Elite Series anglers slowly fill the canal where they will launch each day of the Southern Challenge presented by Advance Auto Parts on Wheeler Lake.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Kurt Dove prepares for Day One of competition on Wheeler Lake.
Photo: Larry Towell
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David Wolak and Jason Quinn converse early on Day One of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Marty Stone makes lure selections as the clock ticks closer to take-off time.
Photo: Larry Towell
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The ramp begins to get active as more of the pros arrive.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Jason Williamson waits his turn at the ramp with several other Bassmaster Elite Series pros.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Guy Eaker talks with other anglers as they await the national anthem and the beginning of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Skeet Reese shares a laugh with ESPN videographers and producers on the dock prior to the Day One launch.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Ray Sedgwick makes final preparations just prior to the playing of the natonal anthem.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Derek Remitz and Russ Lane talk strategy prior to the launch.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Michael Iaconelli speaks with fans on the dock prior to launching.
Photo: Larry Towell
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The Day One line-up begins to take shape along the dock where BASS inspections take place.
Photo: Larry Towell
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James Overstreet, an ESPN photographer, perches himself in the perfect position to capture the Day One launch of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Boats slowly make their way out on to Wheeler Lake as the Southern Challenge gets under way.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Jason Quinn idles through inspection and toward the take-off area at the end of the canal.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Kevin VanDam, one of the best-known bass fisherman in the world, takes his place in the line up for launch.
Photo: Larry Towell
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It looks as if Skeet Reese is preparing for a long run as he is wearing his custom protective mask.
Photo: Larry Towell
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Scott Rook pulls to the dock to pick up his co-angler before launch time.
Photo: James Overstreet
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James Kennedy takes advantage of the coffee and biscuits served by Kayla Riggs of the Decatur Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Skeet Reese, the reigning Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, was a popular interview before the Day One launch of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: James Overstreet
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The pace and preparation for Day One begins to reach its peak moments before launch time.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Glenn Delong has admitted his season has been sub-par so far, but he hopes to move up in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings during the second half of the Elite Series.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Wheeler Lake is a Tennessee Valley Authority lake, and Alabama's second largest reservoir, stretching 60 miles from Guntersville to Wheeler Dam near Rogersville.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Elite Series pros and their co-anglers stand for the national anthem before launch time.
Photo: James Overstreet
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David Sherrer was the first boat out and led the full field of contenders from the launch area to begin Day One.
Photo: James Overstreet
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An early flight of boats lines up behind Denny Brauer and co-angler Jimmy Sparks.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Anglers begin to take their hole-shots and speed to their first fishing spots on Day One of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: James Overstreet
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With hot, humid temperatures forcasted in the 90s, Mike McClelland begins to hydrate early with a cold glass of iced tea.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Shaw Grigsby waves to the crowd as he idles out of Ingalls Harbor to begin Day One of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Kataro Kiriyama moved from Japan a few years ago and became a permanent resident of Alabama.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Dave Wolak leads a late flight of boats from the take-off area on Day One.
Photo: James Overstreet
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While idling past the livewell check, BASS officials throw a check-in pill to Alabama's Gerald Swindle.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Chris Lane pushes away from the launch dock to begin Day One of the Southern Challenge
Photo: James Overstreet
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Kevin VanDam has a strong history on Alabama fisheries and has moved into fourth in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
Photo: James Overstreet
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With an intimate local knowledge of Wheeler Lake, Timmy Horton was a pick of many of the pundits and fellow Elite Series anglers to have a strong finish in the Southern Challenge.
Photo: James Overstreet
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The masked man known as Skeet Reese idles from the livewell check early on Day One.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Bobby Lane has flexed his muscle as an Elite Series rookie and continues to have a stranglehold on the 2008 Advance Auto Parts Rookie of the Year standings.
Photo: James Overstreet
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ESPNOutdoors.com writer Don Barone continues his tour of the south, while observing the Day One launch of the Southern Challenge.
Photo: James Overstreet
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