With Bass Bedding, Heavy Weigh-In Expected For Lay Lake Open

Anglers are lining up to fish the 18th annual Lay Lake Open, the largest amateur bass tournament in the Southeast with 500 boats, this weekend and a lot more are on a long waiting list in hopes somebody will cancel and they will get a slot to fish.

And, while it is an amateur tournament, there will be a lot of bass pros fishing it, too, said Blake Harlow, the tournament manager at Mark’s Outdoor Sports in Birmingham, Ala., which sponsors the tournament.

Harlow reeled off a list of well-known pros signed up to fish the tournament that includes five Bassmaster Classic Champions, three BASS Anglers of the Year and three Rookies of the Year. On the list are Skeet Reese, Marty Stone, Kevin Van Dam, Randy Howell, Boyd Duckett, Alton Jones, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, John Murray, Brent Chapman and Fred Roumbanis, along with others.

“People entering the tournament can check off the name of a pro they want to fish with and we draw a name out of each pro’s bucket. That person fishes with that pro 100 percent free,” said Harlow.

“Basically you will be fishing against the cream of the crop, plus the local guys who are pretty much local pros around here.”

But the chance to fish with a top pro this Saturday is not the only drawing card, Harlow said. There are 150 parent-child spots that Costa Del Mar and Daiwa Corporation pay for the parents to take their child fishing in the tournament.

“The tournament is geared towards the kids,” Harlow said. “That is our goal. If we could make it an all kids tournament, just a parent and child, that is what we want. We want parents to bring their kids fishing more than anything.”

The top 10 places in the tournament will win $1,000 and the top 10 big fish will bring $500 each. But the pot is sweetened to make it an even richer tournament. The first 7-pound largemouth weighed in will win a whopping $25,000 and if the tournament big fish breaks the Lay Lake Open record of 9.29 pounds, that boat also will win $25,000.

And, if the tournament winners are fishing from a Skeeter, Ranger or Basscat, they will win a fully-rigged 18-foot Skeeter, Ranger or Basscat from Airport Marine.

There is even a Skeeter bonus prize. If a participant test drives a new Skeeter within three days before the tournament, his name goes in a bucket to be drawn for a new Skeeter, so there is at least a one-in-500 chance of winning the boat.

Chances are excellent someone could break the big fish record. Harlow said the bass are on the bed so a lot of big fish are expected to be weighed in.

“It took 23-24 pounds to win a tournament down there this past weekend,” he noted.

Proceeds from the tournament are used to replenish bass in Lay Lake. Since 1992 more than 2 million Florida bass have been stocked in the lake.

Entry fee for the tournament is $125 per boat and entries are already being registered for 2010 and 2011. For details call Mark’s Outdoor Sports in Birmingham, (205) 822-2010 or toll-free 1-877-979-6275, or email: info@marksoutdoors.com.

Mark''s Outdoors Lay Lake Open

Lay Lake

Paradise Point

Sat. May 2, 2009

marksoutdoors.com.

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