Chris Dill of Hueytown, Ala., says a colder, wetter winter means fishing on Lake Martin is going be a little different this Saturday from a year ago when he weighed in a five-bass limit at 18.21 pounds to win the 2013 Weekend Bass Series Alabama South Division 2 season opener.

“I think it’s going to be a little tougher than last year, but the largemouth bite should be good. They should be moving up. If we get a couple of days of warm weather, it would be even better,” said Dill.

“It should be good for spots, too, depending on the water temperature and water color. The largemouths bite better when the water is stained. When the water gets muddy it tends to turn the spots off, but turn the largemouths on.”

Because of his job Dill will not get to practice for the opener on Lake Martin, but that’s fine with him. He did not get to practice prior to winning last February either.

“I didn’t practice last year and I think that helped me,” he said. “I know where I’m going and I know what I am going to do.”

That means he is going to head for the upper part of the lake Saturday and look for some stained water between Elkahatchie Creek and the upper end of the lake.

“I am going after them with a crankbait and a spinnerbait, and flipping in the trees. If the water is clear enough I will throw a jerkbait some and if it’s warm enough, say close to 50 degrees, I’ll throw a Rat-L-Trap,” he said. “They really like a Rat-L-trap up there this time of year if the water temperature gets in the 50-degree range. If not, I’ll throw a ShadRap, and if it gets above 50s degrees and not real stained, I’ll throw a jerkbait a lot and a flat-sided crankbait.”

If the water is really muddy, he said, he will throw a spinnerbait and flip around trees and logjams, and throw the crankbait around rocky points close to spawning areas.

Dill said he will fish the pockets for the largemouths and if the water is running because of all the rain, he will fish along the main points for spotted bass.

“I’ll throw a crankbait around the timber and then ease up and flip the timber, he said. Sometimes they don’t want to chase a crankbait but if you drop something in front of them they will bite, so I’ll be flipping a jig in any treetop I come to.”

The flat-sided crankbait was his go-to bait last year and he repaints the lures with a special color pattern for Lake Martin.

“They don’t make that color anymore, but I am in the paint business and I used to be an automobile painter, so I buy the baits in white color and paint them the color I’ve been using. They like red up there this time of year, so I paint them kind of reddish-orange, with some black and a little chartreuse on the bottom.”

Dill is sponsored by Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards and Airport Marine.

Registration for the tournament begins at 4 p.m. Friday at the Betty Carol Graham Technology Center, on the Central Alabama Community College campus, 1675 Cherokee Road (Highway 63) in Alexander City. Ala.

Alabama South Division schedule: Feb. 8, Lake Martin, Wind Creek State Park; March 15, Lay Lake, Beeswax Creek; May 17, Lake Eufaula, Lakepoint Resort State Park; June 14, Logan Martin Lake, Lakeside Park; with the two-day final Sept. 27-28, Lake Euafaula, Lakepoint Resort State Park.

Anglers in the Boater Division pay a $200 entry fee, with co-anglers paying $100. ABA members no longer have to have dual membership to fish the Weekend Bass Series and liability insurance requirements have been reduced to an acceptable level for weekend anglers. The payback has been increased at divisional levels from 20 percent of the field to 25 percent of the field.

At the end of the season, the best WBS anglers from across the nation will fish the 2014 Ray Scott Championship, slated for Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., from Nov. 15-18. The champion boater will receive $100,000 and possibly up to $50,000 in Triton Gold Bonus money. The co-angler champion will win $50,000 and possibly up to $25,000 in Triton Gold Bonus money.

As a special Ray Scott Championship bonus, the Boater Division and Co-Angler Division champions will each receive entry fees and sponsorship into the one of two professional bass fishing series of the angler’s choice. The sponsorship includes entry fees into three professional events and sponsorship support. This sponsorship will put the champion within striking distance of one of two professional bass fishing championships.

 

Weekend Bass Series – Alabama South Division

Sat, Feb 8, 2014

Lake Martin

Wind Creek State Park

www.americanbassanglers.com

Call 256-232-0406