HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College bass fishing team competes in its first Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tournament this weekend on Smith Lake in Cullman, Ala.

The Red Hawks will be competing in a field that includes around 250 teams from across the country for the B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society) event, which takes place Thursday through Saturday.

Catawba Valley head coach Angela Mayo, who has experience fishing on Smith Lake, says the venue will offer her Red Hawk anglers many challenges.

"Smith Lake is a beautiful highland reservoir with depths up to 200 feet in some places," she said. "Although we don't have any local lakes that are this deep, the team is having a good practice, and they are starting to find some reliable patterns that I think will hold up for them."

The Red Hawks' first tournament of 2020 — an FLW (Fishing League Worldwide) tournament at Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga. — was marred by poor weather.

Mayo expects that trend to continue in Alabama, but has a positive outlook heading into the three-day tournament.

"Our battle with tough weather conditions continues," Mayo said. "Smith Lake is about 10 feet higher than full pool, but the water level seems to be holding steady so far. If the water level doesn't drop significantly over the next few days, I expect good things to happen during this tournament."

For more information on this weekend's tournament, visit m.bassmaster.com/college-bass-fishing