Alabama South Heads to Jordan Lake for Opener
ATHENS, Ala. – The Alabama South of the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, starts the new season on Feb. 5, 2022, at Jordan Lake near Wetumpka, Ala.
The anglers will run out of the Jordan Lake State Boat Ramp on Boat Ramp Road in Wetumpka to fish the 6,800-acre impoundment. The southernmost and deepest impoundment on the Coosa River, Jordan Lake offers anglers about 188 miles of shorelines.
The lake dates to 1928. In 1967, Alabama Power Company completed the Bouldin Dam, which filled a basin. That created Bouldin Lake, more commonly called the New Lake. The New Lake connects to Jordan Lake by a canal, thus becoming an arm of the main lake. New Lake delivers many tournament victories as people fish the grass, humps, and stumps.
Although Jordan Lake holds a good population of largemouth bass up to six pounds with some bigger ones, many people come to the lake to catch vicious Coosa River spotted bass. The lake regularly produces spotted bass in the 3- to 5-pound range with large spots often comprising a large percentage of tournament weigh fish.
Weeds, abundant rocks, bluffs dropping into deep water, and woody cover provide the dominant bass habitat. The highly fertile impoundment holds a huge shad population, making shad-colored baits a good option. The large shad population helps contribute to the phenomenal bass growth rate in the impoundment.
Many people also fish the numerous docks lining the shorelines. Anglers hit the dock pilings with jigs, worms and Carolina rigs tipped with soft plastics in green pumpkin, watermelon or similar colors. Some people skip tubes or jigs under the docks. White baits work well during the shad spawn.
During a March 21, 2020, division tournament on Lake Jordan, James Luna of Prattville, Ala. won the Boater Division with five bass weighing 19.06 pounds. For the co-anglers, John G. McGee of Pansey, Ala. won with three bass and 10.49 pounds. Justin A. Girdner from Wetumpka finished second in the Co-Angler Division with three bass for 9.72 pounds, but he caught the tournament big bass, a 5.21-pounder.
Each ABA Open Series division offers four one-day qualifying events in a boater/co-angler format. Boaters pay an entry fee of $210 while Co-Anglers pay $105.
The boats will launch at 6:30 a.m. or safe light with the weigh-in set to begin at 2:30 p.m. local time. Each boater can weigh up to five bass, each at least 12 inches long. Co-Anglers can bring in a three-bass tournament limit.To register for this event, Click HERE.
The top 20 percent of registered anglers will receive cash payouts based on the total number of entries. If at least 60 boaters enter the tournament, the Boater Division winner will receive a minimum of $5,000.
In addition, anglers may qualify for bonus money offered by tournament sponsors such as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program, MotorGuide and Power Pole. Anyone who qualifies for Caymas Cash rewards could receive up to $7,000 for winning any ABA Open Series event. If the winning boat carries a Mercury motor, the angler could receive an extra $1,000 in cash from Mercury Marine. If that boat comes with a MotorGuide Trolling Motor, the angler could win an additional $500.
See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules, and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.
The top anglers could also earn invitations to fish area championship tournaments with a guaranteed $6,000 to the winning boater for a field of at least 60 boats. If 100 or more boaters participate, the winning boater in a championship event will take home a guaranteed minimum of $10,000.
For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Billy Benedetti at (256) 230-5632. For more information about any American Bass Anglers tournament series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.
American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, Monster Energy, REKS Sunglasses, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.
