For Immediate Release:*

The Aurora Bassmasters are pleased to announce that they have once again teamed up with Bass Pro Shops Canada to provide avid bass anglers an opportunity to compete in this country's premier one day bass fishing event! On Saturday October 24th*in Orillia, up to*100*teams will compete on the*trophy bass*waters of Lake Simcoe and Couchiching.

*ON LINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN:

On Line registration begins*July 18*and closes midnight September 30th! “We waited a little longer than usual to open registration because we wanted to make sure several major sponsors,*were on board for this event.* Those sponsorships have now been secured and the exciting details will be announced in coming weeks,” said David Meadows, Aurora Bassmasters club president. The Aurora Bassmasters have also put into place a new and improved on-line secure registration process thru PayPal, that will enable anglers to sign up and register easily at*www.simcoeopen.com*.**This system will automatically detect when payment is received, and therefore at the same time allow the club's tournament committee to assign a team number, based on date and time of entry. "The sooner anglers pay and register, the lower their team number will be",*said Meadows. Team Number one will be allocated to the last year’s winners*-*Taro Murata and Paul Castellano.*They won $10,000 plus an additional $2,000 for the Minn Kota/Humminbird contingency award and $500 from Shimano.

*Early Bird Entries Strongly Encouraged:

Thanks to continued support from our generous sponsors,* Early Bird entry fees will remain unchanged at $380 per two person team; plus $20 (mandatory) for the Big Fish pot.*There is a 2% admin/processing cost for Pay Pal users).The organizing committee of the 2015 Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open are committed to full fields and maximum exposure for anglers and sponsors alike. “Not only will we continue to provide outstanding payouts,*but*we*plan to bring back some of the unique incentives and outstanding grab bags that brought so much excitement to this event,”*said Meadows. Anglers are encouraged to register early ... as not only will this help ensure a lower start position, but it will also provide them with entry into the Early Bird Draw. All registered anglers whose payment is secured prior to the September 15th deadline are eligible for this draw. Those teams registering between September 16- and September 30th*(when registration closes) will not be eligible for the early bird draw. Entries will not be accepted after that date nor at the pre-tournament meeting on the evening of Oct 23rd. *

*Teams can also mail in their completed entry forms and payment by cheque, made out to the Aurora Bassmasters c/o BPS Lake Simcoe Open, 203 Beach Rd. Keswick, ON. L4P 2L8. Those who elect to pay by cheque (no drop offs permitted) will have to wait for their cheque to clear before they are assigned a team number.

The annual Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open, hosted by the Aurora Bassmasters has long set the bar for*BIG BASS WEIGHTS**in Canada. As well as the great paybacks, one of the key reasons anglers keep coming back is the world class trophy bass fishery of Lake Simcoe.* In 2010 this tournament set the all time Canadian record for the heaviest five bass ever weighed in during a Canadian bass tournament at 31.5 pounds. That same year, an 8.05 pound monster smallmouth was weighed in that also set a Canadian record for the heaviest single bass ever weighed in during a tournament in our country!

In the coming weeks and*months, the organizing committee will announce additional sponsorship in order to maintain exceptional paybacks and incentives that are unique to this event. Updates will be posted regularly. For more information and to obtain a 2015 application form please visit www.simcoeopen.com

Anglers are reminded that all correspondence will be complete by email ... and in previous years, some applications had email addresses and names that were very difficult to decipher.* Organizers therefore urge anglers to please print clearly on the application form.

To learn more about the Aurora Bassmasters, please visit:

www.aurorabass.com**

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