Virginia Anglers to Open Season at Lake Gaston

ATHENS, Ala. – The Virginia Division 19 of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, will open its 2013 season at Lake Gaston on March 9, 2013.

The anglers will launch at Morningstar Marina, located at 1865 Eaton Ferry Road in Littleton, N.C. Anglers may begin fishing at safe light. Registration begins at 4 p.m. March 8, 2013, at the Comfort Inn South Hill, located at 250 Thompson Street in South Hill, Va.

Anglers fishing the Boater Division may weigh in up to five bass. Co-anglers may weigh in up to three bass. The competitors may fish anywhere in the 20,300-acre impoundment on the Virginia-North Carolina border.

With a dam on the North Carolina side of the lake, the hydroelectric reservoir stretches about 35 miles long and offers anglers more than 350 miles of shoreline. Lake Gaston ranks 83rd on the Bassmaster magazine list of the top 100 bass destinations in the nation. It contains good populations of largemouth and Kentucky spotted bass that feast upon abundant bluegill, threadfin shad, alewife, gizzard shad and herring. Largemouth bass average about two pounds, but the lake does produce bass in the five to six-pound range with some exceeding eight pounds. The lake record topped 14 pounds.

During the April 2011 BWS tournament on Lake Gaston, Cavin Young of Prince George, Va., won the Boater Division with a five-bass tournament limit weighing 13.60 pounds. He added a 4.17-pound kicker to seal the victory. Young caught his fish by slow-rolling a spinnerbait around points. Benjie Godbolt of Macon, N.C., won the tournament lunker battle with a 5.44-pounder.

In the Co-Angler Division during that tournament, Chris K. Fabrizio of Kernersville, N.C., won with a three-fish division daily limit going 6.98 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 4.73-pounder that won the division big bass title. Fabrizio caught his fish on a 1/8-ounce black shaky head fished slowly through about three to eight feet of water. The big one hit a spinnerbait early in the morning around some bridge riprap.

A reciprocal agreement between Virginia and North Carolina allows anglers to fish the lake with either state license. For Virginia license information, call 866-721-6911 or see www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses. For North Carolina license information, call 888-248-6834 or see www.ncwildlife.org/Licensing/HuntingFishingTrappingLicenses.aspx. To register for this tournament, see www.americanbassanglers.com/proddetail.php?prod=636.

At the end of the season, one BWS angler will win the opportunity to compete in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. For more information on this tournament, call Gary Conner, tournament manager, at 256-230-5627 or call ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.

About American Bass Anglers: The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series provides weekend anglers a professionally operated competitive tour with a path the world championship of bass fishing the Bassmaster Classic. American Bass Anglers commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

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