Big-fish Success Boosts Lindsay to Martin Win
By Greg McCain

Despite a bite dominated by spotted bass, Lake Martin still houses some big largemouth. Former Auburn collegiate angler Lucas Lindsay has proved that fact regularly in 2026.

Earlier in the year, Lindsay, also a B.A.S.S. Open competitor, boated a 7.30 largemouth followed quickly on the same day by a 5.1 and a 4.9, a three-fish trifecta as big as anything seen lately on Martin.

His big-fish moments continued Saturday in the third Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier of the year. Lindsay did not catch a Lake Martin giant, but a 4.81 largemouth anchored a 15.19 limit that easily topped the 91-boat field. His total was almost 4 lbs better than second-place competitor Zeke Gossett (Shotgun Sports Supply), who brought 11.29 to the scales. Lindsay’s best largemouth was the big fish among boaters.

The tournament was held out of Wind Creek State Park on a partly cloudy day with moderate winds. Water temperatures ranged from the mid-70s up to 80 degrees or slightly more.

(View weigh-in photos at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCRA6c.)

Lindsay said he fished water “as clear as I could get” in Blue Creek on the south end of the Tallapoosa River impoundment.

“I’m not afraid of it,” he said, “and I think the biggest fish live in the clear water. I think they live there and don’t get seen a lot because they are smart. They can see as well as we can.

“I knew it was really, really tough. When I caught that five-pounder this morning, actually the 4.81, I knew I was on my way. But I only had three fish before that time.”

Trolling motor issues complicated the remainder of his day of fishing – he spent the final half of tournament hours drifting or locked down on a spot – but the bite continued for him until the final moments. He added a 2.2 “fry-guarder” that he spent an extensive amount of time enticing and then culled in the final moments with a solid largemouth near Wind Creek.

Early in the day, he caught a three-lb. spot and a 2.7 largemouth that helped anchor his limit along with the big fish.

“If you know me, you know I like to throw a big swimbait, a big glidebait to get the better-than average bass to commit,” he said. “At the same time, you’ve always got to a wacky rig (tied on and ready). I’ll be honest. It was tough today. I did manage to catch a few on a wacky rig, probably 50-50 in terms of what I weighed. I caught the big fish on a wacky rig up under a dock.”

He also caught fish on a Spook. He said the wind and cloud cover helped the bite stay active throughout the day.

“It breaks up the surface and prevents fish from seeing the lure as well,” he said.

Following Lindsay and Gossett in the boater top 10 were Spencer Grooms (Auburn Bassmasters, 11.26); Keith Glasgow (Winfield Bassmasters, 11.25); Adam Ryder (Monroe County B.A.S.S. Anglers, 11.11); Matthew Bennett (Faulkner University, 11.02); Shaye Baker (Kowaliga Bassmasters, 10.50); Triton Graham (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 10.42); George Crain (Lake Tuscaloosa Bassmasters, 10.36); and Lucas Thornton (Belgreen Bass Club, 10.24).

Co-anglers also experienced a difficult bite on Martin. For much of the weigh-in, totals less than six lbs. topped the leaderboard before Chad Macks (LA Po Boys) and second-place finisher Lacson Reid (Rumbling Waters Bass Anglers) weighed in.

Reid finally broke the six-lb. mark and temporarily topped the back-of-the-boat contingent. His 6.17, three-fish total included the Lake Counseling Co-angler Big Fish, a 2.90 catch. Moments later, Macks slipped past Reid with his 6.27 limit, which included a 2.88 largemouth, for the win.

“We (Macks fished with boater Danny Grantham) started out throwing a topwater, throwing a spook,” he said. “The bite was a whole lot different than it was the last few days. We started throwing a worm, pitching around some docks and some brush, and started catching them.”

He caught his biggest fish “around 11” on a Spook. He said that he and Grantham fished in Blue Creek and in Kowaliga.

“I lost a couple of good ones that would have helped,” Macks said, “but it was also good to catch the big fish on a Spook in the middle of the day.”

After Macks and Reid, other top finishers among co-anglers were Kim Giddens (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 5.89); Steve Brisco (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 5.67); Jake Childers (Hamilton Bassmasters, 5.85); Lee Fowler (Birmingham Bass Club, 5.66); Chris Curvin (Neely Henry Bassmasters, 5.61); Cindy Dunn (W Alabama Bass Fishermen’s, 5.56); Dale Westmoreland (New Line Bass Club, 5.51); and Chris Marler (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 5.51)

In the Team (total boat weight) category, Glasgow-Jake Childers (17.10) led the competition, followed by Lee Hanvey-Reid (15.98); Lucas Thornton-James Thornton (15.22); Francis Beard -Chris Curvin (15.18); Marty Giddens-Kim Giddens (15.05); Larry Bullock-Dale Westmoreland (15.04); Chris Clark-Johnny Clark (14.71); and Phillip Sherrill-Danny Bailey (14.32).

Teams that were not previously qualified earned a spot in the state championship this fall. Top teams in that event then qualify for the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Team Championship December 9-12 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in Grove, OK.

Macks was also the top registered angler in the Fishin’ 4 a Cure competition. ABN participants support the Fishin’ 4 a Cure charity, which funds research for childhood diseases at Children’s of Alabama.

After three of five events, Angler of the Year races are starting to shape up. Donald Griffith (Wiregrass Bassmasters) moved to the top of the boater division followed by Lucas Thornton and Crain. Among co-anglers, Jonathan Barnette (Carbon Hill Bass Club) leads the standings followed by Donald Fish (Lee County Bass Club) and Macks. Both Barnette and Macks are past ABN co-anglers of the year.

ABN president Eddie Plemons thanks all the sponsors who continue to support the ABN schedule. They include Lake Counseling (ABN competitor William “Bill” Weathers), Office Partners, Fish Life Fish Care Products, Impulse Lithium batteries, AmFirst BassCash, Halo Rods, Radicull Culling Devices, Davis Bait Co., George Paint and Body, BassCats Boats, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury, Motor Guide, Lowrance, NetBait, Shell, Hammer Rods, Shelby County, Strike Zone Lures, Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting.

The ABN regular season concludes May 16 with a stop at Millers Ferry in Camden. The ABN State Championship ends the year Oct. 29-30 at Lake Martin.

For more information about the ABN, including full tournament results, and to register for future tournaments, check out the organization’s website at https://albassnation.org/.
Greg McCain is a freelance writer from Russellville, AL, and a member of the Belgreen Bass Club. In addition to producing content for this website, his credits include articles in Georgia Outdoor News, the ACC Crappie Stix blog, the Cornfield Fishing Gear website, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors.

Greg McCain is a freelance writer from Russellville, AL, and a member of the Belgreen Bass Club. In addition to producing content for this website, his credits include articles in Georgia Outdoor News, the ACC Crappie Stix blog, the Cornfield Fishing Gear website, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors.