Berkley B1 Canadian Bass Open, powered by Evinrude and now featuring the Shimano Water Weigh-In System!

The stage is set for the ultimate showdown of the year. The 2010 edition of the Berkley B1 Canadian Bass Open, powered by Evinrude takes place this October 2nd & 3rd on Lake St-Francis out of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. Featuring 300 of the best bass anglers in Canada facing off for the ultimate bragging rights, championship rings and a first place prize of over $60,000 in value. Lake St-Francis has recently been regarded as one of the top bass fisheries in Eastern Canada, as it has been consistently producing giant smallmouth bass, some measuring upwards of 7lbs. As the competition consists of teams of two anglers bringing five fish back at the end of each day, this means potentially over 1,100 fish will be brought to the scales during the event.

In order to properly manage and handle this volume, a very unique fish management and weighing system is being brought in to ensure the well being and vitality of the resource. As the newest premier partner to the event, Shimano Canada is stepping in and providing their proprietary, world-class Shimano Water Weigh-In System, complete with two Shimano Live-Release boats. "We are very excited to be a part of the B1 competition and to be the driving force behind demonstrating to the public, that fishing tournaments are fun, challenging and safe for the environment" states Bob Mahoney, Northern Marketing Manager, Shimano Canada. "The Shimano Water Weigh-In System improves the physiological condition and survival of fish in live-release tournaments and we'll be ready to properly handle the big bass that await us on lake St-Francis. Our goal is to get these fish back in the water better than they came in."

With the addition of Shimano's expertise, the Berkley B1 Canadian Bass Open is truly poised to be a competition and spectacle like no other. Weigh-in ceremonies are scheduled to commence at 3pm sharp on both days of the event. Spectators are encouraged to arrive early for best viewing opportunities.

For more information on the Shimano Water Weigh-In system, go to: http://advocacy.shimano.com/publish/content/advocacy/en/us/index/conservation/fish/shimano_water_weigh-ib.html