"The Stage is Set for a Classic Showdown!"

Well ladies and gentlemen, the TNCBA Classic is just over one week away and we have one of the tightest points races in club history. As the anglers back their boats into the water next Saturday, the top three anglers will only be separated by two points and fourth thru eighth will only be separated by five points. With everyone fishing for individual weight and double points on the line, anything could happen.

Current Top 10:

  1. Mark Rice - 393 pts.

  2. Keith Dison - 393 pts.

  3. Steve Legg - 391 pts.

  4. Fred Rutherford - 377 pts.

  5. Mike Vandyke - 376 pts.

  6. Wiley Gobble - 375 pts.

  7. Lynn Feagins - 375 pts.

  8. Wes Meade - 371 pts.

  9. Keith Lester - 369 pts.

  10. Josh Olinger - 364 pts.

The Classic is different from all of the other TNCBA tournaments. Anglers will no longer be fishing for team weight. Anglers will try to accumulate the heaviest five fish they alone can catch, and not only will they be fishing for individual weight, but they will also be battling for double points. This means “zeroing” at this event could be disastrous. There will also be bonus points on the line for big fish, largemouth over 5 lbs., smallmouth over 4 lbs., and spotted bass over 3 lbs. The points battle is so tight that there are a long list of scenarios that could play out. As long as the top three anglers bring a bass to the scales, they will all but secure a spot in the 2019 TNCBA Top 6. The top three anglers will need to pay close attention to every detail during the tournament, as any oversight, a nick in the line, a dull hook, or one second of lost concentration could be the difference.

Fourth thru tenth have to focus on the tournament within the tournament. Fred, Mike, Wiley, and Lynn are trying to maintain the status quo more than anything, while anglers like Wes, Keith, and Josh need to finish in the top five. With the way that TNCBA anglers have been fishing this year, you can’t afford sit around hoping the angler in front of you will “zero”. It is now or never for these guys to solidify their place in the top six and qualify for the TNCBA All-Star event to be held in January 2020!

Good luck to everyone competing next week. As we get closer to the TNCBA Classic we will take a closer look at the 2019 season of each angler in the top 10 and break down the 2020 TNCBA Schedule that will be released next week. GOD Bless!

Current TNCBA Classic Qualifiers

As the year comes to a close, it is almost time to determine a TNCBA Angler of the Year at this year’s classic on Watauga Lake. We have had a great turnout for each one of our events this year…thank you to all who have fished with us! Below is a list of the TNCBA Anglers who have qualified to compete in this year’s TNCBA Classic:

(*) - Denotes anglers that will be eligible after competing in one more tournament.

  1. Mark Rice

  2. Steve Legg

  3. Keith Dison

  4. Mike Vandyke

  5. Fred Rutherford

  6. Wiley Gobble

  7. Wes Meade

  8. Lynn Feagins

  9. Keith Lester

  10. Evan Vandyke

  11. David Crockett

  12. Josh Olinger

  13. Wayne Winchester

  14. Noah Winchester

  15. Debbie Feagins

  16. Reg Edwards

  17. Shaun Renfro

  18. Cody Dison

  19. Cody Snyder

  20. Andy Hodges

  21. Joel Gonce

  22. Jeff Clark

  23. Glenda Perdue

  24. David Oiler *

  25. Chris Blevins *

  26. Mike Bishop *

  27. Allen Clark *

"A Close TNCBA Point Race"

We are only 10 days away from our regular season finale on South Holston Lake!

Boone proved to be a tough day for some of our top contenders in the Angler of the Year and the Team of the Year standings, but we also saw anglers like Mike and Evan Vandyke make sure in the points.

The TNCBA will be wrapping up their battle for 2019 TOY at Holston on November 9th. The top three teams are as follows:

1. Mark Rice / Steve Legg - 350 pts.

2. Cody Dison / Keith Dison - 344 pts.

3. Mike Vandye / Evan Vandyke - 335 pts.

While the father son duo of Mike and Evan Vandyke moved up to third after Boone, mathematically it is a two team race for TOY. It is a must win scenario for the team of Dison and Dison, but even with a win they would need the team of Mark Rice and Steve Legg to finish 8th or worse take the title for team of the year.

2019 Angler of the Year is a different story. After the regular season concludes, anglers will have to fish the double points paying TNCBA Classic to crown the 2019 TNCBA Angler of the Year. It is currently a three man race atop the standings with:

1. Mark Rice - 349 pts.

2. Steve Legg - 347 pts.

3. Keith Dison - 343 pts.

But, there is also a great battle to see who will round out the TNCBA Top 6:

4. Mike Vandyke - 335 pts.

5. Fred Rutherford - 332 pts.

6. Wiley Gobble - 330 pts.

7. Wes Meade - 329 pts.

8. Lynn Feagins - 328 pts.

9. Keith Lester - 326 pts.

10. Evan Vandyke - 319 pts.

With the TNCBA Class scoring individual weights, there are a lot of scenarios that could play out for the top six. We will take a closer look at those scenarios in the coming weeks leading up to the TNCBA Classic.

For a detailed look at the results from Boone and the current standings, please visit www.tncba.com