“The weather up here has been all over the place and the water has not heated up like it normally has by this time of year, so I would not be surprised if there is not a fish or two still on the bed,” Lucas said.

Added to that, the weather has been unsettled with sporadic rains all week, but it is supposed to be sunny by tournament time and that should help fishing, too, he said.

“It’s Memorial Day Weekend, so we probably should not have scheduled a tournament for this Saturday, but the water is still so cold there might not be as much boat traffic as usual for this weekend, so I don’t think it will be that bad,” he added.

Lucas noted that Russell and Mark Saunders are leading the Virginia Division points standings after four tournaments, but Kenny and Brandon Reynolds are hot on their heels. The Saunders team finished 4^th in the first Smith Mountain tournament March 2, but dropped to 33^rd in the second Smith Mountain tournament April 6.

The Reynolds team was third in the first Smith Mountain tournament and 12^th in the second tournament at Smith Mountain. They entered the 2012 championship at Smith Mountain Lake last October tied for first place in the points for the second year in a row and finished 12^th in the championship. They also won the 2012 Jiffy Automotive Big Bag of the Year award for a five-fish limit caught in the first tournament of the year at Smith Mountain Lake that weighed 23.31 pounds.

“The Saunders guys are good fishermen so it’s going to come down to the wire,” Lucas said. “I am sure they will do well at Smith Mountain this weekend.”

Lucas said the season has progressed very well this year, even better than anticipated after the trail was split into divisions – Virginia and North Carolina.

“We are really pleased with the Carolina side. We set it up in hopes it would take some of the pressure off the Virginia side, but the Virginia numbers have been as good as always,” he said.

He noted that after the Smith Mountain Lake the Virginia Division will have only one more regular season tournament – at Kerr Reservoir June 29. The North Carolina Division has two more tournaments – at High Rock Lake June 22 and at Kerr June 30. The two-day Classic for both divisions will be held
Oct. 12-13 at Kerr Lake.

“We’ve been very pleased with the numbers of entries this year. It’s been like business as usual as far as that goes. However, we expect the numbers will go down a little bit toward the end of the year as everybody gets qualified for the championship,” Lucas said.

Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail

Sat, May 25, 2013

Smith Mountain Lake

Parkway Marina

Call Chris Lucas 276-358-0844

www.anglerschoicemarine.com