Recap Story

By Jason Duran

The Alabama Bass Trail South Division concluded its third stop at Cooter’s Pond on the Alabama River this past weekend, and the tournament exceeded all expectations. The favorable spring weather and consistent water conditions created an intense and closely contested event that ultimately came down to the wire. When the final fish was weighed, Chad and Chase Schroeder emerged victorious, narrowly edging out the competition with a five-fish limit totaling 17.11 pounds. Their remarkable performance secured them a $15,000 prize and qualified them for the Championship.

The Alabama River delivered relatively stable conditions for this event. The water dropped a few inches overnight. Morning air temperatures in the mid-50s quickly rose into the 70s under partly cloudy skies, with light winds and mild current flow throughout the day. Water clarity was stained with little visibility under the water. Anglers reported that fish were in several different stages:  some still staging outside spawning areas, some guarding fry, and some post-spawn, which made adapting throughout the day critical. Reaction baits dominated early, particularly spinnerbaits and bladed jigs, while plastics and slower presentations took over as the sun rose higher and the fish grew more cautious.

The Schroeder team executed a methodical approach. Knowing that spring river fish can be unpredictable, they spent their practice days identifying areas where post-spawn fish would be. They said they found a pattern that most of the field didn’t. They think they found them deeper than the rest of the field. A lot of the fish are post-spawn; we looked for them around docks and grass. We expected to have a shad spawn pattern to work but with a late boat number that had played out before we got there. Yesterday, about 12:00 o’clock, we found them out deep and put this pattern together.  We found them from 8 feet all the way out to 22 feet on ledges. Though the day we  hit several creek mouths, but the majority of the fish came off main river river ledges. The majority of our fish came off a ball-head War Eagle finesse jig in green pumpkin orange in ½ ounce . We also caught them on small jig-head minnows. This finish moved them into 18th place in AOY.

Finishing just behind the winners, Corey Cole and Quillie Trott turned in an outstanding bag of 17.09 pounds, missing the top spot by an agonizing two-hundredths of a pound. Their strategy focused on one key spot that was well known to them. They described the spot as “a gravel bar down the lake. The last couple of years we tried to fish it, and something was wrong with the water. It was either too high or too low. Today the water was about 12 feet. The fish were set up on the back side of the bar. There were lots of shad in the area and the current was just right for this spot. We used two key baits to target them. We used a Rapala DT10 in shad color and a green pumpkin and black worm. When we dragged the baits through the bar that is what triggered the bites. We caught 25-30 fish throughout the day.” Their extremely close second-place finish was heartbreaking. Their day’s work earned them a payday of $ 7,500.

Finishing strong in third, Noah and Cole Godwin showed veteran-level poise with a five-fish limit weighing 16.96 pounds. Fishing slower than much of the field. Their patience paid off with several key bites throughout the day, including a couple of key kicker fish that secured their spot in the top three. “We tried to start this morning in a creek, but it is kind of hard to get in there at normal lake levels. With the water dropping overnight, it made it impossible to get in. There was already a boat stuck at the mouth of the creek, so we moved on. On our first spot, we caught a 3.00 and a 3.75 flipping at the first spot. We continued to move around, and there was someone on a couple of our spots. We had one dock and one seawall, and both of them had boats on them already. We watched them catch fish there. That’s the luck of a late boat number; we had caught fish off both those spots. We moved down the lake to our third spot, and we caught one flipping and one swimming a jig, and we have caught numerous four-pounders off that spot. We did get one of those to bite, but we ended up losing it after she set the reel on fire, and we couldn’t keep up with her.” Their key baits were Swim jig, a Texas Rig they used to punch the grass, and a Damiki rig. “We fished different areas and mixed it up between wood and grass.” They cashed a $6,000 check for third place and moved them into 7th place in AOY.

The incredibly close finish at Cooter’s Pond holds significant implications for the Angler of the Year race in the South Division. With only a few events left, every point counts, and the leaderboard is tightening. Several teams are within striking distance of the title, setting up an exhilarating conclusion to the 2025 season. If Cooter’s Pond demonstrated anything, it’s that in the Alabama Bass Trail competition, every cast, every fish, and every ounce can determine your fate. Below are the top 10 teams after three events. The top 75 teams will attend the ABT championship, where the first-place team will be crowned Angler of the Year.

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The top ten standings are below. For a complete list of standings, please visit the results page.

Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for "Alabama Bass Trail Podcast."  The Podcast is released each week on Tuesday.

For Live coverage of this event and others visit https://www.youtube.com/@alabamabasstrailtv

The 2025 Alabama Bass Trail Sponsors Include: Phoenix Boats, AMFirst, Landers – McLarty Chevrolet, McGraw – Webb Chevrolet, Rapala, VMC, Crush City, Buffalo Rock, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Jack’s, Garmin, Lew’s, Strike King,Southern Protection Agency, Alabama State Parks, Halo Fishing, Snag proof, NetBait, Bait Fuel, TH Marine Supplies, Power-Pole, Pro Guide Batteries, American Trailer Rental, Yamaha, Anheuser-Busch, American Baitworks, E3 Sports Apparel, FishAlabama.org, Sweet Home Alabama, and Alabama Mountain Lakes