Tournament director Flynn Gerald is expecting to see some hefty bags of bass – both spotted bass and largemouths – in the Airport Marine EZ Fall Buddy Trail tournament Saturday on Lake Jordan.

“This time of year the big magnum spots are going to be feeding. We’ve had tournaments down there this time of year when they brought in huge bags of spots,” he said. “In one tournament we held on Jordan this time of year a guy named Danny Wiles brought in a bag of spots that weighed 24 pounds and change. That’s almost a 5-pound average and that is huge.”

And, he added, somebody always brings in a big limit of largemouths.

“We’ve had several tournament down there this time of year when the largeheads dominated. People wonder where those big largeheads come from, but it is not unusual to have a 25-pound average on them.”

Or, it could be a mixed bag, Gerald said.

I look for at least 18 to 20 pounds to win Saturday and it could be all spots, all largeheads or a mix.”

The key Saturday is whether water is being pulled through the dam to generate power, he said.

“The generation of water will dictate a lot. If they run water you can bet a lot of big spots will be weighed in, but if they don’t run water, we will just have to see what happens.”

Gerald said the majority of fish probably will be caught on a jig, but some anglers will also be throwing a swim bait or a fluke up by the dam.

“They go up there and throw a swim bait or a fluke and let it wash down to catch those big spots,” he said.

Although participation in the three tournaments held so far on Lay, Logan and Mitchell lakes has been slower than anticipated, Gerald said several factors were involved, not the least of which was scheduling some of those tournaments the same time other trails were holding their classics.

“We look to have a decent crowd Saturday, with 25 to 30 new boats fishing. Ours is a real simple, real easy tournament trial to fish and it is one of our most popular trails. The Solo trail is the most popular, but this Fall Trail is the second most popular. Everybody loves it.”

And, Gerald said, the 2013 Airport Marine tournament trails will be even more lucrative to the anglers than before.

“We’ve got a sale on boats at Airport Marine and in our tournaments next year if you buy a boat from Airport Marine the least amount of money you can win for first place will be $13,000. Then Evinrude is putting $5,000 more on it.”

Airport Marine bonuses for 2013 include : qualifying Triton, up to $18,000; qualifying Stratos, up to $17,000; qualifying Airport Marine Ranger, $11,000, plus the Gilmore Ford bonus of $5,000.

 

Airport Marine EZ Fall Buddy Trail

Sat, Nov 24, 2012

Lake Jordan

Bonner’s Landing

Call Flynn Gerald 205-678-9666

www.airportmarinetrails.com