“I won’t say fishing will be tough, but we have had a lot of rain the past couple of days and the lake is up 6 to 8 inches. There is a lot of water moving through the lake,” said Shane Howington of Hokes Bluff, Ala. “But the last couple of weeks it’s been taking 20 pounds to win a tournament on Weiss and I don’t see that changing Saturday.”

Howington said fishing both shallow and deep will likely be productive Saturday.

“I think it will be a combination of fishing deep structure, 15 to 18 feet deep, and flipping grass or under boathouses, piers and docks,” said Howington, who just graduated from Mississippi State University where he was a member of the school’s collegiate fishing team the past three years.

“I am doing fair this year, not as good as in the past, but that is why it is called fishing,” said the co-angler who is ranked 31^st so far this season. Howington said he plans to fish the Weekend Series again, plus the Walmart BFL Series next year.

On the pro side, Damien Willis of Jacksonville, Ala., leads the points, but Chuck Hemm of Huntsville, Ala., and Jason Grape of Attalla, Ala., are right on his heels. Jimmy Mason of Rogersville, Ala., is 10 points back, but Mason, who has a long history of doing well in BWS tournaments, can’t be counted out.

“Willis does not have a safe lead,” said tournament manager Kristin Malott. “Any one of those guys could jump in front of him in this tournament.”

Malott said the Alabama North Division has been averaging 115-120 boats and she anticipates about the same entry this weekend.

“I expect the anglers to bring in a lot of good fish,” said Malott who also directs the Tennessee Central, Missouri and Mississippi divisions.

Bassmaster Weekend Series – Alabama North Division

Sat, Jul 13, 2013

Lake Weiss

Little River Marina

Kristin Malott, 256-771-3709

www.abaproam.com