Forty-one Shoals Youth Bassmasters youth anglers fished a hot (temperature-wise)Wilson Lake on August 26. This was the club’s fifth tournament of the six tournaments of the 2023 season. The trophy winners in each age division weighed in a total of 40.45 pounds for their three fish limits.
By Ron McDonald (A/K/A Ronnie Mac)
Publisher & Editor, Southern Fishing News
Southern Fishing News readers will recall my article published August 13, 2023, on our website entitled, “Smallmouth May Get A Rival As The Favored Catch: Florida Strain Bass Stocking In Pickwick Lake (https://southernfishingnews.com/news-stories/smallmouth-may-get-a-rival-as-the-favored-catch). In this article, mention was made about the prospect of future largemouth bass in Pickwick possibly growing to 15-plus pounds over time. I decided to follow up that story with more research to determine if that prediction held water.
The final stop of the ABT 2023 regular season was held at Wheeler Lake in Decatur. Two hundred and twenty-five teams from the north division competed for the top prize of $10,000.
Allen and Danny blasted off as boat number 216. ABT photo
Pickwick Lake in North Alabama has long been a stronghold for smallmouth bass for years. The stocking of the Florida strain of largemouth bass by Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee fisheries agencies indicates a possibility for the consistent over-10-pound class of largemouth bass in Pickwick.
Reported By Don Gowan
Southern Fishing News Field Staff
The Alabama Department of Public Health; Alabama Department of Environmental Management; Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and TVA have released the “2023 Alabama Fish Consumption Advisories”. (Area 1 covers North Alabama beginning on page 13 through page 17. Not all streams in the Decatur and Morgan Counties had fish consumption testing conducted.)
Charlie Brewer originated “finesse fishing. Slider’s products not only continue to produce the popular Slider Heads and finesse plastics but have added an extensive line of crappie lures and more multi-species lures. Visit sliderfishing.com and browse the product selection.
Invasive Asian Carp: the Feral Hog of Alabama’s Waterways
Asian carp have long been a problem in other parts of the country, but these fish are now working their way into Alabama. Because of the threat posed by Asian carp, the Fisheries Section of the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries is working to protect the state’s aquatic resources from this invasive species.
Silver carp, known for their tendency to jump when disturbed, have been found in increasing numbers in Pickwick Lake in northwest Alabama. WFF photo
The Shoals Youth Bassmasters youth anglers, fifty-eight strong, launched their fourth tournament of 2023 from the First Creek Ramp on Wheeler Lake. Fishing on Wheeler has been tough of late due to the hot weather, pressure, or a plain reluctance of bass to respond to lures this time of year.
