Read about all of my Fishing Adventures!
Follow my Fish of 2018
Let's try a little something different, shall we? A lot of you reading this are fishing the Alabama Bass Trail on Logan-Martin. Don't lie. Yall came here for some free info, didn't ya? I'll be honest, I'm just here for the clicks. But, hey, I bet we can help each other, right?
Logan-Martin is easily one of the most fun lakes to fish in Alabama. While you don't expect massive fish on any cast as you can on the Tennessee River, a good day can mean a solid 16 pound bag where you also caught 100 fish.
Logan-Martin is easily one of the most fun lakes to fish in Alabama. While you don't expect massive fish on any cast as you can on the Tennessee River, a good day can mean a solid 16 pound bag where you also caught 100 fish.
So, Josh and I were able to get down the LM this past Sunday. With it being such a long drive, we didn't get up super early and we didn't get in the water until around 8AM.
We did go to the new-ish ramp, which we will be using for the ABT. This is the first time I've used it, as we have always used Lakeside campground's ramp. In the past, that's where a majority of tournaments have been held. It's parking lot only holds a few trailers and you typically end up parking the grass. The ramp can support up to four boats at a time, but the turn space is so narrow that it's not easy to accomplish that feat.
I guess I had expected this new ramp to be different. I had heard it was "huge" with parking aplenty. So, as Josh and I dunked his Bullet, we thought maybe we were in the wrong spot. The parking lot IS bigger, but is is clearly designed for passenger cars, specifically for the nearby beach area. It can support three trailers at a time, but again, alignment will be an issue. We were later told by a park official that parking will be held in an overflow lot up the hill, but I can assure you ABT guys that you need to show up EARLY. At least the docks can handle more than two boats at a time, unlike our recent experience with the ABT North on Weiss.
Anyway, Josh, Brad, and I have had a lot of luck in our once-a-year trips to Logan-Martin fishing downriver areas, specifically offshore rock piles. You can click any of the links below to watch vids and read reports (we didn't go in 2013).
I had seen a guy post a few days ago that he was catching frog fish. I have had a DECENT amount of luck catching fish on a frog, so the first spot Josh and I checked, we caught two fish on essentially back to back casts with a frog. By the end of the day, we found that this was not a PATTERN but a SPOT specific thing. We fished some new areas that I hadn't fished before but only got bit on stretches I had been bit on before. It was very repeatable.
We fished all new water for us all the way past Riverside landing where the lake necks down into a river. If you've ever fished this lake before, you know that catching fish isn't hard. You can catch fish on every main point, every rock pile, and every dock if you so choose. That's where this lake gets interesting.
We found two off-shore areas holding fish and both had very specific things associated with them, which I am keeping to myself. But, rest assured, we didn't find any magnum fish.....just a lot of them. We were bit every single casts on one spot each time we came back to check the fish. What makes me wary is the next point:
My very best advice on LM: if you catch five fish of the same size in a row, and they aren't at least two pounds, it's time to move. Now, understand that I am not a pro and I fish that lake once a year. Local guys may tell you different. And, if you pay attention to the results of this tournament each year, you will see that one individual has won MULTIPLE events here and he wins them at the dam. Now, the vast majority of people fishing the ABT aren't gonna go to the dam. So, this info should be pertinent.
My best trips on Logan-Martin have always started with a shad spawn or at least an area where migratory shad are being pushed shallow by the bass. This presents anglers with a terrific top water bite. Buzzbaits work the best and while walking baits and poppers also work, the buzzbait works the best. Any seawall with big rock or some other sort of cover should be targeted.
When this bite dies, it is all about the offshore for me. Hopefully, you have done your scanning ahead of time and you know where the fish are holding. Shakey heading is the deal, here. Depending on the wind and depth, you may have to go to a Magnum Shakey Head approach. Here's an article I wrote some time ago on the subject.
My expectations for this coming tournament? It's going to take 20-21 pounds to win, followed by an 18 pound stringer for second. From here on, there will likely be multiple 16 pounds stringers where someone caught a solid limit of 3 pound spots anchored with a kicker. To get a check, 13 pounds is the magic number. And, I haven't found that weight thus far this year. Our best five this past weekend only went around 9 pounds. Now, I believe we can get some bigger bites early, but we are a long way from 13. We could catch fish on every spot we fished, but the good spots are obvious if you find them, but let me warn you.....you will do a lot of looking before you find one where they are stacked. This one spot had easily 50 fish on it.
Be safe and see yall this weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment