Local bass pro celebrates women’s classic victory

Long time friend and fellow outdoors writer, Berk Elliott reports recently attending an “Appreciation Dinner” hosted by Sugarland bass pro / celebrity, Judy Wong, her husband, Glen and their son, Scott. Held at the Jade Village Restaurant on Gessner, the gathering included over 100 friends and family members and featured a sumptuous nine-course meal.

The event was a celebration of Wong’s achievements on this year’s professional bass tournament tour. In August, she won the title of Classic World Champion of the Women’s Bass Fishing Association in Alexandria, Louisiana. She not only won the Classic on the very difficult Red River, she blew the competition away with a 42.53 pound total string for the three day event. Her nearest competitor, in the field of 30, was more than 13 pounds back. Forced to run a 120-mile round trip each day on the rough course, she compounded the win by posting the large bass of the day every day of the tourney.

At the final weigh-in, Wong enthralled the audience with a speech she had carried on a scrap of paper in her pocket for eight years. At the recent dinner, she emotionally reiterated, “I am proud to say that only in America could a Chinese American woman hope to pursue a career like this, that she loves so much. Only in America could I be standing where I am tonight. I have been dreaming of this moment nearly all my life.”