Co-anglers make ABN history with fish-off
By Greg McCain

The Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) experienced a first Saturday (May 21) on Pickwick Lake in the final 2022 qualifying tournament.

Josh Oliver (Shotgun Sports Supply) scored the win in the traditional way in a field of 66 boaters, but history was made on the co-angler side. For the first time ever, a tie atop the standings forced a fish-off between Dylan Cornelius (Winfield Bassmasters) and Curtis Gossett (Shotgun Sports Supply).

Both Cornelius and Gossett posted 11.64 totals, sending ABN president Eddie Plemons to the rule book for clarification about determining the outcome. The rules dictated a fish-off with the first angler boating a legal fish declared the winner. Just over 30 minutes into the fish-off, Cornelius landed a 15-inch largemouth and claimed his first ABN victory.

Cornelius actually posted the heaviest weight among co-anglers at 11.89, but a dead fish penalty dropped him into a tie with Gossett. A lengthy discussion between Plemons and the participants and a survey of the ABN rules resulted in the fish-off.

“It’s nervous, straight nerves,” Cornelius said, who fished the fish-off out of the boat of his partner, Jennings Earnest (Winfield Bassmasters). “I caught it off a dropshot, my confidence bait.”

The dropshot actually proved pivotal for Cornelius. He landed a solid largemouth early on a swimbait, but his other two keepers came on the dropshot. His regular limit included a largemouth over five.

“I caught one largemouth up toward the dam this morning, and then we ran out about a half tank of gas trying to catch the others. We’ve been to Bear (Creek) and back, and I finally caught my third fish right here by the boat ramp.”

Gossett, who maintained his lead in the co-Angler of the Year race, said the fish-off was the end of a grueling day in 90-degree heat on Pickwick.

“For an old man, it’s exhausting,” he said. “I am exhausted. I’m 56 years old. I’m give out.”

After a day of consistent catches behind his son Zeke, Curtis Gossett said he had only one potential bite during the fish-off. A fish flashed on a fluke – possibly a skipjack, Gossett said – but he failed to hook up.

The boater winner, Oliver, had a similar tough time getting fish in the boat in the opening moments of the tournament.

Oliver, fishing ABN events for the first time this year, claimed the win in the boater division after a couple of near misses in earlier qualifiers. He finished second at Eufaula in April and third at Logan Martin in March. He weighed in his limit of 19.59 over an hour early because of some stressed fish after a tough start to his day.

Shelton Byrd (Belgreen Bass Club) took second with 18.74 and also landed the Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish, a 6.11 largemouth. Zeke Gossett (Shotgun Sports Supply), the Angler of the Year leader on the boater side, posted a solid 17.62 for third.

“It started off pretty rough,” Oliver said. “I lost one about eight or nine pounds first thing and bounced one about 4 ½ lbs. off the net. Then I lost another one about four lbs. about two feet from the net, all within 10 minutes of each other. I lost six or seven that pulled off a big plug that I never saw.”

Later he added, “I have never lost them like that. I’m normally not bad about losing fish, but I was today.”

Two days of productive looking on the Pickwick ledges, however, had put Oliver on good schools, and he weathered the tough start and began to build the winning limit. He bulked up his keepers with a six-pounder about 10 and added solid fish throughout the day.

He caught his fish on the Jerky J swimbait fished on a scrounger head and on a 10XD crankbait. He said he caught 40-50 fish overall fishing “way down the river.”.

“We graphed for the past two days and found a bunch of schools, including a couple that would really bite,” Oliver said.

On the other hand, Byrd said he only had about nine bites all day but managed to find the right ones. He caught his fish on a mop jig with a Strike King trailer near mid-lake. The big largemouth, which he caught early in the afternoon, came on the jig

“It was a big cull because I only had a 15-incher in the livewell,” Byrd said. “Later, I caught one about 3 or 3 ½ and culled another keeper. Those were the only two culls that I had.”

Byrd, fishing his first ABN event as a boater, said he had limited practice on the lake despite living locally, catching a single keeper fish the previous week in a club tournament.

Rounding out the top 10 among boaters were Logan Ryan (Coosa Valley Bassmasters, 15.17); Tim Hatcher (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 13.57); Jacob George (Birmingham Bass Club, 12.89); Francis Beard (Neely Henry Bassmasters, 12.73); John Thornton (Belgreen Bass Club, 12.46); Terry Ezzell (Belgreen Bass Club, 12.37); and Andrew Vitu (Alex City Bassmasters, 12.17).

Following the leaders in the co-angler field were Joseph Batton (Coosa Valley Anglers, 11.59); Richard White (Alex City Bassmasters, 11.39); Chris Curvin (Neely Henry Bassmasters, 11.00); Colby Bendall (Belgreen Bass Club, 8.94); Travis Culbreth (Birmingham Bass Club, 8.88); Chase Dorsett (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 7.65); Tyler Weeks (Belgreen Bass Club, 7.26); and William Wood (Pro Line Bassmasters, 7.24).

The Gossetts won the team competition although they had previously qualified for the team component of the state championship. Other team qualifiers for the state championship from Pickwick were Beard and Curvin; Ryan and John Fredrick (Coosa Valley Bassmasters); Byrd and Shannon Oliver (Belgreen Bass Club); Lee Byrd and Anthony Mills (both of Birmingham Bass Club); George and Lincoln Stewart (Birmingham Bass Club); John Thornton and Lucas Thornton (Belgreen Bass Club); and Randall Carter and William Spencer (both of Wiregrass Bassmasters).

Zeke Gossett also won money as the top finisher among Fishin’ For A Cure (F4AC) participants. ABN competitors pay $25 per tournament or $100 for the year to participate in

F4AC with the money going to support Children’s of Birmingham. Through the years, the ABN

has contributed over $300,000 to help fight childhood diseases.

Other prize money went to Kent McNaughton (Lake Tuscaloosa Bassmasters), who won the $100.00 drawing from Academy and a $100 check from the ABN. The drawing has become a regular feature of the ABN tournaments this year. Anglers submit their Academy receipts at weigh-in, and a winner is drawn at each event.

In addition to Academy, other 2022 sponsors of ABN events include Fish Care Products, Airport Marine, Office Partners, Halo Rods, Radicull Culling Devices, Davis Bait Co., George Paint and Body, Triton Boats, Mercury, Motor Guide, Lowrance, NetBait, Shell, Hammer Rods, Shelby County, StrikeZone Lure Co., Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting.

The Pickwick qualifier concluded the 2022 regular season, following previous tournaments at Martin, Logan Martin, and Eufaula. Individuals and teams who qualified will now prepare for the two-day state championship, which returns to Lake Eufaula in October. At the state tournament, state team members and Angler of the Year races will be finalized.

After the Pickwick event, both Gossetts maintained their leads in the AOY standings. Among boaters, Zeke Gossett leads Hatcher by eight points. Johnathan Harris (Coosa Valley Bassmasters) is third and Oliver is fourth. Curtis Gossett tops the field among co-anglers, followed by White, Culbreth, and Batton.

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 recent credits include articles in Alabama Outdoor News, Georgia Outdoor News, ACC Crappie Stix blog, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors.