Instead, most anglers opt for the main dam or diversion, which yields plenty of striped and white bass, a handful of monster largemouth, and, perhaps surprisingly, paddlefish. Shallow-to-mid diving crankbaits, both suspending and floating hard-bodied jerk baits, and rattling, lipless lures (like Bill Lewis rattle traps and Strike Kings red eye shad), all feature weed and wood grabbing treble hooks. With plenty of sandbars, grass beds, and a handful of fallen trees in the mix, the lakes structure makes for dozens of fishing holes despite the small footprint. Coosa River Spotted Bass are found lake wide. Several stretches of shoreline are accessible for fishing from the bank, including areas nearby some of the boat launch ramps around the lake. Wow this fish fight!! Several marinas hold weekly night tournaments and some big bags of bass are brought in during these 4-8 hour tournaments. Lewis Smith Lake offers more than 20,000 acres of prime bass fishing waters. Even largemouth bass weighing in the five to eight pound range and trophy sized spotted bass exceeding five pounds are possible on Lay Lake! As a result, anglers will start to see an uptick in black bass activity in locations such as Cove Branch and Clay Creek. The upper end of the lake, Like School, you have still got to do your home work! 13 oz. Jones Creek is another secluded cove just off the main lake that has shelter from the current by a series of small islands and boasts miles of grass beds and several significant drop-offs. The breakdown also includes detailed descriptions of each area, recommend conditions for when you should fish each area and bait recommendations for each spot Power-generating dams break each section of the river into individual impoundments, each with its distinct fishing flavor. A series of small overflow ponds near Lick Branch has an excellent track record for producing sizeable largemouths, which prefer to stay just out of the current and hammer the schools of shad that shelter here. Lay Lake is producing the heaviest catches of all the Coosa River reservoirs, claims Alabama bass ace Mark McCaig. / Ga. State line, known for its shallow, weedy water bass as well), this lowland lake can produce five bass limits of over 20 pounds! PART TWO JULY will be more in depth (pardon the pun), with more Lay Lake deep water techniques and lure suggestions, including tips on how to use an assortment of some, very tempting offerings for some big, summertime bass! Lacoosa Marina Boat Launch Ramp Largemouth bass up to 18-inches are abundant and with moderate numbers of larger bass. Beaver Creek also has miles of shoreline untouched by development and plenty of undercut banks lined with structures for anglers to try their hand on. The next lake down stream (below Weiss Lake dam discharge), is Neely Henry Lake, located near Gadsden, Al. Phoenix Bass Fishing League - Lay Lake - Day 2 Weigh-in (9/12/2021) 1y Phoenix Bass Fishing League. All Rights Reserved. Yes, Read on, theres much more! "There are a lot of good quality fish. The stripers at Lake Martin respond well to live shad or minnows on bottom rigs, and even a few black bass will hit this rig. Marinas, fish camps, bait stores, boat rentals, camping and other amenities enhance a stay at Lay Lake. One of the best fishing locations throughout the entire lake is North Sauty Creek, an offshoot of the main lake near the Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge near Scottsboro. Although there are many kinds of grass (including lilly pads), there isone invasive type of stringy aquatic weed, Millfoil, that has recently spread lake wide. Even tenth place Kacy Mims from Randolph, Al. Bottom rigs with shad are also your go-to here, but anglers can work the cut next door to the parking lot with soft plastics to bring in some smallies and spotted bass that frequent this location. Two jigging tactics dupe largemouth for McCaig when he fishes Lay Lakes water willows. Strictly for ease of use, weve bundled these half-dozen hotspots together under a separate heading, in the lower part of this article. Rig up with a soft plastic lizard or worm and cover more water while slowly motoring along the forested shoreline. Seeing a big bass explode on a well placed top water lure cannot be compared to fishing with any of the many other types of lures, those that run beneath the waters surface. A very weedy impoundment, very much like Lay Lake, known for its big, shallow water largemouth bass. McCaig recommends that you cast umbrella rigs around bridges and to creek channel banks on the main lake. This long tributary of the Alabama River starts in Georgia and snakes its way through Alabama. Yes, even during the hot days of summer, while fishing in the sweltering sun often in the mid-to-upper nineties, big bags of bass are dredged from the depths of Alabamas Lay Lake. Lay Lake covers 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and has a shoreline about 289 miles (465 km) long. Smith Lake Dam 202303/0 03/04/2023 . There are lures all three of these bass species willhit during the fall season. Boasting nearby bass hotspots such as Dye Creek, Blue Eye Creek, and Ohatchee Creek, anglers have a myriad of locations to target during their time on the water at Logan Martin Lake. Elite winner. This winding creek system has a few docks on the front end, but the deeper you go, the better the bass fishing gets. that lead the four day Bassmasters tournament with 15 bass weighing 60 pounds on day three! With information (and some of the top ten anglers and their 3-4 days weights, lures used and results), while featuring two previous, professional bass tournaments held on Lake Eufaula in south Alabama (Impounded 1963). Alabama is an angling paradise with over 1,500 miles of inland waterways. had shown Bassmasters and FLW Outdoors visit this weedy lake in a post spawn / early summer condition with over 50 miles of mid-to-lower Lake places to fish! Your goal is 20 pounds! this lake also is highly rated for catfish fishing, better known as a crappie fishing hotspot, our complete guide to bass fishing techniques and tips. If the main lake isnt yielding results, Jones Creek is an excellent spot to try weedless crankbaits, with imitation shad being a favorite among anglers. Going after (or losing) a bunch of hung up lures all day can easily be avoided. Another angler came very close to winning that FLW Outdoors 3 day tournament on Lake Eufaula Al. Even Texas-rigged weightless lures like a Gary Yamamotos Senko or Zooms air- injected Trick Worms are very weedless soft plastics and they are great lures for this type of application. The back of the central fork boasts a large grass bed perfect for topwater frogs and weedless soft plastics. "Over the last two or three years, it has taken over 20 pounds to win every [one-day] tournament at Lay Lake," McCaig said. You need five four pounders or better! Another type of thick, stringy weed that can grow in both shallow water and deep water. 205-458-8000 Brandon Cobb had 79.8 for fourth place. Reed Montgomery / Owner of Reeds Guide Service for over forty years! We are so excited to welcome the Bassmaster High School series back to Shelby County in 2023, said Kendall Williams, manager of tourism and events for Shelby County. 12 oz. Each tournament has a $10,000 guaranteed first-place prize and pays 20 places. Lay Lake. Gold spoons are a popular lure here, with spinnerbaits and crankbaits tying as a close second. Weed less and not-so-weed less lures. Choosing a list of lures that are needed for each fishing situation can be mind-boggling, especially with the selection of todays never-ending lure choices. Check out Paradise Point Marina (205) 669-1515 site of this years 2002 Bassmasters Classic launch, at mid-lake, for all your fishing needs and bass tournament info. Largemouth bass up to 18-inches are abundant and with moderate numbers of larger bass. To even hope of making the top ten payout spots in many one day bass tournaments, multi day major bass tournaments trails and annual events held on Lay Lake. Because of this, anglers should target their bait selection to each species. It was my worst tournament finish in. Stretching from downstream Lay lake dam, going northward on the Coosa River System to upstream Logan Martin lake dam (in Lay lakes headwaters), is some of the fishiest-looking aquatic weeds, varied wood, and rock-infested, bass holding cover an impoundment has to offer. Reed Creek is an excellent location to angle if the river is unusually choppy, and anglers will find plenty of inlets and docks to cast crankbaits or spinner baits under in search of hungry lunkers. Soft plastics like worms, lizards, crayfish, tube baits, sweet beavers and creature-style soft plastics all work well, while utilizing these springtime techniques too! Bass sampling in the spring of 2010 revealed that Lake Mitchell c Sign in to your account to find other friends and anglers who are using Fishidy. Located in the southeast section of the lake, off Paint Creek State Ramp Road, this is a one-lane, concrete ramp with a dock and gravel parking. The Yates Dam is another popular location with anglers who can shorefish off the dead end of County Rd 30, where youll also find Yates Lake Ramp. On Lay Lake? Read on for more on fishing, deep water only on Alabamas Lay lake this summer season! Birmingham, Alabama 35203-1100 Locations such as Flint Creek, Piney Creek, and Brush Creek offer an out-of-the-current, secluded haven for bass looking to sit out of the heavily trafficked main reservoir and feast on the lakes substantial population of shad. Fed by the Chattahoochee River to the north and emptying at the Walter F George Lock to the south, anglers have a variety of locations to angle for a myriad of species of bass on the massive spread of Lake Eufala. Further downstream, the black bass angling picks up in locations such as Big Branch and Shoal Creek, but this location doesnt yield the same numbers as some of the lower-lake spots weve already discussed. Shelby, AL 35143 On the final and fourth day, on a Saturday (with one local bass tournament with over 50 boats), including many spectators and other weekend anglers, it was a morning bonanza for many of the top 5 Bassmaster anglers, boating many 5 pound plus big bass in the first hour. The latter creek runs under old and new US Hwy 231. But his bass played out and he lost some good bass on day three, bringing in only 11 pounds and fell to fourth place. started the High School Series events in 2013, there has been an astounding 724% increase in the number of clubs and schools competing. The Ohatchee Spillway is a popular location for anglers after both stripers and catfish in large numbers, feeding off the incoming bait pushed in by the current. That lead the four day Bassmasters tournament with 15 bass weighing 60 on! These half-dozen hotspots together under a separate heading, in the five to eight pound range and sized... 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