Collegiate anglers fishing the Coosa River near Wetumpka this week proved once again what local anglers have known all along—current is king when it comes to catching bass in this river system, as on many others.
Tristan McCormick of Bethel University won the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket event, and a berth in the Bassmaster Classic next year, by spending most of his day hammering away at the current seams close to Walter Bouldin Dam, one of two dams controlling flow out of Lake Jordan.
Not only that, but his closest competition in the fish-off, Auburn’s Tucker Smith, was right beside him working on the same pattern for much of the day.
McCormick said he caught the majority of his bass in that area on a specific current seam using a topwater walking bait, a drop shot with a 1/2-ounce weight and a pink Roboworm. He also caught a couple of fish on a smaller-profile swimbait.
With storms and a cold front moving through the area prior to the final fish-off water had risen in the tailrace to the point where McCormick had to make very precise casts to get bites, he said.
“I had that one seam where I caught everything,” McCormick said. “The current kind of backwashed into the seam. There was just a little bitty area that you could throw it where slack water was. Every fish I caught on that drop shot, as soon as I threw it in there, that’s when they had it.”
Smith landed four keepers within 20 minutes of arriving below the dam, putting lots of pressure on McCormick, who was catching smaller fish and who also lost a 3-pounder that took a topwater.
Failing to put enough big bass in the boat, he moved downriver for a time, but soon returned to the dam because of the number of fish he had seen there.
Despite the morning deficit, McCormick managed an early-afternoon flurry that saw him cull four times with several 2-pound bass for an 11-pound total weight that earned him the victory by 3 ounces.
With the win, McCormick became the third Bethel University angler to win the Bracket and advance to the Bassmaster Classic. Cole Floyd and Cody Huff were the first two to accomplish that feat.
He earned $7,500, paid entry fees into all 2022 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens and the use of a fully-rigged Nitro Z20 and Toyota Tundra with the win. He’ll also compete against the top pro anglers in the nation March 4-6 next year at Lake Hartwell, S.C. For full details on Bassmaster events at all levels, visit www.bassmaster.com.
BFL Event on Lake Wheeler This Week
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine, a Huntsville company, will finish out their 2021 season this week in Decatur Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 7-9, fishing Lake Wheeler.
The three-day championship will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners in the Bama division, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000 in cash. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off daily at 7 a.m. CT from Ingalls Harbor in Decatur. Weigh-ins will also be held at the harbor and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans can attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
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October 06, 2021 at 02:02PM
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Current is king on the Coosa River - AL.com
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