NEWS

2015 Neely Henry Lake Tournament Feature Story

ABT Event Preview
Lake Neely Henry with Dustin King
by Dan O’Sullivan

Next stop for the Northern Division of the Alabama Bass Trail is Lake Neely Henry, the Coosa River impoundment in Gadsden. Last year; in the inaugural season of the Alabama Bass Trail, Neely Henry held the distinction of being the lake that produced the heaviest overall weight for the entire field for both divisions.

While Bradley Jones and Andy Kilgore won with 21.58 pounds, the whole field of 200 teams brought more weight to the scales than on any other lake the rest of the season. While there were lakes with heavier winning weights, Neely Henry gave up the most fish and the heaviest overall average to the field.

Dustin King, marketing manager for ABT sponsor Boat U.S., and a lifetime resident of the area said the reason is that the lake is a very consistent fishery. “Neely Henry is one that everyone will most likely catch a lot of fish,” said King. “There are a variety of way to catch them, and it just seems like the whole field finds a way to get bites.”

He said that looking at the history of the impoundment, he can predict how the field will disperse come tournament day. “(0-percent of the field will head downriver and fish the bigger areas of the lake,” he said. “You will have those that go upriver, but for the most part, the downstream areas will see the heaviest pressure.”

He said that a variety of methods will produce. “I’d look for some anglers to be throwing swim jigs in the water willows, others to be fishing squarebilled crankbaits, and some anglers will still find fish deeper,” said King. “Those big spotted bass will be setting up to spawn on stumpy flats offshore, and a big spinnerbait, a Carolina Rig or football jig will be players if that happens.”

Whatever the case, Neely Henry looks to be a busy stop for the Northern Division of the Alabama Bass Trail. Takeoff and weigh-in will occur at Coosa Landing, with tournament awards to follow. Go to the event page on the Alabama Bass Trail website for event details – http://dev-alabama-bass-trail.pantheonsite.io/tournament-series/north-division/nhl-overview/ and visit the Greater Gadsden Tourism website for lodging and dining information – http://www.greatergadsden.com/

As with last season, each of our tournaments will feature the live streaming video, but new for the 2015 season will be a live leaderboard so that friends, families and fans can keep up with each event. Follow along on www.alabamabasstrail.org.

The sponsors of the 2015 Alabama Bass Trail include: Bill Penney Toyota, the Alabama Tourism Department, Phoenix Bass Boats, Inc., Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Alabama Power Company, Buffalo Rock, Inc., Jet-Pep, Inc., Tennessee Valley Authority, and Frogg Toggs, Inc., HydroWaveTM, Alabama Foundation Specialist, Boat U.S., LEER, Vicious Fishing, E3 Sports, Inc., Costa Del Mar, Frogg Toggs, Inc., Power-Pole,  Window World and Yeti Coolers.

For complete standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.