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Department of Tourism
Benton Angler Will Be One of the Oldest Competitors in Bass Tournament
A Benton, Ky. resident who is one of the Bassmaster Tour’s oldest anglers will compete in the “Bluegrass Brawl” fishing tournament at Kentucky Lake June 15-18.
Sixty-three year-old David Gliebe, a transplanted Californian who has made his home in Benton since March 2005, will test his fishing skills in the Kentucky Lake tourney, which is a stop on the Bassmaster Elite tour for the most accomplished anglers. Gliebe is one of only four Kentuckians who will participate in the prestigious event.
Gliebe, who estimates he’s earned about $2 million as a pro angler since he began in the mid-1970s, has won 47 boats and three vehicles over his career. Since he’s sponsored by Mercury Boats and gets a new boat and engine every year, Gliebe said he’s sold all the boats he’s won.
The former engineer and draftsman for the California Transportation Department said he decided to make his living by fishing professionally because he was “bored stiff” by his office job. He said he moved to Kentucky to be closer to the many stops on the Bassmaster tours that are east of the Mississippi River.
“The people in Kentucky are more friendly, and it’s less crowded here,” he said.
Gliebe, who was profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal newspaper in the 1980s, said he caught the angling bug at age eight when his father took him fishing near their home in Sacramento, Calif. Over the years, he has developed a bass fishing technique known as “flipping,” which he credits for much of his success. He also finds time to teach fly-fishing and work as a guide.
The Kentucky Sports Authority and the Department of Parks have been instrumental in working with Bassmaster to stage 10 tournaments on Kentucky lakes and streams in 2006. The Bluegrass Brawl pays the winner $100,000. ESPN2 will broadcast this competition at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday June 24.
“We are very pleased and excited to attract such events to the Commonwealth,” said Terry Johnson, executive director of the Sports Authority. He noted that the tournaments generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic impact in Kentucky and raise the state’s profile as a fishing mecca.
Daily launches and weigh-ins are free and open to the public at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, 113 Administration Drive, in Gilbertsville, Ky. Anglers launch at 5:30 a.m. CT and weigh-in at 3 p.m. CT.
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