Professional anglers from across the country will join a cast of television’s top fishing gurus this spring when Bassmasters pays a visit to Selma.

The professional fishing organization has announced it will visit Selma for a tournament on the Alabama River. The one-day tournament will be held Sunday, April 4, and will be sponsored by the Selma Kiwanis Club.

According to Selma veterinarian Dr. Lee Youngblood, between 200 and 300 boats are expected with as many as four fishermen on each vessel. The tournament will begin “practically at daybreak,” Youngblood said, with the final weigh-in scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Selma Marina.

“The tournament is open to anyone in the BASS organization,” Youngblood said. “The public is invited to come out and watch.”

Youngblood added that several local anglers would likely participate in the tournament, but did not know who from Selma would compete.

Some of those expected to compete include Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Mo., Bill Dance of Collierville, Tn., Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., and Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas.

Brauer gave bass fishing its first true superstar in 1998 when he became the first professional angler to be featured on a box of Wheaties. He also is the only man to win Angler of the Year titles on both the Bassmaster and Wal-Mart FLW tours. He has earned more than $2 million in BASS and FLW events.

Dance has been a professional tournament fisherman for more than two decades. He was named Bassmaster Angler of the Year three times and has won seven BASS events.

Davis is the only fisherman to ever win the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title and Bassmaster classic crown in the same season.

At the age of 21, Klein won a BASS event in 1979 and nearly won the Bassmaster Angler of the Year award as a rookie. He’s won a total of eight career BASS events, two FLW events and two Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles.

The event also will be televised by the sports network ESPN.

Youngblood said the event would not only give Selma the positive news and sports coverage the city deserves. He said the event could pump between $80,000 and $100,000 into the local economy. Youngblood also said that some of that helpful economic impact from the event could have taken place as early as late January.

“Some of the fishermen may have already been coming into the area,” Youngblood said. “They may have come here and practiced on the Alabama River to get ready for the tournament.

“I believe this will be a showcase for our area,” Youngblood added. “We’ll have people come in here for a positive recreational event. It’s a win-win situation for everybody. The city gets the financial benefits and the publicity, and the fishermen get to do what they enjoy.”