Two amateur bass anglers—Kyle Carr of Texas and Eric Giessing of Missouri—won the World Bass Enterprise Average Joe Sweepstakes and will compete against the top 60 pros from B.A.S.S. and Major League Fishing at Old Hickory Lake near Nashville. The tournament's first-place prize is $1.25 million, the largest individual payout in professional bass fishing history.
Have you ever wondered how you’d fair facing off against the best anglers in the world of professional bass fishing? Next month, two ordinary bass fisherman from Missouri and Texas will get an answer to that question.
The World Bass Enterprise (WBE) just announced Kyle Carr and Eric Giessing as the winners of its first-ever Average Joe Sweepstakes. The prize means they’ll get to compete in a three-day tournament on Old Hickory Lake, just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Known as “The Champions” tournament, this inaugural event will feature a roster of the top 60 anglers from the two biggest bass fishing organizations in the world: B.A.S.S. and Major League Fishing.
“Fans of every sport wonder how they’d fare competing against the pros,” said Brian Bird, Founder and CEO of WBE. “We thought it would be neat to give bass fishing fans the chance to actually answer that question. Eric and Kyle will have a chance to win the grand prize and the ultimate bragging rights, but no matter what, they’ll be leaving Nashville with some prize money and a great story to tell.”
The grand prize that Carr and Giessing get to compete for is a whopping $1.25 million payout for the tournament’s overall first-place angler. That will be the biggest first-place payout ever seen in professional bass fishing history. And it’s a part of a bigger $3.25 million purse that will be doled out to all of the top seven finishers.
Giessing, 53, lives in Farmington, Missouri and frequently fishes the Lake of the Ozarks. Now an amateur who competes in small local tournaments, he learned to fish from his late father, WBE said in a press release announcing the sweepstakes winners.
“My goal is to continue growing as a competitor, learning from every experience, and pushing myself to see how far I can take this passion,” Giessing said. “I consider myself a power fisherman and enjoy the challenge of finding aggressive fish and figuring out what it takes to get them in the boat. Every tournament and every day on the water gives me another opportunity to learn, improve, and become a better angler.”
Carr ,39, is from Gatesville, Texas but grew up in Somerset, Kentucky. He’s a member of the Cen-Tex Bass Hunters in Belton, Texas, where he fishes in monthly club tournaments. “My dad taught me from an early age what it means to be a sportsman, respect the outdoors, and appreciate conservation,” Carr said. “I’ve been hooked on bass fishing since I was a kid, and these days I enjoy putting that passion to work in local tournament fishing. At the end of the day, I just enjoy being on the water, chasing bass, and competing with good people who share the same passion for fishing.”
The three-day Champions tournament is part of a five-day event (October 28 to November 1) that includes a Friday evening concert series headlined by Riley Green in the heart of Nashville’s Yards District. Access to Sanders Ferry Park for all three days of the competition is free and open to all. You can download the World Bass Enterprise app to register.
Most bass anglers spend their careers wondering how they’d measure up against the pros. The WBE Average Joe Sweepstakes turns that question into a real competition, putting two club-tournament regulars on the same water as the best anglers B.A.S.S. and Major League Fishing have to offer. Whether Carr or Giessing cashes a check is almost beside the point. They’ll fish a high-stakes event, learn how the best in the game operate under pressure, and come home with something no tournament win can buy outright: an honest answer.
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