Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail Averaging Over 200 Boats Per Tournament
While some tournament trails are struggling in a poor economy and high gasoline prices, the Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail just keeps rocking along with near record entries. The series’ top entry in 2011 was 178 boats for a tournament, but this year the trail has topped 200 three times while averaging 205 boats per tournament, with top entries of 223 and 224.
“People are telling me our average entry per tournament makes us about the second biggest trail in the country,” said tournament Director Chris Lucas, “ so we must be doing something right. They keep coming back.”
Lucas already had more than 100 boats entered early this week for Saturday’s tournament on Smith Mountain Lake.
“We may be flirting with 200 entries again,” he said. “I don’t really know what to expect because a lot of teams have already got their four tournaments in.”
Anglers must fish four of the six tournaments on the schedule to qualify for the Classic Oct. 13-14 on Smith Mountain Lake, Lucas said.
“We were concerned going into the season about the high gas prices, but that did not hurt us,” he said. “Now the gas prices have come down, the weather is not too hot and the fish are biting so I expect we will have another big turnout.”
Among the perks that attract such large entries, he said, are the fact that they feed the fishermen at every tournament, give away “a ton” of door prizes, guarantee a minimum $2,000 for first place in each tournament and have manufacturer’s contingency programs.
“The boat we give away at the Classic is not a run-of-the-mill boat either,” he said. “It’s a new Ranger Z118 boat with a Mercury Opti Max motor and trailer and Lowrance electronics. We doll that boat up a lot and we have a lot of people wanting to win it.”
And that does not count the contingency money, he noted, with the Ranger Cup, Stratos 2X and Triton Gold programs.
“The first place team in our last tournament won $10,000 in Triton Gold. For a $100 entry fee that is a pretty good deal.”
While the fish are biting, some anglers say fishing is getting tough, Lucas said.
“But, you know, in these big tournaments somebody will figure them out. We are starting early in this tournament, 6 o’clock, to give everybody a shot at the early topwater bite, and we get off the water at 2 o’clock before it gets too hot.”
After the early morning topwater bite, Lucas said fish will probably be caught on drop-shots throughout the day, with some also coming on Carolina rigs and crankbaits.
Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail
Sat, Jun 16, 2012
Smith Mountain Lake
Parkway Marina
Call Chris Lucas 276-358-0844
