Professional kayak angler and Atlanta native Drew Gregory is bringing his 2011 River Bassin Tournament Trail to Atlanta on Saturday.
Bass Pro Shops will host the event, which will feature kayak anglers from across the country.
Last year's trail included only five cities, but the trail has more than doubled in size this year adding seven more stops from as far north as Wisconsin, as west as Texas, and as south as Georgia along the way.
The tournament tries to increase positive awareness of the eco-friendly sport of kayak fishing. By using only paddle-powered boats, anglers will fish surrounding rivers and take a photo of their catch on a standard measuring board.
Upon taking the photo, they release the fish back into the water and return to the host location to fill out their scorecard, turn in their camera's memory card, and attend the results show later that evening.
Anglers compete in a number of categories including individual angler, team, youth, and top female.
More than $60,000 in prizes are given along the trail.
Gregory, founder of the trail, said he looks forward to coming home and fishing Atlanta and its surrounding areas.
"Atlanta is where I grew up, and I cut my teeth in the rivers and creeks in the surrounding area, so I am always interested to see how this particular stop is won," Gregory said.
"My experience in the Atlanta area has shown you can catch better numbers of fish north of the city, in the cooler water coming off the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. However, the bigger fish are south, but they are much harder to catch this time of year. Even last year's finale in Macon proved that when only one angler's catch topped 50 inches. There's no doubt going south of town is certainly a gamble to get that big bite, but if an angler doesn't get it, they may be beaten by three solid 17-19 inch spotted bass north of town."
The entry deadline is Friday, with a mandatory pre-tournament meeting at 7 p.m. Friday at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville. Tournament check-in time is 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the same location. Registration fees range from $40-60 per person.
For more information on the tournament trail visit www.
riverbassintrail.com.