They won’t make their last casts until 2 p.m. today, but the teams competing in the 2024 Muransky Companies Bass Classic already know the winners.

The Saturday after Memorial Day is the traditional date of the annual Bass Classic, hosted by Aqua Ohio and benefiting the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. Since the inaugural tournament in 2000, the series of Bass Classics has generated nearly $600,000, which helps support programs that serve children and families throughout our community.

This year’s tournament blasted off at 6:30 this morning at bass-filled Evans and Pine lakes. I have stood in awe at every one of the 23 previous Bass Classics, witnessing the amazing sunrises and eager fleet of competitors’ boats awaiting the signal to go (in full disclosure, I had the privilege of serving as director of the first 22 United Way tournaments before handing over the reins after the 2022 event).

Now organized and promoted by Ricky White, Steve Evans and Al Hustosky, the Bass Classic continues to be a “must” on the schedule of a variety of local and regional bass champions. The crew and United Way VP Roxann Sebest and her staff work hard to manage logistics and ensure fair competition in the tournament, which actually is contested as two events on two lakes.

White, Evans and Hustosky also compete in the tournament. Hustosky, in fact, has been on the winning team multiple times with veteran bass angler Ray Halter. They are among many teams with the talent and experience to reel in the winning five-bass limits on both Evans and Pine.

So who will win?

Besides early favorites Halter and Hustosky, consider former champs Bill Byers and Scott Cremeans of Columbus. They are among the most dedicated supporters of the Muransky Bass Classic, even driving all night from Tennessee once to get to Pine in time for blastoff.

Or perhaps it will be defending Pine champs Bill Schrader and Eric Sevenich, who went against the current last year and fished waters other teams overlooked. Defending Evans Lake victors Dave Waikem and Jeremy Snyder also are strong favorites to repeat.

Other serious contenders on Evans include Destin DeMarion and Tyler Woak, runners up in 2023. DeMarion has experience in the big leagues of professional bass fishing and Woak is fresh off a win last Sunday at Mosquito Lake.

Retired Youngstown police officer Dave Williams is always a threat to win, as he did in grand fashion five years ago on Pine when his team’s 80 pounds of largemouths set the record for the heaviest winning weight in Ohio bass competition history. He has a new teammate this year, lifelong friend Bruce Rice.

The Bass Classic has a long and colorful history. Over the years, the winners have come from the ranks of heavy favorites and decided underdogs. Big bass always are featured, as Evans and Pine annually produce lunkers like the 7-pounder scored in 2022 by Scott Cremeans.

I recall standing on the bank at Evans Lake on the first Saturday after Memorial Day 2022 with Aqua Ohio President Walter “Buzz” Pishkur. He and his assistant Jennifer Johnson and Joan Stock, then marketing director of the United Way, worked tirelessly to make the first Bass Classic happen.

As we stood on the bank that inaugural morning and the sun peeked over the horizon, Buzz admired the glittery boats and asked me, “How fast will they go?” I told him bass boats can top 60 mph. His eyes twinkled at the thought of the spectacle of dozens of boats racing across Evans Lake. “Let’s lift the speed limit,” he declared.

And so it started. The Bass Classic was off and running its mission of fun fishing and community service. Today, 24 years later, we already know the ultimate winners: the children and families who will benefit from the services funded by the money the anglers generated.

Jack Wollitz is the author of “The Common Angler,” a book about the “why” behind anglers’ passion for fishing. Readers can email jackbbaass@gmail.com