TOURNAMENT SERIES

NEWS

2013 ABT Tournament Series South Division Preview

December 20, 2013
ABT Tournament Series News

Ralph Moseley says anglers who have not registered for the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series South Division are missing the boat.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMoseley, of  Crestview, Fla., calls the five-tournament trail as one of the best things to ever come down the pike for weekend tournament anglers.

The division level events offer S10,000  guaranteed for the first place team. The series championship, features a $40,000 Phoenix boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury outboard and other prizes for the first place team.

In addition, the series offers an opportunity for anglers to advance to Bassmasters Team Championship and possibly earn a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

“It’s an awesome tournament trail,” Moseley said. “To have $10,000 guaranteed for first place in every tournament and a chance to fish your way to the Bassmaster Classic for only a $250 entry fee is unbelievable. As soon as I heard about the trail and the lakes and rivers it was going to, I knew I was going to be register for all the tournaments.”

Moseley is a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, where he is an aircraft mechanic.

Mosley will compete in the South Division of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series, which kicks off March 1 at Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.

The delta region is teaming with lunker largemouth and spotted bass. The tournament is being staged out of Live Oak Landing.

The next stop is March 15 at one of America’s most legendary bass reservoirs, Lake Eufaula. The tournament will be based at Lake Point State Park.

Both the largemouth and spotted bass in Lake Eufaula reach lunker size. Moseley expects plenty of big bass to be caught in the tournament.

“Eufaula is just a awesome lake. It turns out some huge fish,” he said.

The South Division then moves to Lake Jordan for an April 19 tournament out of Bonners Landing. The Coosa River reservoir is home to huge spotted bass and lunker largemouths.

On May 10, the South Division makes a stop on the Alabama River for a tournament at Roland Cooper State Park in Camden. Moseley expects plenty of big bags of spots and largemouth will be weighed in there.

The South Division wraps up June 7 with a tournament on Lay Lake, another Coosa River impoundment. The tournament will be staged at Paradise Point in Columbiana.

Lay Lake is also home of big Coosa River strain spotted bass and huge largemouth.

“It’s a great tournament trail,” Moseley said. “At every place we go to, we will have the opportunity to bust a really, really big bag.”

In addition to getting to fish at some of the best lakes and rivers in Alabama, Moseley likes the new tournament series because of the personal service the anglers receive.

“There’s a lot of trails where if you call, you get an automated operator that keeps bouncing you around without ever allowing you to talk to a real person. Then when you leave a message, you may or may not get a call back.” Moseley said. “When I call the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series, I get to talk directly to its director. If Kay (Donaldson) is not in when I call, she always calls me back. This is going to be a tournament series where the anglers will come first.”

The tournaments are open to anglers from all states.

“If you are looking to a great tournament trail, this is it, no matter where you live,” Moseley said. “The fish are not going to know you are not from Alabama.”

The Top 50 teams for both the North and South Divisions will advance to the series championship Oct. 10-11 at Smith Lake in Jasper.

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