(Gadsden, AL) – The final regular season bass fishing tournament of the 2012 Lady Bass Anglers Association (LBAA) is straight ahead this week at Alabama’s Lake Neely Henry in Gadsden, Alabama. The push is on for both pro’s and co’s alike to get into the top 12 in the LBAA Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the 2012 Lady Bass Classic in October on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville.
LBAA anglers will compete this Thursday and Friday, September 6 and 7 from `safe light’ until 3 PM CDT in what is a do or die tournament for many. As is the case with other year long sports getting into the season ending championship event is a must accomplish situation and can mean keeping sponsors and/or gaining or loosing sponsorships. Also gaining a championship berth can propel an angler into the 2013 season with a huge boost of confidence.
In the pro division AOY points race Pelham, Alabama’s Kim Bain-Moore holds a slim 15-point lead over Bainbridge, Georgia’s Pam Martin-Wells. Bain-Moore has 885 and Martin-Wells 770. Last year’s pro division Rookie of the Year Pam Ridgle (Murchison, TX) is in third with 850-points. Fourth is Foristell, Missouri’s Lynda Gessner at 823 and Gessner is followed in fifth by Angier, North Carolina’s Monica Altman with 789, and in sixth is Waxahachie, Texas resident Patti Campbell at 786.
In positions six through 12 on the pro side are Simpsonville, South Carolina’s Martha Goodfellow 783, 8) Debbie Warner/Murray, Kentucky 770, 9) Emily Shaffer/Mt. Juliet, Tennessee 770, 10) Jenny Nevans/Dayton, Tennessee 735, 11) Robbie Hartline/Foristell, Missouri 714 and 12) Cheryl Bowden/Plano, Texas 708.
Just outside the `top twelve cutline’ are Secret York/Benton, Kentucky only 12 points behind Bowden in 13th. Hermitage, Tennessee pro Teri Cindric sits in 14th with 694 points and Greenville, Texas’ Judith Hart has 650 points and sits in 15th.
In the Co-angler division Ashdown, Arkansas resident Vicki Henderson sits on top with 890-points. Henderson holds the slimmest of leads – five points over Alpine, Alabama’s Kim Giddens who currently has 885-points. Sitting in third is Mt. Vernon, Indiana’s Diana Uebelhack at 821. Uebelhack is followed in fourth by Snohomish, Washington’s Bonnie Ward at796, and fifth place Diane Smith/Fayetteville, Georgia with 793, and sixth is Denise Sustaita/Etoile, Texas at 757.
Currently in positions seven through 12 on the Co-angler side in the LBAA are: 7) Brenda Reeves/Weatherford, Texas 747, 8) Cassie Hall/Alabaster, Alabama 715, 9) Judy Skibinski/Plano, Texas, 10) Marsha Reifsteck/Woodville, Wisconsin 589, 11) Renee Key-Johnston/Fannett, Texas 585 and 12) Brandi Frasier/Hanson, Kentucky 575. Sitting in positions 13 through 16 are Sharon Lawson/Red Bank, Tennessee in 13th 568, Jodi Galloway/Garland, Texas is in 14th at 543, Kim Martin/Clayton, Indiana is 15th at 521, and Dallas, Texas resident Charlotte Frazier is 16th with 518-points.
Lake Neely Henry is one of six Alabama Power Company reservoir’s on the Coosa River and has 11,200 acres and 339 miles of shoreline. The Neely Henry weather watch has the remnants of Isaac leaving the area with clearing skies and temp’s in the low 90’s on competition days.
Pro anglers will test their angling skills as they attempt to coax five legal largemouth or spotted bass from Neely Henry’s waters. Co-anglers will be working to bring in three legal bass to the LBAA scales.
On Saturday, September 8 the LBAA will sponsor the LBAA Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Alabama Charity Tournament. This is a team tournament that is open to anyone. Entry fee is $100/team with a $1000 first place prize and an additional cash bonus for the highest finishing team with a woman angler and the highest finisher with a child angler. Proceeds from the charity tournament and an accompanying raffle will be presented at the conclusion of the event which will run from `safe light’ until 3PM CDT. All three days of competition will launch from the Coosa Landing at 200 Lakefront St, Gadsden, AL 35901
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Alabama carries on a commitment to provide the best services to the youth of the community of Gadsden and surrounding areas. Their rich tradition of serving the youth and the families of the Gadsden area has been alive for 54 years. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Alabama are located at 402 South 3rd Street in Gadsden, Alabama 35901. They can be reached by phone at 1-256-546-KIDS (5437) and on the World Wide Web at http://www.bgcnortheastalabama.org/index.asp
The City of Gadsden is hosting the LBAA event on Lake Neely Henry. Offices for the City of Gadsden are located at 90 Broad Street in Gadsden, Alabama 35901. City offices can be reached by calling 1-256-549-4500. The city also is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.cityofgadsden.com/
Host lodging for the 2012 LBAA Lake Neely Henry event is being provided by the Gadsden Inn and Suites which is located at 200 North Albert Rains Boulevard in Gadsden, Alabama 35901. Their phone numbers are 1-800-637-5678 and 1-256-543-7240. The Gadsden Inn and Suites also have a presence on the World Wide Web at http://gadsdeninnandsuites.com/
