ALEXANDER CITY, Ala., Nov. 13, 2002 - Although he lives in Tennessee, Rufus Johnson has been praying for rain in central Alabama lately. He figures the wet stuff will better his chance of having history repeat itself on Lake Martin.
Johnson will be among the 200 pros and their amateur partners competing in the $320,950 Alabama CITGO BASSMASTER Southern Open presented by Busch Beer there Nov. 21-23. Lake Martin was the site of Johnson's B.A.S.S. victory in 1999.
"I'm hoping that Lake Martin gets lots of rain between now and the tournament," the former CITGO BASSMASTERS Classic qualifier said. "If we get some good rain and get some color in that upper end of the lake, I think that will pay off for me. That's what I'll need to fish for largemouths up the river like I did in '99.
"But if not, you're going to have to have a back-up pattern like fishing from about Wind Creek down and finding some brushpiles or other kind of structure out in, say, 15 to 50 feet of water. And hope you can find some good (spotted bass). Spots will school up, and you can find them about anywhere and catch a limit of 12-inch spots. But it's just a matter of catching those 2- or 2 1/2-pound spots that you need to win."
Johnson will be glad to hear that the conditions on the 39,000-acre lake will be to his liking, according to Alabama pro Boyd Duckett.
"The water will have color with all of the rain we've had," said Duckett, the winner of the recent Southern Open on Pickwick and Wilson lakes who considers Lake Martin his home lake. "We've had a tremendous amount of rain. Up the river, the top 10 miles will have color. So there will plenty of water for the guys who want to chunk spinnerbaits and jigs."
Duckett expects the fishing to be good during the tournament.
"I'm really looking forward to this tournament," he said. "The spots are biting real good, so there will be a lot of fish caught. The hard thing about fishing Martin in the fall is catching a big fish. It's pretty easy to catch five. You won't see all the zeroes like we had at Pickwick.
"There will be a lot of fish weighed in and the guy that manages to find a way to get a few big bites in a day is going to be a winner."
With Lake Martin, the pros will have to first decide whether to target the bigger largemouths or the more plentiful spots.
"There are two tournaments at Martin," Duckett explained. "One is fishing up the river for largemouths and the other is fishing the lake for spots. You've got to make that decision. The largemouths have been biting a little bit, but it hasn't been real good this fall. The spots are biting like crazy, but that's the harder way to win it.
"I think it will be won on spots if a guy can find a way to catch an anchor fish - a largemouth. That's the way I plan to fish. I've fished over there a lot for spots, and I've got some places where I can catch some larger-than-average spots. I intend to try to catch a good limit and then go catch a big fish somewhere."
Johnson predicts that it will take 28 pounds to win the event, while Duckett is more optimistic, hoping for 36 pounds.
There is far more at stake in this tournament than the $50,000 top prize. As the final of three Southern Opens, the five pros who top the points standings will win their way to the 2003 CITGO BASSMASTERS Classic in New Orleans. Here are the current standings: Wesley Strader, Tenn., 392 points; Scott Martin, Fla., 385; Tim Hoskins, Ga., 376; Chris Baumgardner, N.C., 375; Jason Quinn, S.C., 374; Roger Stegall, Miss., 373; Bobby Padgett, Ga., 362; Marty Stone, N.C., 360; Eric Nethery, Ga., 359; Gregory Pugh, Ala., 353.
Anglers launch from Wind Creek State Park Marina at 6 a.m. The daily weigh-ins begin at 2 p.m. at the marina.
Sponsors of the CITGO BASSMASTER Southern Open event include: CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Chevrolet Trucks, Mercury Marine, Yamaha Outboards, Triton Boats, Skeeter Boats, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Kumho Tires, Long John Silver's, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, Bass Pro Shops, Armstrong Industrial Hand Tools, and B.A.S.S. Platinum Visa/First USA.
Associate Sponsors include Bass Cat Boats and G3 Boats
The local sponsor is Alexander City-Lake Martin Area Chamber of Commerce, 256-234-3461.