The winner of the Alabama Bass Trail South Division tournament on Jordan Lake Saturday probably will be the angler who finds some obscure thing that nobody else is looking for, according to a veteran Jordan Lake angler.

“Fishing on the lake is like nothing I’ve seen in 20 years,” said Scott Luster who lives near the lake and fishes both the South and North Divisions of the new Alabama Bass Trail.

“Fishing is going to be tough,” Luster predicted. “We just had another inch of rain, the water is up and muddy – and it is rolling. The 30-degree temperature we had last night is going to make it tough, too.”

Adding to the problem is the fact that the lake is running about three weeks behind a normal spring schedule so the shad spawn which is usually prevalent this time of year has not even begun yet, he said. All of that means whoever makes the right adjustment likely will be the eventual winner Saturday, he said.

“The winning bag probably will be a mixed bag of largemouths and spotted bass. Two largemouths and three spots will probably win it,” he said.

Sight fishing is out because the water is so muddy, he said.

“You won’t be able to see any beds, so it probably will be won flipping by the person who hits the right grass bed at the right time, when the fish are feeding. Or, it could be somebody who goes upriver and finds a rockpile where the fish are schooled up and hiding behind it.”

Because the lake is in such a flux, Luster said he is not even going to pre-fish until Friday – and he may spend most of his time crappie fishing then and check out the bass in the process.

“I’ve got over 100 brushpiles in the lake, so I am going to go fish my brushpiles,” he said.

Kay Donaldson tournament director for the Alabama Bass Trail, said the series has been “wildly successful” at the halfway point of its inaugural season, with the North Division running a full field of 200 boats at each tournament and the South Division averaging 160 boats. The North Division has already fished three of the five qualifying tournaments and Saturday’s tournament on Jordan Lake will be the third of the series for the South Division.

The Top 50 teams in the points in each division (North and South) qualify automatically for the 2014 ABT Team Championship Oct. 10-11 on Lewis Smith Lake. The top 25 student boats overall will also be in the final event. To be eligible for the championship, teams must enter all five qualifying events in their respective division.

“We are going to release our 2015 schedule the first week of May, with open registration in August,” Donaldson said. “Right now we are averaging a $350,000 to $400,000 economic impact in the communities where our tournaments are held and it will be even more next year with an expanded field in the South Division.”

Donaldson said the 2015 enrollment is being publicized on the Alabama Bass Trail website and on Facebook.com.

Registration for the Alabama Bass Trail is available online at www.alabamabasstrail.org up to the Wednesday preceding each tournament. The entry fee per tournament is $250 per team.

The schedule includes: North Division – Feb. 1, Lake Guntersville; March 22, Pickwick Lake; April 5, Neely Henry Lake; May 31, Wheeler Lake; June 21, Logan Martin Lake. South Division – March 1, Mobile-Tensaw River Delta; March 15, Lake Eufaula; April 19, Lake Jordan; May 10, Alabama River (Millers Ferry); June 7, Lay Lake.

Each tournament has a guaranteed first prize of $10,000, plus $23,000 to the top 20 places and $500 to big fish. There are also numerous bonus packages available to winning and placing anglers.

The grand prize for the no-entry fee championship is a fully-rigged Phoenix 619 Pro Bass Boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury Outboard, valued at $40,000. Adding to that excitement level is an opportunity to advance to the Bassmasters Team Championship and possibly earn a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

“We are looking at an estimated $420,000 total in prizes for the series,” Program Director Kay Donaldson said. “We think the anglers are going to really enjoy it because they will have the opportunity to advance to our championship and from there the opportunity to go to the BASS Team Championship.”

 

Alabama Bass Trail – South Division

Sat, Apr 19, 2014

Jordan Lake – AL

Bonner’s Landing

Call Kay Donaldson 855-934-7425

www.alabamabasstrail.org