Bassmasters in Waddington land the governor

Gov. Cuomo tours Waddington’s Whittaker Park, which has become a village of food and craft stands and tackle shops to accommodate the ten thousand Bassmasters fans expected this weekend. Photo: Conant Neville

Thousands of fishing fans are heading north to the St. Lawrence River this weekend for the Bassmasters Elite Series tournament, the top professional tour for bass anglers.

Today, Governor Andrew Cuomo showed up to do some cheering of his own from the main stage in Whitaker Park.

St. Lawrence County and Waddington. They reeled in the big one today when they brought Bassmasters Elite Series here… [cheers]

He said fishing is a $1.8 billion-a-year industry in New York State.

So it’s real jobs, it’s real economic development. Tourism is going up year to year. We’re up 6%. With events like this and this kind of exposure and the good work of Waddington and St. Lawrence, you’re going to see that growth even higher.

Cuomo announced that the Finger Lakes region will host a Bassmasters Elite tournament next year. And it will be the site for next year’s Governor’s Challenge, which was a whitewater rafting event in the Adirondacks this year.

Tags: fishing, outdoor recreation, politics