“We drew from the six different lakes we held the series on this year – Jordan Lake, Lake Mitchell, Lake Logan-Martin, the Alabama River, Cooter’s Pond (Alabama River) and Lay Lake – and Lay Lake was the last one we drew out,” Gerald said.

The reason he couldn’t be happier is that Lay Lake has been on fire.

“The lake has been giving up some big bags recently. In our last tournament down there (July 27) we had six bags over 20 pounds. I think the Classic will be a shootout.”

Not only are lots of quality fish being caught, he noted, some of them are just outstanding.

“We held the Airport Marine Midweek EZ Solo Trail Classic on Lay Lake two weeks ago and Terry Jinks won it with 20 pounds, 2 ounces. Plus, he had the biggest fish ever recorded for Lay Lake at 11.46 pounds. He caught that fish at 5:30 a.m. on a buzzbait.”

Jink’s lake record bass is also the largest bass ever caught during a tournament in the State of Alabama.

“I think the fish will be caught both shallow and deep in the classic,” Gerald said. “ If the weather heats up a little bit and the sun comes out, it might make the big fish bite a little better. Lately, the water temperature has got down to about 80 degrees.”

Gerald said anglers in the Classic can launch anywhere on the lake, but they have to make their first cast at 6 o’clock. They have to be at Beeswax Landing for the weigh-in by 3 p.m.

“We had a really good turnout for the meeting and with 70-something boats we expect to have a good tournament Saturday,” he said. Everybody will get qualified for the manufacturer’s bonuses – Triton, Ranger and Stratos – so if you win you will be shooting for some big bucks. We are guaranteeing $8,000 for first place and with the bonuses the winner could take home between $15,000 and $18,000.”

He added that plans are in the works to make the bonus money more accessible to more anglers next year, but details have not been worked out yet.

Gerald congratulated Bob Blackerby and Michael Brasher for winning the points championship this year. They get $1,000 in store credits and will have their entry fees paid for 2014, which amounts to $1,500 to $2,000, he said.

As soon as the Classic is over, he noted, he will launch his annual Fall Trail.

“I should have the schedule out by next Saturday and we’ll kick the Fall Trail off in September,” Gerald said.

Airport Marine Tournament Trail Classic

Sat, Aug 24, 2013

Lay Lake

Launch anywhere on lake

Weigh-in at Beeswax Landing

Call Flynn Gerald 205-678-9666

www.airportmarinetrails.com