by Dan O’Sullivan

March 23, 2019 – Jasper, Ala. – The one thing a tournament angler does not
want heading into a big event is change.  Changes in conditions can take a
sure thing fishing pattern, and in the matter of an afternoon can turn it
into a crap shoot.

That is the situation that Alabama Bass Trail Northern Division anglers
faced when they arrived for takeoff Saturday morning.  With the region being
pummeled by constant rain over the past several weeks, the Tennessee River
had been running strong with high volume, dirty water.  Over the past week,
the current flows slowed by more than half, and the system started to clear.

In those conditions, savvy anglers make adjustments, and when the moves are
right, they can reconnect with their prey.  The team of Damien Willis and
Tyler Kiker did precisely that on Saturday. Their adjustments resulted in a
winning, mixed bag stringer of smallmouth and largemouth that weighed 22.70
pounds to claim victory, and the $10,000 winning purse at the ABT Wheeler
Lake event.

The pair said they found their fish a week prior, and had to adjust to
clearing water.  “We found a ditch in practice that we caught a couple
really good ones in on Sunday; we caught them on crankbaits,” they reported.
“We got there today, and the water had cleared, so we switched to finesse
swimbaits to catch our fish early, then filled in a couple through the
afternoon on the crankbaits; we had a great day.”

The lures they chose were a shad colored Keitech 2.8 Swing Impact swimbait
thrown on a jighead, and washed with the current, and they filled in a few
keepers on a “crawdad colored Rapala DT10 crankbait.

They were understandably please with the outcome.  “It’s been a couple of
years since we fish ABT, and to win one of these is a great accomplishment,”
they said.  “We couldn’t be happier, or prouder with how this day turned
out.”

The second place team of Blake Hall and Triston Crowder led for most of the
weigh-in, before getting edged out by the winners.  Their 21.98-pound limit
of smallmouth and spotted bass was good enough for the runner-up spot, and
the $5,000 purse.  They reported catching their fish on upriver current
breaks with “OxyContin Scottsboro Tackle Company swimbaits on 1/2-ounce
jigheads.

Their response to the outcome was somewhat muted.  “It’s hard to put
together a strong day in tough conditions and get beaten by less than a
pound,” they said.  “We did everything we could today, and even went looking
for a kicker largemouth in the afternoon; it just didn’t happen for us.
It’s a good day, but a tough outcome, we’ll just have to move forward.”

The team of Lance Whitaker and Jeremy Briscoe finished the day in third
place; taking home $4,000 with 21.98 pounds.  Their creel was anchored by a
6.44-pound smallmouth bass that earned the $500 Mountain Dew Big Bass bonus
as the largest fish of the tournament.

The Top 10 Standings are below, for complete standings, visit:
https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/wl-results/

Place

Team

Weight

Big Fish

Winnings

1

Damien Willis / Tyler Kiker

22.70

5.34

$10,000

2

Blake Hall / Triston Crowder

21.98

5.70

$5,000

3

Lance Whitaker / Jeremy Briscoe

21.18

6.44

$4,000

4

Joel Green / Jody Evans

19.83

5.71

$3,000

5

Logan Johnson / Jeremy Christian

18.21

5.65

$2,000

6

David Kyle / Scott Callahan

17.78

5.14

$1,500

7

Craig Daniel / Jackie Flack

17.35

$1,100

8

Sam Long / Jason Atkins

17.01

4.61

$1,100

9

Michael Lane / Jason Jones

16.60

$1,100

10

Michael Hood / Randy Wiggins

15.87

5.46

$1,100