NEWS

Lake Jordan Preview With Shane Underwood

2019 Alabama Bass Trail Lake Jordan Preview
with Shane Underwood
by Dan O’Sullivan

March 27, 2019 – Decatur, Ala. – Lake Jordan is one of those places on the Alabama Bass Trail’s Southern Division schedule that kind of gets the field to drooling, and rightfully so. The thought of four to six-pound spotted bass can really get the nerves of an angler to twitching.

While past results at the lake have been incredible, there may be a reason for the 2019 ABT Southern Division to turn their patience regulators up a little this weekend. The reasons are several. Jordan has seen an immense amount of pressure from tournaments over the past month, and because of the heavy rains and unseasonably cold weather, the lake is in flux.

According to Southern Division stalwart Shane Underwood, the conditions at Jordan are anything but average right now. “There is a lack of shoreline grass at Jordan right now,” he said. “Over the winter, the lake was drawn down lower than usual so the usual ‘easy’ patterns are not there; it’s going to depend on boat draw and current this weekend.”

Underwood said that knowledgeable anglers with an early boat position would be able to take advantage of the low light conditions to do well early. “Lake Mitchell Dam will see some traffic early, and whoever gets there will have a good shot at a strong start,” he said. “The morning bite, in general, will be key, then after that, it will be a matter of timing and knowing how to target the offshore bars and points to capitalize on the afternoon bite; that will be key.”

According to him, the bite will not be a wide-open power fishing extravaganza. Instead, he said that anglers should expect to grind things out. “I think that the best patterns are going to involve washing current seams at the dam, and fishing Shaky Heads or Carolina Rigs offshore,” he said. “There are a few unaffected grass patches around the lake, but those will be used like a merry go round, so I can’t see them being widely effective.”

He said that weights may be down a little as well. “My gut tells me that it will take somewhere between 19 and 20 pounds to win, and 14 pounds to get a check,” he said. “If someone gets on a good bite early, it could take a little more, but I would expect those kinds of weights to be the norm.”

The second stop of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Southern Division season at Jordan Lake happens March 30 out of Wetumpka, Alabama. The mandatory pre-tournament registration and angler information meeting happens on Friday, March 29 at the Wetumpka Civic Center located at 410 South Main Street in Wetumpka, AL 36092, with registration happening from 5:00 P.M. – 6:30 P.M. and the pre-tournament meeting beginning at 6:30 P.M. Takeoff and weigh-in occur at the State Boat Ramp at 600 Boat Ramp Road in Wetumpka, AL 36092.

The sponsors of the 2019 Alabama Bass Trail include; Phoenix Bass Boats, Bill Penney Toyota, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Sweet Home Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, T-H Marine Supplies, Wedowee Marine, Buffalo Rock, Mountain Dew, Jack’s, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Alabama Power Company, Lew’s Fishing, AFTCO, YETI, Power Pole, Big Bite Bait Company and E3 Apparel.