HENRY COUNTY (WSLS 10) - Since Tuesday, fishermen have been cruising around Philpott Lake, practicing for the District 4 Championship Fishers of Men tournament which starts Friday afternoon.
This is the first year Philpott Lake has played host to the tournament.
"We're expecting 90 fishermen and a lot of their families and 45 boats," said Henry Co. Parks and Rec Director Roger Adams.
Marty Nester is one of those 90 fishermen. He's from North Carolina and was on the lake Wednesday for a second day of practice.
"This is a really tough lake. It's clear. It's a small lake," Nester explained.
He said tournaments like this can be expensive for fishermen, meaning a big economic boost for the parks and rec department, which runs the marina, and for the county as a whole.
"If you practice all day, you're probably going to spend $100 on gas running all over the place and then, of course, whatever the area motels are and food and that sort of thing," Nester said. "It'd be easy to spend $150 to $250 a day."
Adams says the economic impact doesn't stop there though.
The tournament helps encourage the fishermen and their families to come back to Henry County in the future.
"This is a great opportunity to showcase both Philpott Marina, we're in our third season of operations, and also Philpott Lake and the gorgeous scenery here, beautiful shorelines, great fishing, and lots of amenities an attractions to do in the area."
Fishermen who finish in the top 20 percent of this weekend's tournament will go on to the national competition.