Gatlinburg {Part 1- Cherokee Lake Fishing Tourney}

 

Last weekend we took a quick trip east.

Matt (Lance's brother) was fishing in the WalMart Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament.

After 2 good days of fishing, there was a pretty good shot at a win.

And the winner, he wins a $40k Ranger Bass Boat!

That's not something we wanted to miss.

 

So, we packed our bags Saturday morning and headed to the Weigh-In.

 

But, the thing about fishing, you don't know how anyone else is doing... 

 

There's a 5 fish limit each day.

Saturday he finished with 3 fish. 

 

We waited while all of the boats drove in and nervously expected a win.

At least, I did. 

 

He was next to last co-angler to weigh in.

Matts fish for Saturday put him in first place in the co-angler part of the tournament.

{Each boat has a 'boater' aka professional and a 'co-angler')

 

If the guy behind him weighs in at less than 22lbs 7 ounces for his 3 day total, Matt wins!

 

No such luck today.

The guy after him weighs in for his 3 day total at 22 lbs, 10 ounces.

3 ounces folks.  That's 15 quarters.

 

Here's the kicker, each fish you weigh in must be alive.

On Friday, a fish in Matts live well...well...wasn't alive.

They penalize you half of a pound for that.  That's 8 ounces.

Had that fish been alive, Matt would have won that Ranger Bass Boat.

 

However, going in to this tournament, Matt wanted to finish top 6 so he would qualify for the All American tournament next summer.

 

Finishing 2nd not only qualifies him for that, but it's an all expense paid trip for him!

 

 

This man here, Mike Black, he was the Boater Matt fished with on Saturday.

He WON in the Boater division.

What did he win?

He won a Chevy Silvarado and a Ranger Bass Boat.

Not too shabby for 3 days {actually more like a lifetime} of fishing!

 

He was such a kind man.  In his speech he mentioned the guys he had fished with over the last 3 days had a willingness to learn and listen, and that's what he enjoyed more than fishing, was teaching.  Such a nice guy!

 

This was a neat experience for me.  I'd never been a part of anything like this!

It was fun to do something different and learn a little more about this sport. 

 

We left the fishing tourney, and headed to the Great Smokey Mountains for the rest of the weekend.

We'll see if I can get my hiney in gear and get that post together soon!  ;)

I'm not making any promises.