Two former Auburn University Bass Club members who have experienced great success on Lake Eufaula rose to the top of the leaderboard in both boater and co-angler divisions in the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) qualifier held there Saturday (March 14).

Shane Powell (Wiregrass Bassmasters), always a contender in tournaments on Lake Eufaula, claimed his first ABN title with a mega-haul of largemouth, almost eclipsing the 30-lb. mark. He boxed a limit that weighed 29.60, including the Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish, and bested the second-place finisher, Lee Byrd, by more than seven pounds. Byrd (Birmingham Bass Club) had 22.53.

Among co-anglers, another Eufaula regular and former Auburn competitor, Cole Burdeshaw, easily topped the field with a three-fish limit weighing 11.90. Burdeshaw (Headland Bass Team), who won the 2018 ABN State Championship as a boater on Eufaula, fished behind his former college partner, Peyton McCord, and they combined to win the NetBait/Halo Rods team title.

The tournament launched from Lakepoint State Park and was hosted by the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce.

Powell, of Dothan, once weighed a 31.11 limit in a team tournament on Eufaula but had never approached the 30-lb. mark individually. His previous best five in a tournament on the lake weighed about 25 pounds. A slow start made Powell wonder if he was even going to catch a limit Saturday.

“Based on how warm it’s been the last week or so and with the water finally stabilizing, I fished shallow until about 10:30 and caught two three-pounders doing that,”

Powell said.

“The place I thought I was really going to catch them, that’s all I caught. I could tell there wasn’t that much going on (shallow), so I just started working my way out.”

Powell continued fishing the same lure, a black-and-blue jig with a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog trailer, in water eight to 12 feet deep, and the bite suddenly turned on. Over the next three hours, he landed the fish on multiple stops and culled the two fish from the shallow morning fishing. His big fish weighed 7.75, and his smallest was about 4.25 with three more fish over five pounds filling out his limit.

“I found fish anywhere that was a little bit deeper that had a drop-off near a spawning area,”

Powell said.

“It could have brush on it, or it could just be a hard spot. I caught fish on a couple of rod beds down toward the dam. There was nothing on (the rod beds), but they were places where the fish would set up before moving in to spawn.”

As the day progressed, Powell said he realized the current had picked up, likely triggering the mid-day feeding spree.

“Once it stopped about 1:30, I didn’t catch another fish,” he said. “If I had stayed shallow all day, I probably wouldn’t have weighed in anything. I just happened to be in the right places at the right time.

“I think the fish were there the whole time. They just weren’t biting. I just happened to get on the right spots when the bite turned on.”

Other top finishers among boaters behind Powell and Byrd were Josh Stracner (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 21.96); James Hardy (Shotgun Sports Supply, 16.69); Keith Glasgow (Winfield Bassmasters, 16.54); Shaye Baker (Kowaliga Bassmasters, 15.55); Rick Nishio (Gadsden Bassmasters, 15.37); Chester ‘Jabo’ Bowman (Shotgun Sports Supply, 15.06); Armando Ortiz (Auburn University Bass Club, 14.54); and Danny Grantham (LA PO Boys, 14.48).

Like Powell, Burdeshaw said he and McCord started off shallow. Burdeshaw quickly stuck a big fish, a 6.22 largemouth, and they elected to stay near spawning areas most of the day.

Burdeshaw, who now lives in Nashville, said he and McCord “ran all over the lake” to find their fish.

“It was actually a tough day for us,”

Burdeshaw said.

“We caught a few fish here and there, but I only caught four keepers. I caught the big fish early, and another that weighed a little over three, and another over two. Other than a smaller spot, those were the only keepers I caught.”

Continuing the theme of jig fishing in the tournament, Burdeshaw said he caught his limit on a black-and-blue model also.

Among the other co-anglers, Dale Westmoreland (New Line Bass Club) finished second behind Burdeshaw with a 9.52 limit. Duane Mock (Wiregrass Bassmasters) was third with 8.38. Other co-anglers in the top ten were Cliff Crouch (River City Anglers, 8.32); Greg Mims (Neely Henry Bassmasters, 8.31); Kyle Kimbrell (Birmingham Bass Club, 8.08); Steve Miles (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 8.07); Ricky Baker (Kowaliga Bassmasters, 8.01); Chris Wiemar (Pipemill Bassmasters, 7.74); and Michael Cochran (LA PO Boys, 7.72).

In the team competition, McCord and Burdeshaw topped the field with a 25.59 total and qualified for the team competition in the ABN State Championship to be held in November on Eufaula. They also received cash, plus product prizes from Halo and Netbait, for capturing the team title.

Other top finishers were Shaye Baker and Ricky Baker (23.56), Grantham and Cochran (22.20), Glasgow and McCain Merchant (21.35), and Jack Tibbs and Duane Mock (21.01). All the top teams, plus sixth-place finishers Tyler Crouch and Cliff Crouch, are now qualified for the state team championship.

Byrd took top honors among Fishin’ 4 A Cure (F4AC) participants. He was the leader among those tournament competitors signed up for F4AC. Anglers elect to pay an optional $25 per tournament to F4AC, and the money goes to help combat childhood diseases at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. Airport Marine and Office Partners are the F4AC sponsors.

Other sponsors for ABN events are Halo Rods, Radicull Culling Devices, Davis Bait Co., George Paint and Body, Academy, Motivated Movers, Triton Boats, Mercury, Motor Guide, Lowrance, NetBait, Shell, Hammer Rods, Daiwa, Shelby County, StrikeZone Lure Co., Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting.

The third ABN qualifier of 2020 is scheduled for April 18 on Lake Martin. The ABN visits Gadsden and Lake Neely Henry in May for its final regular tournament of the year. Top individuals and teams compete to earn a spot in November’s state championship. Qualifiers are open to any member of a B.A.S.S. affiliated club. The full schedule and registration information is found on the ABN website.

Greg McCain is a freelance writer with hundreds of credits in various print and digital publications. In addition to producing photos and content for this website, he is a regular contributor to Alabama Outdoor News (AON) magazine and CrappieNow digital magazine. He is a member of the Belgreen Bass Club, an ABN chapter near Russellville.