by Dan O’Sullivan

May 5, 2018 – Wetumpka, Ala. – When the Southern Division of the Alabama Bass Trail launched into the waters of Lake Jordan for its fourth stop of the season, the discussion of boat numbers being critical, bed fish and shad spawn was rampant.  The compactness of the lake meant that hot spots and waypoints for bedding areas might mimic parking lots more so than a fishing tournament.

Because of the crowded conditions, there was no real way to be able to accurately assess what it would take to win the day.  With Lake Jordan, there is the varied chance that a bag of spotted or largemouth bass eclipsing 20 pounds could win, or, a solid mixed bag would take the win.

What ended up happening was that the team of Kevin Phillips and Robert Medas found a quality bite early and enough bedding largemouth to sack an 18.62-pound limit to take home their first Alabama Bass Trail victory, the $10,000 first prize and clinch their trip to the ABT Championship in October.  They also earned the $500 Mountain Dew Big Bass Bonus with their 5.13-pound largemouth.

The pair said they had 10 bedded fish marked after practice, and were able to get one key bite early to seal the deal.  “We caught our big fish in the morning on a frog and then caught six other bed fish throughout the day,” they reported.  “Our waypoints covered much of the main lake, and it took most of the day to get our limit.  We never thought that 18.62 would be enough to win.  We’ve had better days and gotten edged out, and to be standing here now is an amazing feeling.

The reported catching the one fish on a white SPRO Popping Frog and the bed fish coming on a 1/4-ounce brown Big Money Bait Company jig with a black Zoom Z Hog as a trailer.

Chris Rutland is a familiar name atop the Alabama Bass Trail standings, usually with Coby Carden, his typical team partner.  However, with Carden expecting to have having back surgery, the pair named longtime friend Mike Keel as their alternate for the season.  That pairing resulted in a 17.56-pound mixed bag limit, good for a second place finish and a check for $5,000, as well as the $500 bonus for using Garmin electronics.

The pair said that their strategy revolved around the grass and the shad spawn.  “We all love fishing for postspawn fish around the shad spawn with homemade swim jig and frog,” they said.  “We spent the morning doing that and caught two of our better fish, then turned to hard spots with a crankbait and deep jig with a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog as a trailer.”

The team of Evan Robbins and Justin Coker finished the day in third place with 17.08 pounds, which earned them a pay day of $4,000. The rest of the Top 10 Standings are below, for complete standings visit: http://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/lj-results/

Place	Anglers	Weight	Big Fish	Winnings
1	Kevin Phillips / Robert Medas	18.62	5.13	$10,000
2	Chris Rutland /  Mike Keel	17.56	4.23	$5,000
3	Evan Robbins / Justin Coker	17.08	5.10	$4,000
4	Martin (Rocky) Lyons / Daniel McQueen	17.00		$3,000
5	Jeff Morgan / Tim Vanegmond	16.66	4.74	$2,000
6	John Pollard / Dallas Weldon	16.42		$1,500
7	Jimmy Miller / Chris Miller	16.39		$1,100
8	Daryl Crenshaw / Barry Chaffin	16.27		$1,100
9	Keith Kirkley / Jeff Kirkley	16.26		$1,100
10	Chris Cook / Lawson Cook	16.17		$1,100

Full Results

For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.