Pickwick Lake Preview with Russ Sapp and Joey Nania

Decatur, Ala. March 7, 2017 – For the second consecutive event of the 2017 Alabama Bass Trail’s Northern Division, the tour will stop on a Tennessee River impoundment.  The first stop last month on Wheeler Lake proved to be remarkable when Mitch Mitchell and Candler McCollum smashed a heavier than expected 30.59-pound limit to win the event going away.

According to the team of Russ Sapp and Joey Nania, this stop at Pickwick could wind up being every bit as impressive.  “It wouldn’t surprise us one bit to see a limit pushing 30 pounds win this event,” they reported.  “It seems the whole area is about to bust open when you factor in the Wheeler event and that the BFL on Guntersville this past weekend was won with over 40 pounds.  The coming conditions could be the perfect storm for our event.”

What they are referring to is the fact that the entire State of Alabama has been treated to warmer than usual conditions for the whole winter, added to the fact that there is a waxing moon, and there could be a large push for the fish into their transition areas, if not all the way through to the spawn

While the Shoals area has been unseasonably warm, there are forecasted thunderstorms for Friday and Saturday, but the Lincoln and Pell City anglers do not see that turning the lake off. .  “It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that fish are caught off beds this weekend,” they reported.  “At the very least, they will be well into their prespawn mode, and fishing should be pretty good, despite any weather changes coming.”

They said they expect anglers to be able to find a bite just about anywhere they want on the lake.  “Even though Pickwick is still at winter drawdown levels, the grass flats should play, as will the area around the dam and the main lake points – even offshore should be good,” they said.  “These conditions have really opened up the shallow bite, and some of the fish are still offshore, it should be a wide open choice.”

They said that they would also expect a lot of different presentations to play as well.  “Swimbaits will work, as will crankbaits both shallow and deeper diving ones, and you will see football and finesse jigs play as well,” they said.  “It should be a good bite, we’re really looking forward to it.”

While they anticipated the chance of a 30-pound-limit, they said they expect the winning weight to be somewhere between 25 to 30 pounds, with 20 pounds to make the top 20, and 13 to 15 pounds to make a check at 40th place.

All teams are required to be present at the pre-tournament registration and rules meeting on Friday March, 10 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM at the Florence Coliseum located at 702 Veterans Drive Florence, AL 35630.  Takeoff and weigh-in will happen at McFarland Park located at 200 James M. Spain Drive Florence, AL 35630.

The sponsors of the 2017 Alabama Bass Trail include; Bill Penney Toyota, Phoenix Bass Boats, GP8 Oxygen Water, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Wind Creek Hospitality – Wetumpka, Wind Creek Hospitality – Montgomery, Alabama Tourism Department, SCA Performance,  T-H Marine Supplies, Wedowee Marine, AFTCO,  Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Lew’s Fishing, Crossed Industries, YETI, E3 Apparel, TVA and Alabama Power.

For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.