Terri Talks

The new schedule is finally out for 2010, and I’m so excited. Two of the tournaments are going to be in Texas.  That’s especially great news in the current economy, since the people at ESPN/BASS who are in charge of our tournament trail tell me that the majority of women in the Academy Sports and Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Trail (our official team name) are from Texas.  Yes, you heard me, the majority of women fishing professionally are not just from the south, but from Texas itself.  I think that says a lot of good things about the women of Texas.

The schedule starts at Wheeler Lake, in Decatur Alabama in March 18-20.  Lake Wheeler is part of the Tennesse River system, like Lake Guntersville, and is second only to Guntersville in size in Alabama.  Second stop is Lufkin, Texas at Lake Sam Rayburn.  According to the people at BASS, Big Sam, as it is affectionately known here, is the site of more BASS tournaments than any other lake.  We will be fishing Lake Sam Rayburn April 22-24, the week following the Annual Big Bass Splash otherwise known as the McDonald’s or Sealy Tournament, so that should be interesting.  Hope they leave a few fish for us to catch! In June, we head up to Temple, Texas to Lake Belton on June 10-12.  Lake Belton is one of the few lakes in Texas to have any Smallmouth bass in it, so that should be an interesting tournament.  Lake Sam Rayburn is mostly largemouth bass, but Lake Belton has largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass, so the fishing could be very varied.  It is also the first time in ESPN/BASS history that they have had a tournament on that lake at all, so the Women’s Tour is paving the way to new ground.  The final stop of the regular season will be September 16-18 at West Monroe, Louisianna, where we will return to the Ouachita River for the second year in a row.  We will be fishing in the fall rather than the summer season that we fished this year.  After the regular season is over, we will return to Lake Sam Rayburn in Lufkin, Texas on October 15-17, for the Championship.  The woman who ends up in the Number One Position in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Points Race after the Championship will again be going to the Bassmaster Classic in February 2011.  As in years past, the points from the lowest tournament will be dropped before determining which women are in the top 20 to fish the women’s championship in October.

Rod and I are both excited about next years’ schedule and looking forward to getting on the road again.  We are anxious to visit friends we made last year on the tour and make new ones this year.  It is both of our favorite thing about the Bassmaster Women’s Tour.