“The points race is really close and these night tournaments are usually game changers in the standings,” said tournament director Richard McMaster. “Gary Pilkenton and Denny Turner are leading the points, but Brian Holt and Guy Siler are close behind. And David Mullins and Brent Hoskins are right behind them.”

In fact, just over 100 points separates the top five teams, but with a tournament win worth 300 points, nobody will be safe until the final tournament weigh-in, McMaster said.

“Making up 30-40 points is easily done. One bad tournament can cost a leading team, especially if they only caught two or three fish and one of the other teams weighs in a good catch. They would be right on top of each other.”
The wild card in the points race at this point is the weather. It’s summer and it is hot.

“It’s been hot and I feel like it’s going to be hot again this weekend,” McMaster said. “But the fishing has not been as hot as the weather.”

Fishing has been kind of slow on Cherokee Lake this hot summer, he noted.

“The fish are hiding in their deepest holes, making it hard to get to them.”

Because fishing has been so slow, McMaster predicated 15 pounds would be a good bet to win the tournament.

“But, really, the way I look at it, that suits everybody. Everybody has a chance. If they get lucky and catch one of two good fish, somebody who has never won could win Saturday.”

Even though the weather has been blistering hot, it does cool down some at night, so fishing should be fairly comfortable, McMaster said.

“We’ve also got a full moon this weekend. The winning bag will probably come on nighttime spinnerbaits, I imagine.”

The series is loaded with incentives, he noted, making it very attractive for anglers. Among new angler incentives this year are:

• Tom’s Customer Cash. Anglers who win one of the trail tournaments this year while fishing in a 2006 or newer model Ranger purchased from Tom’s Marine will win an additional $500.
• Porter’s Tires and Yokohama. Any team with Yokohama tires on their tow vehicle that wins a Tom’s Marine tournament this year will get a $100 bonus.
• Lunker Sauce Catch Program. The angler who catches the tournament lunker and has Lunker Sauce in his boat wins $100 extra.
• Ranger Cup and Tom’s Marine. A registered Ranger Cup winner in a tournament will earn an additional $1,000 or the highest finishing non-winner will get $250.
• Lowrance Electronics. If they are already running Lowrance Electronics on their boats, the top two finishers in each tournament will be eligible to buy new Lowrance Electronics for their boat at special VIP pricing.

In addition to the Ranger Cup, the trail also offers these manufacturers’ programs: Stratos 2X, Triton Gold, Skeeter Real Money and Bass Pro Shops Tournament Rewards.

Entry Fee is $110 per regular tournament with $10 of that going to lunker pot. At least 90 percent of entry fees and 100 percent of the lunker pot is paid back at ramp at each event. Both a lunker largemouth and lunker smallmouth prize will be given at each tournament. If no smallmouth are caught 1st and 2nd largemouth will be paid equally.

Even with all the incentives and the hefty payback, entries are down slightly this year, McMaster noted.

“We’ve been averaging 150 boats a tournament, which is down a little from last year, but we expected that with the economy like it is.”

The remaining schedule includes: July 16, Cherokee Lake (night tournament); Sept. 10, Cherokee Lake; Oct. 1, Douglas Lake; and the Classic Oct. 29-30, one day on Cherokee Lake and one day on Douglas Lake.

 

Tom’s Marine Team Trail 2011

Sat, Jul 16, 2011

Cherokee Lake

25 E Bridge Access

Call Richard McMaster 423-748-3240

www.tomstrail.50webs.com/2011schedule.html