“Normally we run about 30 boats this time of year and it can go up or down from that, depending on the anglers who show up,” Collins said. “You don’t have to have a boat to fish the tournament, but the ones who bring their boat are guaranteed to use their boat.”

If they do enter Saturday’s tournament, he noted, they can expect a good day on the water with nice weather in the forecast.

“It’s going to be warm Saturday. The temperature is supposed to get down into the 30s Friday night and then it should be clear and in the 60s during the day. As for the fish, we’ll have to see what they are doing. They were starting to get out on the ledges in our November 24 tournament, so they should be out there now.”

Wayne Gibson won that November tournament, he noted, with 19 1/2 pounds of bass, so the weights could be strong this Saturday.

“We’ve got some pretty good fishermen who fish the Eufaula Division,” Collins said. He said last year’s points champion, Kenny Carroll, won the AOY title for both Eufaula Division 12 and for the ABA division on West Point Lake.

“He fished a lot of tournaments and he fished hard,” Collins said. Dee Paschal of Hawkinsville, Ga., is leading the points so far this year, with a 4^th place Sept. 22, 12^th place Oct. 27 and 11^th place Nov. 24.

The division’s angler of the year will represent the division at the ABA national championship where he will be fishing for a new, fully-rigged Triton bass boat.

“We will run one-day qualifying tournaments each month all the way to June and then we will have our two-day tournament in June,” Collins said. “You don’t have to be pre-registered to fish our tournaments. You have to be a member of the American Bass Anglers or a member of the Bassmaster Weekend Series. The entry fee is $70, plus there is a $5 late fee. And we pay back in cash.”

The format is a draw tournament, he said, with registration beginning about 3:30 the morning of the tournament and the drawing held about half an hour before safe light.

“Fishing our tournaments is like being in a bass club and not having to go to meetings,” he said. You just show up at the ramp and go fish. We have a great bunch of guys and we have a great time.”

After Saturday the schedule includes: Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 9, April 27, May 11 and June 29-30, all out of Lake Point Marina on Lake Eufaula.

American Bass Anglers – Georgia Eufaula Division #12

Sat, Dec 22, 2012

Lake Eufaula

Lake Point State Park

Call Deacon Collins at (404) 862-4233

http://www.americanbassanglers.com/districts2013.php?Division=12