Pro bass anglers take to SML for ESPN-televised tournament

HUDDLESTON — Smith Mountain Lake is gaining familiarity for 99 professional anglers who early Thursday morning launched into the waters for the first leg of “The Blue Ridge Brawl”— a four-day fishing tournament with a grand prize of $100,000.

This is the second time in less than two years the ESPN Bassmaster Elite Series has returned to the lake — another tournament is planned for August 2010, when the Angler of the Year will be crowned. 

The televised event is a tourism draw that nets national exposure for Bedford and Franklin counties. Add in the tax revenue from meals and lodging, which officials said was more than $1 million for the June 2007 tournament, and the benefits are extensive.

Anglers said it was great to be back in front of a crowd of several hundred spectators who flocked the weigh-in stage near the water at the Parkway Marina on the Bedford County side of the lake Thursday.

“This is just a picture perfect lake,” said Terry Scroggins, an angler who was the runner-up in the 2007 tournament. “Good scenery, great people to be around. It’s just clean, clear water full of fish.”

Scroggins, who finished the day in 33rd place, said the anglers are top-notch and know how to adapt to lakes quickly. That could lead to larger catches, he said.

“The second time around I think you’ll see bigger weights just due to the fact that everybody knows the lake better when they didn’t the first time they came.”

Scott Martin, Franklin County’s director of commerce and leisure services, said there was strategy involved on the counties’ part in hosting an April event. The fishing should be better with more moderatetemperatures than before, he said.

“We want to see big fish come across the stage,” Martin said.

Several anglers spoke during Thursday’s weigh-ins of the lake’s beauty and their fishing methods, which include “sight fishing” in shallow areas. Sight fishing is going to be a “big player” in this tournament, Scroggins said.

Kevin VanDam, the 2008 Angler of the Year, said he expects the prospects of landing bigfish to improve as the tournament continues over the next three days.

The number of anglers will drop to 50 by Saturday and to 12 by Sunday as the competition tightens.

James Clayton, manager of the Parkway Marina, said the event puts the lake on the national map in drawing anglers from everywhere.

“We host a lot of regional events for anglers and that’s growing in popularity,” Clayton said. “This (tournament) is really the cream of the crop.”

Any event that can generate local tax revenues is a welcome sight for county officials who this year struggled to balance budgets in such a tough economic climate.

Clayton said the tournament is also arriving at a time of year that is normally slow for the marina.

“It’s an opportunity you can’t turn down,” he said. “To do this in the spring or fall is a no-brainer.”