“They pretty well kept the points lead for most of the year,” said tournament director Jamie Shay. “They won the points; now all they have to do to fish for free next year is fish the championship this week.”

Coan and McElvoy only finished once out of the top five all year long. They started off with a bang by winning the opening tournament of the series Feb. 26. They finished 3rd March 25, 8th April 15, 4th May 20, 3rd June 10, 3rd July 22, 5th August 19, and capped the season with their second win Sept. 2.

Shay said 17 teams have qualified to fish the championship and first place will earn in the neighborhood of $3,500. He anticipates half the field will win either cash, gift certificates or other prizes this weekend.

“We will give away about $7,500 total in the championship,” he said.

Fishing on Lake Guntersville has been tough recently, Shay said, but a cold front moving into the area could put the fish on the move.

“Fishing is better when there are clouds, wind or drizzling rain, anything besides beautiful skies. The forecast is calling for a front to move in Friday, so I anticipate good fishing Friday and Saturday,” he said.

“The change in weather could change everything and that is what we are all waiting on. It should be pretty good. We’ve got some really good fishermen and if anybody can find them these guys can. I anticipate some good weights in the championship.”

One factor that could come into play with a change in conditions is the Alabama Rig, Shay said.

“Everybody is just waiting on the Alabama Rig to work. If there is no Alabama Rig situation I’d say we will have probably 18 pounds a day, but if the Alabama Rig comes into play it could be 28 to 30 pounds a day. It just changes the game when that happens; It just has not happened yet.”

There will also be another factor at play on Lake Guntersville Friday and Saturday, Shay noted. The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Guntersville those same two days for the Chevy Wild Card event, where boaters and co-anglers will compete for berths in the Walmart BFL All-American.

Up to 200 boats are expected for the Wild Card tournament, which is open to anglers who entered all five tournaments in a BFL division this season, and paid their entry fees but did not qualify for a regional.

“It should not be too bad as they are going out of the state park 30 miles south of here, but there will be a lot of boats on the water those two days for sure,” he said.

Shay said the championship will cap a very good season for the Xtreme Bass Series on Lake Guntersville.

“In the spring we averaged 30 boats and in the summer we averaged 20 to 25 boats per tournament. We had good participation and everyone loved our format,” he said.

 

Xtreme Bass Series – Guntersville Division Championship

Oct 26-27, 2012

Lake Guntersville

Goose Pond Colony

Call Jamie Shay at 256-599-0132

[email protected]

www.xtremefishingseries.com