Home waters of Martin prove friendly for Giddens
By Greg McCain

Marty Giddens and his wife, Kim, like Lake Martin so much that they live there. After the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) qualifier Saturday (Feb. 18), they love Martin just a little bit more.

Fishing the first ABN tournament of 2023, Marty Giddens (Wiregrass Bassmasters) used his skills and familiarity with the Tallapoosa River impoundment, besting a field of 127 total boaters with a five-fish limit of 12.57. Kim (also of Wiregrass Bassmasters), who won the 2022 ABN co-angler title on Martin, finished second among the back-of-the boat crowd with 6.99.

In addition to first-place boater money, the lucrative day for Marty Giddens also included payouts from the Nitro Boats Rewards program, from Airport Marine Fishin’ 4 A Cure, and from a new bonus program for ABN anglers, the AmFirst Bass Cash prize for anglers who finance their tow vehicle or boat with the company.

Other top finishers include Cullen Green, who finished second among boaters with 12.23 and also captured the Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish with a 6.03 largemouth. Eddie Rhodes (Wiregrass Bassmasters) topped the co-angler field with a three-fish limit of 7.13. Rhodes also  paired with Donald Griffith to win the top prize among competitors who registered for the team component of the tournament.

Marty Giddens said that he and Kim “took about a pretty good ride” to find their fish, meaning they headed toward the south end of the lake. The tournament launched from Wind Creek State Park near Alexander City.

He said he had several quality fish fairly. He added the increasing air temperatures throughout the day “didn’t hurt.” With temps in the high 20s at blastoff, most anglers had to deal with water freezing in their rod guides and reels in the opening hour of the tournament.

“It started off okay for me and not as much for Kim,” Marty said. “I caught two or three two-pounders and kept going and going. When it started to warm up, they got to be 2½ pounders. I didn’t have anything that weighed three pounds. They were all about the same size.”

Marty, who didn’t pre-fish much but competed in two tournaments the previous weekend, said he caught his fish on a swimbait and a jig. Marty added that he and Kim went in search of clearer water after Thursday night rains muddied up portions of the upper end. Still, the lower reaches of Martin were “not real clear,” Marty said.

The Martin win is not the only time that Marty has experienced success at the grassroots level of B.A.S.S. competition. In 2017, he advanced out of a Bass National regional on Lake of the Ozarks, MO, and finished third in the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship, which earned him a berth in the 2018 Bassmaster Classic. Both of the latter events were fished on Lake Hartwell, S.C.

Among the other boaters chasing Giddens, Green (Pro Line Bassmasters) said he flipped a jig in trees all day, accumulating his limit and catching the big largemouth with that method.

On the co-angler side, Rhodes fished for the first time in an ABN event and for only the second time on Lake Martin. In fact, Rhodes did not pre-fish for the event, leaving his home in Milton, FL, at 1:30 Saturday morning for the tournament. He and boater Donald Griffish (Wiregrass Bassmasters) “didn’t go far” to catch their fish.

He said he caught every fish on a mid-depth crankbait.

“I didn’t have any thoughts about a chance to win,” Rhodes said. “I didn’t even pre-fish.”

Despite the slow start, Kim Giddens said she caught her limit on a shaky head.

“I didn’t have a fish until about 11,” she said, “and then I managed to catch a couple.”

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were David Wesson, Neely Henry Bassmasters, 12.11; Jamie McKinney, Marathon Bassmasters, 12.03; Blake Sanders, Wiregrass Bassmasters, 11.79; Ethan Stevenson, Wiregrass Bassmasters, 11.76; Lucas Lindsay, Auburn Anglers; 11.69; Steven Ingram, Kowaliga Bassmasters, 11.13; Robbie Pritchard, Alexander City Bassmasters, 10.68; and Victor Harper, W Ala Bass Fishermen’s Association, 10.68.

Behind Rhodes and Giddens in the co-angler division were Steve Watson, Kowaliga Bassmasters, 6.39; Hudson Choquette, Headland Bass Team, 6.29; Avery Padget, Zion Chapel H.S., 6.27; Sam Smith, Auburn University Bass Club, 6.19; Colby Bendall, Belgreen Bass Club, 6.17; Bobby Kennedy, Bluff City B/M of Eufaula, 5.87; William Spencer, Wiregrass Bassmasters, 5.86; and Brent Shiver, Wiregrass Bassmasters, 5.78.

In the team competition, Griffith and Rhodes led six other teams who qualified for the team competition in the ABN State Championship in the fall. Other qualifiers (teams had to register and pay entry for the team competition) were Connor Jacob and Sam Smith (both of Auburn University Bass Club); Andrew Vitu and Richard White (both of Alexander City Bassmasters); Coby Carden and Parrish Argo (both of Pro Line Bassmasters); Timothy Hatcher and Chandler Teems (both of Wiregrass Bassmasters); Aaron Cherry (University of Montevallo) and Choquette; and Logan Parks (Auburn Anglers) and Padget.

Marty Giddens was the top finisher among Fishin’ For A Cure 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 at the hospital.

Ferlin Weeks (Belgreen Bass Club) won the $100.00 drawing from Academy and a $100 check from the ABN. The Academy drawing will be a regular feature of the ABN tournaments again this year. Anglers submit their Academy receipts at weigh-in, and a winner will be rewarded at each event.

ABN president Eddie Plemons thanks all the sponsors who support the season-long tournaments. In addition to Academy, Airport Marine, and AmFirst, they include Fish Life Fish Care Products, Office Partners, 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, StrikeZone Lure Co., Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting. (Plemons said that any angler who is registered for the BassCat bonus program should contact him.)

The 2023 ABN regular season continues next month with a tournament on Lake Eufaula. Other stops this year include Lay Lake in April and Pickwick Lake in June with the two-day state championship returning to Pickwick Nov 3-4.

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 and photos in Georgia Outdoor News, the ACC Crappie Stix blog, the Cornfield Fishing Gear website, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors magazine.