PROFESSIONAL ANGLER TO LEAD CLINIC IN CAPE

For more than 240 days a year, Mike Auten has some cramped office quarters.

And, it's a bit crowded, with the tools of his trade.

Auten's office is a Skeeter ZX202c bass boat, equipped whit a Yamaha, 200-HP motor. Also included on the list of equipment are a trolling motor, rods and reels, some electronic devices, and other items necessary in the quest of bass.

Auten is a bass fisherman, a member of the Yamaha/Skeeter pro fishing staff. For the past nine years, he has participated in the annual BASS Masters Classic series, where he has recorded third- and four-th place, national finishes.

Auten was in Cape Girardeau Wednesday.

Accompanying Auten was his wife, Becky, who has helped design the video and graphics technology for her husband's presentations.

The reason for his appearance at the Show-Me Center was to announce and discuss a daylong, four-session bass fishing clinic he will conduct early next month at Southeast Missouri State University.

"Spending a day with Auten is better than a day on the water," said Rob Parrent, associate vice president of enrollment management at the university, an avid fisherman, and a friend of Auten.

Auten, during his time off the water, has developed a new way to teach the concepts behind bass fishing, using video animation, graphics and computer-aided technology, said Parrent.

Auten will present the fishing clinic here Feb. 5 in Dempster Hall's Glenn Auditorium.

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at a cost of $29, said Joyce Becker, director of continuing education at the university, which is sponsoring the clinic. Drawings for prizes will be conducted at each of the four sessions.

The fee for the clinic is for all sessions, which include:

* Crankbait Action: The Lipless Crankbait & Jerkbaits.

* Fishing the Spinner Bait: The Versatile Bass Lure.

* Plastic Worms and Carolina Rigs.

* GPS: Using Technology to Your Advantage.

* Structure Fishing Basics.

"We hope to provide information for everyone," said Auten. "Our programs are geared to the pro, the novice, women and children."

The aim, said Auten, is for everyone at the seminar to learn at least "five new things."

Auten, who lives in the Benton, Ky., area near Kentucky Lake, has been fishing "all my life."

"My father and uncle were bass fishermen," said the Terra Haute, Ind., native. "I started fishing at a young age, about six, and have been fishing competitively since 1991."

Fishing is big business, said Auten.

"More than 50 million men, women and children participated in the outdoor pastime," he said.

A lot of anglers go for bass.

Bass is found in 49 states and many foreign countries, and bass fishing is a $37.5 billion-plus industry.

Auten is looking forward to this year's BASS Masters series.

"This has not been a great year for me," he said, "but, we still have three big tournaments left before the big BASS event, to be held on Lake Michigan near Chicago."

The BASS Masters tournament trail starts in August and winds down in May or June.

Auten met his wife because of fishing.

"He (Mike) was guiding in the Big Bear area of Kentucky Lake," said Becky Auten. "He was a guide for my father several times, and my father introduced us."

Auten is a three-time qualifier for the BASS Masters Classic. He was a BASS Eastern Division points leader for the 1997-98 season and finished fourth in the nationals. His third-place national finish came during the 1996-97 season.