“We are eligible to send a lot more teams to the championship this year,” said tournament director Chris Lucas. Lucas said the increase was a result of Anglers Choice requiring all the anglers in the series to become a member of B.A.S.S.

The possibility of having an Anglers Choice team compete for the chance to fish the Bassmaster Classic also led to a format change to a new single division schedule with two end-of-year classics, Lucas noted.

“When we joined the B.A.S.S. Toyota Team Championship Series we were only recognized as one trail by them,” Lucas explained. “Basically, we had to have one points system, so we don’t call it the North Carolina Division and Virginia Division anymore. The guys who fish on Saturday and the guys who fish on Sunday, all the points go to the same standings. We use the points standings to see who goes to the B.A.S.S Team Championship.”

Mike McDonald and Jeff Poplin are at the top of the standings going into the Kerr double-header, followed closely by Brandon Gray, who fished all the way to the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell in the Team Championship this past year, and his partner Robert Perkins. Following on their heels is the team of Daniel and Douglas Eubank.

But the season is not over and teams are allowed to cull two tournaments if they fished all eight in the series, Lucas noted, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

“If a team fished four of the eight tournaments they can fish either of the classics, depending on what kind of boat they want to fish for and if they fished in six of the tournaments they can fish in both classics.” he said.

The two classics will be held in October, with the Ranger Classic on Kerr Oct. 3-4 and the Triton Classic on High Rock Lake Oct. 17-18.

With one Anglers Choice Marine dealership in Martinsville, Va., the schedule was set up with two tournaments in Virginia, which are held on Smith Mountain Lake, and two tournaments in the Carolinas where the dealerships are located (in Lexington and Spindale) one on High Rock and one on Lake Hickory. The other tournaments are held on the border, with two double-tournament weekends on Kerr Reservoir, Lucas said, so that an angler could make one trip, fish Saturday and Sunday and get two qualifiers in while saving money.

The season has gone very well, Lucas said, drawing more than 200 boats in the Kerr/Buggs Island tournaments and pre-registration for the two tournaments this weekend are up, with more than 90 already registered for Saturday and more than 80 for Sunday by early this week. The numbers at Smith Mountain Lake were down slightly because no classic was scheduled on the lake this year, but still very good, averaging 170 to 190 boats per tournament.

Lucas urged anglers planning to fish either or both tournaments at Kerr this weekend to pre-register because it makes it easier to plan for food and other factors, he said. However, late entries will still be taken at the ramp, he added.

As for the fishing on Kerr this weekend, Lucas said heavy rains early in the week could bring the water levels up and change the fishing some.

“I’ve talked to a couple of guys and what I am hearing most is a topwater early and then a drop-shot, but with that many guys fishing they will probably catch them all different ways. I am hearing it will take 16 to 18 pounds to win each day.”

 

Anglers Choice Invitational Team Trail

Sat, Jun 6, 2015

Kerr / Buggs Island Lake

Occoneechee State Park Ramp #1

Call Chris Lucas 276-358-0844

www.anglerschoicemarine.com