Early morning at the Rock Piles - Anchorage 
Indians along the Tennessee River (We are getting far from the beaten track)At 7:30 a.m. we pulled up anchor amid fog which hovered low over the water. If this were the Atlantic Ocean, this would have been called "sea smoke." This is a phenomenon caused by the warm temperatures of the water (80 degrees) and the cold air temperatures (50 degrees).
Within a half hour the visibility cleared, and we were surprised to see a considerable amount of bass boats out on the water, considering that this was a week-day. The current continued against us at 1-2 mph on our 26 mile trip to Florence Harbor Marina where we pulled in at 11:30 a.m.
The dock-mistress was very friendly and informative and she even took a picture of us standing near our boat's transom so that our boat name and home port could be displayed in her marina newsletter.
We found out also that the reason so many bass boats were out on the river was that Florence was hosting a major American Bass Anglers fishing tournament starting tomorrow and lasting three days. Many boats were expected to participate and they would be vying for the 1st prize of a new boat with motor and trailer and $50,000 with a total of $375,000.00 in prize money. We also learned that our marina was going to be "Ground Zero" tomorrow morning, because it would be the launching site starting at 3:30 a.m. for all the participating boats before their anticipated start at 6:30 a.m. This would certainly make for an interesting morning!
Al and Gayle were looking forward to having old boating friends meet them this evening for cocktails and dinner. They were kind enough to invite us to also join them for the festivities! Their friends, Jim and Sue, who own "Eagle I" from Mentor, Ohio brought along Joe and Joyce (whom we had seen briefly at Grand Harbor) aboard "Takitez II" from Goderich, Ontario. All of us had either completed or were in the process of doing "The Loop".
After cocktails and munchies aboard "Falkor" we went to "Ricatoni's" Italian restaurant to share a great meal and a fun evening! Upon our return, we also phoned Pat's brother, Father Tony (an avid bass fisherman), to tell him about the fishing tournament we had stumbled upon.
Within a half hour the visibility cleared, and we were surprised to see a considerable amount of bass boats out on the water, considering that this was a week-day. The current continued against us at 1-2 mph on our 26 mile trip to Florence Harbor Marina where we pulled in at 11:30 a.m.
The dock-mistress was very friendly and informative and she even took a picture of us standing near our boat's transom so that our boat name and home port could be displayed in her marina newsletter.
We found out also that the reason so many bass boats were out on the river was that Florence was hosting a major American Bass Anglers fishing tournament starting tomorrow and lasting three days. Many boats were expected to participate and they would be vying for the 1st prize of a new boat with motor and trailer and $50,000 with a total of $375,000.00 in prize money. We also learned that our marina was going to be "Ground Zero" tomorrow morning, because it would be the launching site starting at 3:30 a.m. for all the participating boats before their anticipated start at 6:30 a.m. This would certainly make for an interesting morning!
Al and Gayle were looking forward to having old boating friends meet them this evening for cocktails and dinner. They were kind enough to invite us to also join them for the festivities! Their friends, Jim and Sue, who own "Eagle I" from Mentor, Ohio brought along Joe and Joyce (whom we had seen briefly at Grand Harbor) aboard "Takitez II" from Goderich, Ontario. All of us had either completed or were in the process of doing "The Loop".
After cocktails and munchies aboard "Falkor" we went to "Ricatoni's" Italian restaurant to share a great meal and a fun evening! Upon our return, we also phoned Pat's brother, Father Tony (an avid bass fisherman), to tell him about the fishing tournament we had stumbled upon.
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