Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.

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When the Bass Anglers Sportsmans Society brought its top-tier Elite Series to Smith Mountain Lake for the first time, the big winners were fishing fans who turned out in droves to see their fishing heroes.

The second coming of the Blue Ridge Brawl should be more satisfying for the anglers.

Fishing conditions are expected to be excellent for the tournament, which starts today and runs through Sunday at the 20,000-acre reservoir.

"This place is incredible," Californian Ish Monroe said Tuesday afternoon as he scouted a fishy-looking cove on the lake's Roanoke River arm. "It's going to fish a lot better than it did the last time we were here."

That was in early June of 2007.

Not only were the lake's bass not especially eager to bite that weekend, but the fishermen got a taste of the high-level recreational boat traffic that has earned Smith Mountain Lake a reputation as the busiest body of water in the state.

Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., won that first Blue Ridge Brawl with a four-day catch totaling 57 pounds, 3 ounces.

The different timing of the tournaments isn't purely coincidental, said Scott Martin, who, as director of Franklin County's commerce and leisure services, has been involved in efforts to lure the Elite Series to the region.

"For the first tournament, we wanted crowds to demonstrate the region's support for bass fishing," said Martin, who added that the first Blue Ridge Brawl drew an estimated 15,000 fans over four days. "Then we wanted to have a springtime tournament to demonstrate the quality of the fishing."

For co-hosts Franklin and Bedford counties, who split a $40,000 host fee and also invest heavily in supporting the tournament, quality fishing could produce a hefty payout.

Short-term revenue directly related to the tournament comes from visiting anglers and fans, but the bigger potential payout could come over time.

ESPN2 airs hour-long highlight shows from each of the sites on the eight-event Elite Series. Hosts hope that footage of pro anglers toting heavy bags of fat bass to the weigh-in scales could tempt weekend fishermen to travel to the lakes.

"For us, it's a no-brainer," Martin said of the counties' financial and manpower commitment to the event.

And it could really turn out that way if anglers' predictions about the fishing come to fruition.

"I'd rate this as one of the top 10 lakes in the country, as many big bass as I've seen," said Monroe, a two-time BASS winner. "This place has so many 5-pounders, it's ridiculous."

A three-day official practice period for the 100 anglers got under way on Monday.

As he cruised around on Tuesday, Monroe didn't even bother picking up a fishing rod. Instead, he maneuvered his boat along the shoreline, looking for fish.

With the lake's water temperature recently hitting 60 degrees, many bass are preparing to spawn and are moving into the shallows where they can be relatively easy to spot, particularly in the clear water in lake's lower end.

Tour rookie Chad Griffin of Cresson, Texas, also spent some time Tuesday just looking. Finding bass was easy, Griffin said, but he was more concerned about finding good fish.

"There's a 4-pounder right in the back of this cove," he said as he guided his boat around a creek arm not far from Halesford Bridge.

Rather than focusing on specific single fish, Griffin said he is trying to establish what type of areas are attracting the larger bass.

Like Monroe, he was impressed with what he's finding.

"I think it will take 65 to 70 pounds to win," he said. "I wouldn't be shocked if someone brought in a 30-pound bag on the first day."

While that might seem unrealistic, consider that two amateur anglers recently won a weekend team tournament with a five-bass catch weighing more than 25 pounds.

Monroe said he couldn't wait to start fishing.

"It's going to be a great, fun tournament," he said. "It's fun when you can come to a place and, even if you don't win, you still can catch a lot of nice fish."