The signs were not good for Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) anglers entering its third qualifying tournament Saturday (May 16) on Lake Neely Henry in Gadsden.

Bass fishing is generally hot in May on the Coosa impoundment, but quality fish had proved difficult to come by. In fact, the bite during the official practice days for the tournament was non-existent at times. Water conditions had only recently returned to the May norm after months of flooding and fluctuation that impacted grass growth, leaving bass in a wandering state that made patterning them difficult.

As usual, however, a few anglers figured out the unpredictable conditions, particularly several members of the Birmingham Bass Club (BBC). ABN veteran Scott Holmes had the best answers to the puzzle, and he boated a five-fish limit that weighed 16.32 to win the boater division. Bruce Sargent (BBC) finished second with 14.38, and Brian Davenport (Shotgun Sports Supply) took third with 11.71.

Holmes anchored his catch with the Academy Sports+Outdoors Big Fish, a 5.18 largemouth. He zeroed in on a grass bite early Saturday and exclusively focused on largemouth, catching six keepers either punching the famed Coosa grass or swimming a jig through it.

Adding to his overall tournament prizes, Holmes also claimed Airport Marine Fishin’ 4 A Cure (F4AC) honors and caught the Office Partners F4AC Big Fish. 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 for every tournament.

“I’ve been fishing Neely Henry forever,”

Holmes said.

“It’s the closest lake to me. We had a club tournament there a couple of weeks ago, and I didn’t do great. I went pre-fishing a couple of times and didn’t do great. I went Thursday before work just to see I could find a shad spawn. I didn’t. I pre-fished all day Friday and caught one keeper.”

“Fishing was terrible. I talked to several people, and they said the same thing.”

Holmes, of Odenville and owner of ABN sponsor Charlie’s BBQ, did manage to find some mature grass in the mid-lake area, and he made plans to start there in the tournament.

“I told my co-angler (Travis Culbreth) that if I got one bite (flipping) that I was going to stay in the grass all day,”

Holmes said.

“Pretty early on, I caught one flipping. I just kept fishing it. Why not? I didn’t have anything else going. It was not a slugfest by any means. I only caught six keepers all day.”

Positioning his boat in about three feet of water, Holmes added a couple more keepers flipping a Missile Baits D Bomb. Even then, the slow bite created some uncertainty for Holmes. He didn’t leave the grass but switched to a swim jig and landed his two best fish.

“I started swimming a jig,”

he said.

“We got on some grass with a little wind, and we had some cloud cover. I threw up there in the shallower grass and caught a three-pounder. I flipped up another keeper, but switched back to the swim jig and caught the 5.18. That was it. It culled my smallest fish. I never caught another fish after 12 o’clock.”

Holmes used a Dirty Jigs swim jig paired with a NetBait Baby Paca Craw to catch his best fish. He won extra money by catching the biggest largemouth on a NetBait product. He flipped and swam the jig on Hammer Rods, another ABN sponsor.

The limit of largemouth proved enough for Holmes, who made the state team destined for next year’s B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Regional for the fifth time.
On the co-angler side, Chris Wiemar (Pipemill Bassmasters) took a totally different approach although he and boater Charles Rosato also fished the grass for a short time without a bite.

“We started off in the grass right there at Gadsden,”

said Wiemar, of Warrior and a member of the Pikeville Bassmasters.

“We stopped in a pocket and five or six boats were already there. We didn’t get a bite. I told Charles after about an hour or hour and a half, ‘We’ve got to go spot fishing’.”

They made a long run upriver not far from Weiss Lake Dam and found the remnants of a shad spawn. A few casts with a bubblegum fluke put three solid spotted bass in the boat for Wiemar, and he never culled despite catching about 10 keepers during the course of the day. He finished with 7.39.
James Sweazer (Tiger Bassmasters) claimed second among co-anglers with 7.05.

“I know a lot of places upriver,”

Wiemar said.

“We made a run of about 25 miles. We got there, and shad were still up on the bank. We should have gone on up there first thing in the morning.”

Wiemar caught three fish in a row on the fluke, including a 3-plus spot.

“I caught several fish through the course of the day but never culled,”

he said.

“I had a good one hooked up on a spinnerbait, but it came off.”

The win boosted Wiemar into the top spot in the co-angler of the year standings with one qualifier and the state championship remaining.

“That’s been my goal,”

he said.

“I’ve always wanted to win angler of the year. I’m also glad to make the state team. That’s another thing that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Rounding out the top 10 in the boater division were Rick Nishio (Gadsden Bassmasters, 11.37); Don Hogue (Lake Tuscaloosa Bassmasters, 11.24); Kyle Glasgow (Winfield Bassmasters, 11.00); Rickey Dunn (W. Alabama Bass Fishermen’s Association, 10.77); Rocky Rockhill (Tennessee Valley Bass Club, 10.56); Justin Marbut (Shotgun Sports Supply, 10.55); and Jack White (Lake Tuscaloosa Bassmasters, 10.38).

Following Wiemar and Sweazer in the co-anglers standings were Wallace Williams (BBC, 6.42); Will Delaney (Shelton State Bass Club, 6.38); Charles Nowling (BBC, 5.88); Johnny Clark (W. Alabama Bass Fishermen’s Association, 5.87); Hudson Choquette (Headland Bass Team, 5.85); and Chris Marler (Shotgun Sports Supply, 5.79).

Sargent and Williams took top honors in the NetBait/Halo Rods Team competition. They combined for 20.80. Holmes and Culbreth were second with 17.98. Also qualifying for the team competition in the state championship were Bill Gordon (Tiger Bassmasters) and Sweazer; Jeff Gilliam (W. Alabama Bass Fishermen’s Association) and Clark; and Rosato (BBC) and Wiemar.

Sponsors for ABN events include Academy Sports+Outdoors, Airport Marine, Office Partners, 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 final ABN qualifier of 2020 will be re-scheduled soon. It was originally set April 18 on Lake Martin but postponed to the fall. Top individuals and teams compete in the qualifiers to earn a spot in November’s state championship on Lake Eufaula. 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.