Sport fishing big on Logan Martin
Story by Jim Smothers
Photography by Michael Callahan
Submitted Photos
Ever since the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) put Lake Logan Martin on the map as a great place for sport fishing, its popularity has soared.
The 1992 Bassmaster Classic wasn’t the first fishing tournament to be held on the lake, but the B.A.S.S. imprimatur bestowed on the lake by that event certified what local fishermen already knew — it’s a great place to go fishing. It didn’t hurt that the winning angler that year, Robert Hamilton, Jr., caught 21 bass weighing a total of 59 pounds, 6 ounces — the third highest creel ever in a Classic tournament.
B.A.S.S. returned to Logan Martin after 1992 for two more Classics, the 1998 Alabama Bassmaster Top 150, the 2007 junior tournament and the 2013 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open. The lake continues to be the site of tournaments hosted by a number of other organizations.
Among the Pell City-based tournaments held or planned for this year are those organized by Mark’s Outdoor Sports Open, American Bass Anglers Weekend Bass Series, Birmingham Engineers, Bremen Marine, U.S. Steel, Buck’s Marine, Joseph Harrison, Alabama Bass Trail, the McSweeney Foundation and Casting for the Cure.
“They just like coming here,” said Nancy Crow, Civic Center Coordinator for the Pell City Parks and Recreation Department. Most of the tournaments operate out of Lakeside Park, and Crow helps work out the details with organizers to make sure they have what they need.
“Our lake is beautiful, and it’s a great place for them to launch. We have a 65-acre park there. They like our boat ramp, and they have interstate access nearby. They (tournament organizers) call from everywhere, and it’s increasing.”
Crow said she has 30 tournaments on the schedule this year, including one group that will host a tournament every Wednesday until the water goes down to winter pool.
So far this year, the McSweeney Foundation had about 200 boats; the Bass Weekend Series about 300; the Alabama Bass Trail about 400; and Mark’s Outdoors weighed in with more than 500 boats, including about 200 in the parent-and-child division.
After hosting its annual tournament on Lay Lake for 19 years, Mark’s Outdoor Sports moved it to Logan Martin this summer.
“They wanted to come try it here,” Crow said. “They can have the whole park, and we already have them down for next year.”
Pell City Mayor Joe Funderburg said he was “tickled to death” the city was able to host the tournament, the biggest one on the lake. The ability to host these tournaments is an asset to the community, bringing in plenty of people connected with the tournaments. That means increased business for area motels, restaurants and other businesses.
“We feel really good about it. We strive to bring them in, and they just keep increasing the reputation of Logan Martin as a great lake to fish in,” he said.
Pell City Chamber of Commerce Director Erica Grieve said Lakeside Park is a beautiful place and commended the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for all it does in helping organizers with the tournaments.
“They love to fish on Logan Martin Lake,” she said. “It has a lot to do with the people involved getting things set up and the openness in the community.”
Grieve said the Chamber works to make sure organizers get the information and maps they need to plan their events.
“We try to get them whatever they need,” she said. “I believe the tournaments have a huge impact. They fill up our hotels, they have to eat somewhere and get gas. … There’s a definite impact. They have been great to work with, and it just makes you want to do more.”
Mark’s tourney a big catch
The move of Mark’s Outdoors’ tournament to Pell City appears to be permanent.
“It was a great success and seemed to be very well received by the city, the homeowners, and we were pleased with the exposure it got,” said Blake Harlow, tournament director and fishing manager at the Vestavia Hills sporting goods store.
Involved in fishing tournaments since he was 10 years old, Harlow was also a founding member of the University of Alabama’s fishing team. He is proud to see the tournament continue, and the vision of tournament founder Mark Whitlock keep going. Whitlock lost his battle with cancer two years ago. Whitlock insisted the tournament have a division for parent/child teams, with their participation underwritten by sponsors. This year there were 200 parent/child teams among the more than 500 in the tournament.
“People from all over the Southeast came, and we see Pell City as the permanent home for it now,” Harlow said.
With two main launches at Lakeside Park and two others near the baseball and softball fields, organizers had an easier time getting all those boats in the water. He said the park also gave participants and spectators plenty of room.
“There was enough room for everybody not to be bunched-up at the weigh-in and a lot more family fun in the park for kids. We were apprehensive about moving — we were afraid the lake would fish small and everyone would be bunched up and on top of each other, but it was just the opposite. And people caught fish all day.”
He said he has also noticed a growing trend of girls joining in the fun.
“We’re seeing more people getting active in fishing. There are more kids now, more parents, more moms and daughters, and more girls fishing now than I’ve ever seen.”
He thinks the growth of fishing as a team sport at high schools and colleges is helping to get more people involved.
“Fishing is a full-fledged sport at Auburn, Alabama, AUM, Montevallo, South Alabama, Troy and UNA. Some of them are actually giving scholarships.”
Organizers for most tournaments observe a strict catch-and-release policy to help minimize pressure on fisheries, and Mark’s takes conservation a step further at its annual tournament. Each team is given a bag of bass fingerlings before they launch, with instructions to release them when they stop to fish. Harlow estimates there are 75 fingerlings in each bag, a total of more than 37,000 fish released to help make fishing in the future even better than it was before.
Harlow also expressed appreciation to B.A.S.S. for helping with the weigh-in and release and for the organization’s work in establishing procedures for catch-and-release to keep fish populations strong.
But bass weren’t the only attraction at this year’s tournament. The 2014 Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell of Springville appeared at the competition. He has made his mark as a top competitor on the circuit, and he won his first Classic earlier this year.
He has spent a lot of time on Logan Martin, and has written Pro Tips articles for the Alabama Bass Trail website with advice for both summer and winter fishing on the lake.
B.A.S.S likes Logan Martin
B.A.S.S. Director of Event and Tourism Partnership Michael Mulone said catch-and-release fishing was instituted in the early ‘70s. The organization worked with state agencies on water quality and fish-care measures and cleanup efforts.
“It’s kind of a 360 approach, making sure fisheries are healthy,” he said. “Bass fishing is not about tournaments, it’s about lifestyle. It does us no good if we have a tournament and don’t leave it in the same condition we found it.”
Mulone added that while B.A.S.S. did not have an event on Logan Martin this year, they will definitely be back.
“When we pick our venues, it has to be a body of water with a healthy bass fishery that can host 200 boats. They can be hard to find,” he said. “Thankfully, there’s a whole lot of lakes in Alabama that can host. Logan Martin is one of them, with ramp facilities and hotels nearby, and it helps being close to the interstate. Pell City is a great town as well, and that’s part of why we like going there.”
B.A.S.S. organized its first fishing tournament in 1967 in Arkansas, an event that spawned a revolution in the sport. Pro fishermen have become as well known as movie stars to those who follow the sport, and when B.A.S.S. chooses a lake as a tournament site, it’s a seal of approval that carries a lot of weight.
“Any lake we suggest that’s tournament quality is a fantastic fishery. Though we have a top 100 list we put out every year, any lake we choose is one of the best of the best,” Mulone said. “In every destination, you take it for granted how good it is. These are fantastic destinations for families and anglers to visit. I definitely would put Logan Martin in the top tier. As far as the quality of the fishery and the people around there, it’s top notch.”
