NEWS

Weiss Lake Preview Story

Weiss lake preview with Gregory Lamb and David Powell

By Jason Duran

Weiss lake makes is the 3^rd stop for the Alabama Bass Trail North Division and marks the halfway point in the regular season. This stop also is the 100^th tournament hosted by the ABT. 5.1 million dollars have been paid out since the first event in February 2014. Weather conditions are predicted to be mostly sunny with morning temps in the 60’s and afternoon temps in the 80’s. This event could be the magical point in the pattern that would produce some very heavy tournament weights.

Weiss Lake is the first of seven lakes on the Coosa River chain. Well known for its Crappie fishing earns it the title of Crappie Capital of the World. However, the lake has an abundant spotted bass and largemouth bass population along the 447 miles of shoreline. The lake is fed by the Coosa River, Chattanooga River and Little River. 

Gregory Lamb and David Powell are the current Angler of the Year points leaders for the North Division with 446 points. They are wanting to continue the successful season by adding to those points in this week’s event. Greg said he “would like to come away from this event with a top 20 finish and head to their home lake Wheeler Lake where it suites their fishing style better and he feels more comfortable.”

The team has spent many days this week in practice. They shared they feel there is a “mix between a spring pattern and a post spawn pattern.” They have “not really seen a lot of fish on beds this week and believe many fish have already spawned” or at least the first wave has spawned. They noted “we have seen lots of gar swimming in the shallows in pairs and they typically spawn after the bass.”  

Gregory and David said they “spent most of their time in practice in the mid-lake area and have found fish grouped up along seawalls.” They have been targeting these fish using a topwater and feel this could be one of the key baits this weekend. “Baits like buzz baits and spooks would be great options especially early in the morning when the sun is low. There have been lots of birds hanging out in areas where we typically see a shad spawn, but we have not really seen much of a shad spawn yet.” Another key bait this weekend could be a “swim jig these guys always seem to catch them on that bait.” There are some great structure and rock ledges around the deeper water and “some anglers may decide to drag a soft plastic like a lizard or a jig and target largemouth.”

The team offers advice to first year ABT anglers that have never been to Weiss and encourage them to spend their time in the mid lake area. Above the mid-lake the river tends to get hard to navigate and could do a lot of damage to equipment. Teams will find lots of fishable water in the mid-lake that will suit many different types of fishing styles.  They said, “it might sound silly but the old Merthiolate worm or a small fluke could be a great pattern first time teams might want to consider along the seawall or in the shallows.”

Gregory and David said there will be lots of limits caught in this event. They predict the wining weight could be 20 pounds or even higher.  They are hoping they can pull out that Top 20 finish, but they know they can’t miss a beat here because the ABT teams are tough and they come ready. “We have caught some three- and four-pound fish in practice but we know we need to catch that kicker largemouth to put us up close to the top. These events are great because it is an all-in-one day event day and can cash a big ole paycheck for just one good day of fishing”

All anglers should make sure they have checked text messages and emails for the latest information and changes made to keep everyone as safe as possible during this time. There was a virtual meeting posted on the ABT Facebook Page earlier this week.

All friends and family are welcome to attend this event, bring lawn chairs and see some of the best bass teams in the country cross the stage. Everyone can watch the live weigh-in and over 4 hours of on-the-water live coverage on the ABT Facebook page, YouTube and the ABT website. The Launch and Weigh In will be held at Leesburg Landing 1085 Riverside Street Leesburg, AL 35983.

The sponsors of the 2022 Alabama Bass Trail include: Phoenix Boats, Academy Sports, Alabama Power, America’s First Federal Credit Union, American Trailer Rental Group, BAJIO, Berkley, Big Bite Baits, Bill Penney Automotive, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Buck N’ Bass, Anheuser – Bush, Inc., E3 Sports Apparel, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Garmin, Jack’s, Lew’s, Mtn Dew, Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, Power-Pole, Strike King, Sweet Home Alabama, T-H Marine, Wedowee Marine, Yamaha, YETI Coolers.