HBC-3 Slated for Lake Amistad, Texas Winner to Receive $50,000

July 15, 2008
In a bold and aggressive move that has become its trademark, Heavyweight Bass Classic, LLC has announced that the third in its continuing series of trophy bass tournament will be held at Lake Amistad, Texas on Friday, November 14, 2008.

HBC-3 will feature the same one-fish, big-fish, winner-takes-all format used in HBC-1 and HBC-2, however the winner of HBC-3 will receive $50,000 in winnings, along with a custom, hand-crafted HBC-3 Champion belt valued at over $1,000. Like its predecessors, HBC-3 will again feature a 50-Angler field and each Angler will have a non-fishing Volunteer Tournament Official (VTO) on-board with them.

"When Ron Cervenka and I first came up with the format for the HBC, it was our vision and intention to take this thing to the National level," says HBC co-founder Ken Huddleston, who is also the president and CEO of Huddleston Deluxe, Inc. "We have now had two extremely successful events in the West and it's time to raise the bar. And what better place to do it than at Lake Amistad, one of the country's best trophy bass lakes?" Huddleston adds.

The entry fee for HBC-3 will be $1,000, with every penny of every entry fee being paid back to the winner. As noted, a full field of 50 Anglers will net the winner $50,000.

"Initially I was a bit reluctant to move up to the National level after only two events," says HBC director and co-founder Ron Cervenka. "But Ken kept reminding me that this was our plan from the very beginning. And then Byron Velvick came on board with us and offered us the use of his Amistad Lake Resort as the tournament headquarters for HBC-3 and everything just sort of fell into place. Byron also told us that late fall was the perfect time of the year for a trophy bass tournament at Lake Amistad.

"One thing that I want to make perfectly clear is that we are not turning our backs on the Western trophy bass guys," Cervenka continues. "Quite the contrary, we want them to come along with us as we grow the HBC into a National trophy bass tour. I assure you that the HBC will be returning to California. With that said, we sincerely believe that a true trophy bass angler can catch big bass no matter where they fish and the HBC offers them the opportunity to showcase their talents. We are helping to create tomorrow's bass fishing superstars," adds Cervenka.

To assist anglers who must travel long distances to compete, the HBC has dropped its off-limits period prior to each event. "When we created the HBC, we included an off-limits period to try to eliminate any unfair advantage to the locals and to level the playing field," says Cervenka. "The obvious drawback to the off-limits period is that it forced guys wishing to pre-fish to make more than one trip to the tournament venue; a very costly endeavor with gasoline nearing $5 a gallon. By eliminating the off-limits period, guys traveling long distances now have to make the trip only once and can pre-fish right up to tournament day. The only requirement is that they must be off of the water by 3:00 PM local time on the Thursday prior to the tournament," Cervenka concludes.

"Ken and Ron are onto something big," notes Bassmaster Elite Series angler Byron Velvick about the HBC. "The thought of winning $50,000 in a one-day, one-fish trophy bass tournament is cutting edge stuff. The guys fishing these things are some of the best trophy bass guys in the world; guys like Butch Brown, Don Osborne, and Shaun Bailey. The fishing at Lake Amistad in mid November will be outstanding. The 50-Angler field will fill up fast and will include some of the biggest names in professional bass fishing," Velvick adds.

"The 50-Angler field will fill up fast and will include some of the biggest names in professional bass fishing." - Byron Velvick

The Top-20 Anglers from HBC-2 and the Top-20 in the HBC Point Standings after two events will receive Priority entry status into HBC-3 for a period of one week. After that time, Open entries will accepted until the field is filled. Should an Angler on either Top-20 list decline to enter HBC-3 during the Priority entry period, they will forfeit their slot to the Open entry slots. Anglers who are on both Top-20 lists will relinquish one of their spots to the Open entry slots, as well.

Dates for Priority entries and Open entries will be announced within the next few weeks on the HBC website. As with HBC-2, all entries into HBC-3 will only be accepted on-line with a valid credit card via PayPal. VTO entries will also only be accepted on-line when the Priority entries begin. There is no entry fee for the VTOs.

Anglers and VTOs interested in participating in HBC-3 are encouraged to check the HBC website frequently so as to not miss the entry date announcement.