A pair of first-time winners emerged victorious Saturday (Feb. 13th) in the first Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) qualifier of 2021.

Fishing a rainy and chilly Lake Martin, boater Mark McCaig (Team Tackle Box) and co-angler Parrish Argo (LA PO Boys) topped a large field of competitors. McCaig’s 14.32 total beat local stick Steven Ingram (Kowaliga Bassmasters) among the boaters. Ingram landed a 14.09 limit.

Argo was one of three co-anglers who weighed three-fish limits over seven lbs., and he edged Chris Curvin (Neely Henry Bassmasters) and Lucas Thornton (Belgreen Bass Club), another newcomer to the ABN, for the back-of-the-boat title.

Francis Beard (Neely Henry Bassmasters) and Joey Aderhold (Birmingham Bass Club [BBC]) took Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish honors. Both caught largemouth that weighed 4.67, the first-ever tie for big fish in an ABN tournament.

In the Halo Rods team competition, Argo and Coby Carden (LA PO Boys) combined for 19.80 and qualified for the state championship, which is back on Martin in early November.

The tournament was staged out of Wind Creek State. Lake Martin Tourism served as sponsor and host for the event.

McCaig topped a 114-boat field for the title. Despite early-morning rain and a chilly east wind most of the day, the turnout was the largest in recent years for an ABN qualifier.

McCaig, who earned a spot on the 2022 ABN state team with the win, normally pairs with Tim Hurst as one of the most successful teams in Alabama tournament bass fishing. They competed individually on Martin, however, with Hurst finishing seventh among boaters.

“I started up shallow throwing a crankbait and a spinnerbait and caught a limit pretty quick,” McCaig said.

The limit proved relatively small, however, and McCaig knew he needed better quality to have hopes for a win.

“I only had one 2 ½-pounder (in the early limit), so I knew where a few deeper rockpiles were, and I caught by two biggest fish on a jig doing that. Both were about 3 ½ pounds.”

McCaig caught his two biggest fish around noon and soon depleted his deeper rockpiles.

“I didn’t know where anything like that was around the area, so I just went back to throwing a crankbait going down the bank and also throwing the spinnerbait some,” he said. “I wound up catching some more 2½-pounders to go along with what I had. I really caught fish all day.”

“I fished about five miles down the lake and went up about two, so I stayed pretty close (to the launch) most of the day.”

Argo caught his better fish later in the day after what he labeled a slow start. He said his best fish came from the Kowaliga area of Lake Martin.

“We just went fishing,” he said. “We started on the north end of the lake and caught a couple of small ones early. It started out kind of slow, but I finally managed to run across a couple of good ones. We ran from one end of the lake to the other.”

Argo and Carden, the most consistent winner among ABN boaters in recent years, mainly fished brushpiles in about 15 feet of water, throwing jigs and shaky heads. Argo said he caught his biggest fish, a largemouth about three lbs., on a jig. He added two spotted bass about two lbs. each to complete his three-fish limit.

“It definitely started to pick up for us after about lunch time,” said Argo, who also earned a spot on the 2022 state team. He will fish Bass Nation Regional Tournament on Lake Hartwell in April as a member of the 2021 state team. The date and location for the 2022 event have not been determined.

“I haven’t fished these tournaments but a couple of years,” Argo said. “It definitely feels good to win one.”

Following McCaig and Ingram in the top 10 in boater competition were Scott Chatham (Team Tackle Box, 12.83); Myles Palmer (Pro Line Bassmasters, 12.59); Jacob George (BBC, 12.54); Carden (12.21); Tim Hurst (Team Tackle Box, 11.90); Chad Miller (Rumbling Waters Bass Anglers, 11.84); Hulon Mattox (Kowaliga Bassmasters, 11.75); and Aderhold (11.56).

After Argo, the co-angler top 10 included Curvin (7.32); Thornton (7.29); Wade Adams (Alex City Bassmasters, 6.91); Jimmy Thornhill (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 6.34); Jessica O’Donnell (Alex City Bassmasters, 6.33); Hall Hobbs (Shelby County Fishing Team, 6.31); Jonathan Barnette (Carbon Hill Bass Club, 6.30); Phillip Sherrell (Coosa Valley Bassmasters, 6.09); and Johnny Clark (W ALA Bass Fishermen’s Association, 6.06).

The ABN qualifiers also allow top teams to advance to the ABN State Championship. After the Carden-Argo team in the standings, others who qualified for the state competition were John Thornton/Lucas Thornton (Belgreen Bass Club, 18.39); Palmer/William Wood (Pro Line Bassmasters, 17.73); Beard/Curvin (17.63); George/Lincoln Stewart (BBC, 16.62); Larry Franks Jr./Larry Franks Sr. (Coosa River Rats, 16.26); and Jeff Corley/William McRee (BBC, 16.08).

In addition to the seven teams that qualified at Martin, other teams will continue to qualify in later ABN tournaments for several berths in the B.A.S.S. Nation Team Championship scheduled in December on Lake Eufaula. B.A.S.S. awards one spot to the national tournament for every 20 different teams competing in ABN qualifiers.

Also taking home bonus money were Beard and Curvin. Beard was the highest-ranking participant in the Office Partners Fishin’ 4 A Cure (F4AC) Big Fish competition while Curvin was the top overall finisher among those registered for F4AC. ABN anglers contributed over $4,000 to F4AC at Martin. The money goes to help combat childhood diseases at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

ABN Eddie Plemons thanks Lake Martin Tourism and other sponsors for the tournament. Returning sponsors for 2021 ABN events include Academy Sports + Outdoors, 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 ABN season continues next month on Lake Guntersville. Other qualifiers this year are scheduled for Lake Eufaula in April and Lay Lake in May. Qualifying individuals and teams will then compete in the state tournament on Martin Nov. 5-6.

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, CrappieNow digital magazine, and the ACC Crappie Stix blog. He is a member of the Belgreen Bass Club, an ABN chapter near Russellville.