr. World Championship tournaments, the youth contenders walked up to the stage, but that was not the case at this year’s event. The youth were treated just like their bass pro counterparts that they watch on TV: they were towed into the arena, stepped from their boat onto the BASS/ESPN stage in front of the crowd of spectators, and weighed in their catch. Totally awesome!

The staging of the boats in the parking lot gave parents, friends and fans a perfect opportunity to talk with, take photos, and get autographs from the Classic pro contenders.

Maryland’s two Jr. World Championship contenders were Travis Sanders and Zach Cable. Travis fished with Mike Wurm. (By the way, this was the second Jr. World tournament for Travis; he competed in Pittsburgh in 2005.) Zach drew Larry Nixon, who has the distinction of being the first Bassmaster to ever earn a million dollars in the sport of bass fishing.