Winter Fishing on Lay Lake
Article by: Reed Montgomery - FishingAlabama.com
This time last year B.A.S.S. 2007 Lay Lake Bassmaster’s Classic qualifiers were anticipating the upcoming 2007 Bassmasters Classic scheduled to be held on Alabama’s Coosa River impoundment Lay Lake. They were not disappointed, especially Alabama’s Boyd Duckett that eventually won this world renowned fishing event, featuring the worlds best bass anglers. This was the first time a Bassmasters Classic contender has won the Bassmasters Classic while competing on his home state waters. Boyd’s 48 pounds and 10 ounces of hard earned bass only outdistanced the eventual second place finisher Skeet Reese of California, by only a mere 6 ounces.
Prior to that 2007 Bassmaster’s Classic, the senior editor of Bassmasters Magazine (Ken Duke), gave me a call and asked for my opinion on fishing Alabama’s Lay Lake during the winter month of February. I was honored. When he told me I would be the featured fishing guide for the Bassmaster’s Classic Lay Lake waters and that they were planning on featuring me in their February, 2007 edition of Bassmaster magazine, highlighting the upcoming 2007 Bassmasters Lay Lake Classic, I was even more honored. I knew my valued opinion would be read by thousands of Bassmaster Magazine subscribers and in addition, every word in this interview would be scrutinized by each and every one of the 2007 Bassmaster Classic contenders.
So I asked myself, “just what is Alabama’s Lay Lake really like during the winter season?” I came up with, Good and Tough. Good on days, like when several consecutive days of warm weather triggers bass to feed and move shallow. Tough during those cold, miserable days when wintertime conditions such as 20 degree mornings (usually following several days of severe cold fronts), make you wish you had stayed at home. Its all about the weather.
Conditions during the practice period for this 2007 Bassmasters Classic were very deceiving. Cold fronts, cold mornings, cold water temps in the upper 40’s and stained to muddy water conditions gave very little Classic contenders any confidence building patterns. Especially with the Classic only a few days away. But a turn for the better occurred the week of the Classic and a sudden warming trend shot the lakes water temperatures (in the mid to lower lake), up 10 degrees in some places, inducing bass to feed and move shallow.
Of which Boyd Duckett adjusted and made the best of, including catching 19 pounds 4 ounces the first day and having two of the daily “big bass awards” with a 8 pound 2 ounce monster on day one and a very important Classic winning bass, a 6 pound 9 ounce largemouth bass, caught during the last hour of the last day of the 2007 Bassmasters Classic. Two huge bass, weighing in the 6-8 pound weight class, were what it took to win that Classic for Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Alabama. Of course lure selection, places he fished and a lot of confidence in his own abilities and his hourly decisions were included in this Bassmasters Classic winning strategy.
All of these Bassmasters Classic contenders were using various patterns and fishing different lures and locations on Alabama’s 12,000 acre Lay Lake, to fool both largemouth bass and the Coosa River breed of spotted bass. Various lures, individual techniques and several big bass patterns were all developed by the last day’s top 5 anglers, following that week long warming trend. Suddenly changing conditions, showed 5 bass limits had to average 15 pounds or better daily to eventually show a Bassmasters Classic contender win or even have a chance of making the top 5.
Some of these “Top 5″ 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic contenders fished the lakes headwaters. Most of these seasoned Classic contenders were targeting spotted bass and even a few were fooling an occasional largemouth bass into biting. These “Lay lake headwaters bass” are usually induced to feed due to the current, which is created from the discharge waters coming off of upstream Logan Martin Lake dam. These current oriented bass hang around wood cover, rocks, boulders, and any irregular bottom feature generally in water less than 10 feet deep.
Some of the eventual “top 5″ Bassmasters Classic contenders mixed it up (Like Boyd), trying for a good confidence building limit of bass early and then spending the rest of each Classic day targeting big bass, expecting only a few bites. With 47 nautical miles of water to choose from and a lake that features many feeder creeks and a shoreline of over 289 miles, these Classic contenders had to decide if they the should stay put and thoroughly fish one area, or as they say, “run and gun” hitting every possible fish holding location they can in each days time.
See my website: www.fishingalabama.com for some up to date wintertime tips I can offer after fishing (and winning), weekly bass tournaments for over 20 years and guiding on Alabama’s Lay Lake for over 30 years. Here’s the 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic ” top 5 ” winning patterns, fishing locations, winning lures and various techniques it took to win…or as some say, “almost win” the 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic. Perhaps some of these tips will help you when you encounter the same conditions (or similar conditions) while fishing Alabama’s Lay Lake during this winter season.
* Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Alabama was a Classic rookie. He qualified for this 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic through fishing the Bassmaster’s Southern Tour Division. His, “stay put” strategy, called for fishing nearby in the mid lake region. He targeted spotted bass in shallow flats only a mile from the Paradise Point Marina take-off site in nearby Kelly Creek. Fishing with a 1/2 ounce Rayburn red colored Bill Lewis rattletrap lipless lure got him a limit of bass each morning.
Boyd ended up fishing a much bigger feeder creek situated right across the lake. Cedar Creek paid off, giving up a few of his biggest bass topping off each morning’s 5 spotted bass limit. His big bass lure of choice was a 4 inch Berkely Chigger Craw, Texas rigged and flipped in and around weedy, creek backwater banks. This Classic contender entered this Classic with an open mind and threw out all practice period notions and it paid off handsomely for Boyd Duckett, 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic Champion.
* Skeet Reese of California placed second in the 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic, missing a Classic win by only 6 ounces, right behind Boyd Duckett. After him exclaiming to have had a terrible practice period with only a couple of bass, Skeet’s confidence level was very low going into this Classic. Fishing the lakes headwaters during competition he decided to just go fishing and fish his strengths and it almost paid off.
Skeet brought in 5 bass limits each day weighing 17 1/2 pounds, 14-14 and 15-14. Ironically some of Skeet’s bass came on the same lure Boyd used. A Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw. Included in Skeet’s arsenal was a shallow running crankbait labled, a S.K.T. Mini MR made by Lucky Craft. Skeet Reese targeted laydown trees in Lay lakes headwaters fishing 3-6 feet of water in the main lake current.
* Kevin Van Dam, boy how many times have you seen or heard that name in fishing? Its said, “if Kevin is on your heels, then you had better watch out!” Like Skeet Reese of California, Kevin Van Dam of Michigan almost won this 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic, placing third overall. Targeting mid to lower lake creek mouth weed lines, Kevin brought in a decent sack of bass on day one weighing 13 pounds. Day two as usual, Kevin Van Dam figured them out, bringing in 19 pounds 14 ounces of bass, including a 5-7 largemouth bass that got big bass of the day honors.
His third day sack of bass is what hurt his chances of winning this Bassmasters Classic, weighing only 12 pounds and 5 ounces, for a three day total of 45-4. Like Boyd, Kevin fooled some of his bass daily on lipless lures. Using a 1/2 ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless lure and a Strike King flat shad crankbait as well, Kevin fooled some of his bass fishing weed lines in 3 feet of water. Falling water levels on day three scattered his more quality bass bites and only smaller bass were biting for Kevin on that last day.
* Terry McWilliams. Who? Unlike the name Van Dam, this lesser known Bass Federation angler made a real show and made people recognize another Bass Federation Classic Contender. Posting a first day limit of 5 bass weighing 15-9, a second day weight of 12-4 and a last day charge with 5 bass weighing 17-6, Terry McWilliams of Indiana ended the 2007 Bassmasters Classic in 4th place with weight of 45-3. And he did it fishing a very obvious “community hole” and doing it with one lure. Fishing the warm discharge waters of Wilsonville steam plant with a tube bait named, “The Honey Creek Tackle Stupid Tube” rigged Texas style, fishing rocks and boulders along main river drops, right below the warm water discharge.
* Gary Klein from Weathorford, Texas is a well know Bassmaster pro, having fished 25 Bassmasters Classic’s. He is also known to be deadly with a flipping stick in hand. Klein started this 2007 Lay Lake Classic with a respectable sack of flipped up bass weighing 11-6 putting him in 30th place on day one. On the strength of one lure. Using a 3/8 ounce green pumpkin football head jig combo, he brought in a weight of 17-5 to move into 6th place on day two.
Klein had another good day bringing in 5 bass weighing 15-10 on the last day of this 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic. But it was only good for fifth place and a total 3 day weight of 44-5. He was the only “top 5″ contender that fished deep water of 12-30 feet in the Spring Creek area. Some of Klein’s bass came out of deep water featuring standing timer, and other bass were caught around piers when the water warmed at midday.
So there you have it, this is how these 2007 Bassmaster Classic contenders caught their bass and placed in the eventual “top 5″ in the 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic. Think you can do as well this winter season? If not, give me a call. Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133. “Over 30 Years tournament fishing and guiding on Alabama’s Lay Lake.” Several guides available year round. See my website: www.fishingalabama.com for more fishing tips, fishing articles and loads of fishing info for all of Alabama’s Lakes.
Thanks and Good Fishin’
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133
Birmingham, Alabama
E-mail: alabassgyd@aol.com
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
“Over 40 Years Fishing, Guiding and Exploring every Lake in Alabama for Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass and some huge Striped Bass”
Originally Published (2007)
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