Impressive weigh-in bodes well for fishing at Bridgeport Landing

The Pride of the South Bass Tournament was at Bridgeport Landing in Camden March 3 for a stop on the 2022 Elite Series tournament trail. Teams blasted off at first light and came back to Bridgeport for a 4:45 weigh in.

Tournament Director Jeremy Bass said 28 boats fished the tournament, and only three did not weigh in which he said was a good turnout. “Water temperatures are in the low 60s right now,” Bass said. “The river is a little bit trashy, but it’s really fishable.”

Bass said he was pleased with the weights. “Twenty pounds won the tournament, and the top five were over 16 pounds,” Bass said. “That’s really good weights for March. The winner will get over $2,500 today.”

The tournament paid out the first five places. In fifth taking home $200 was Chad and Chase Schroeder with 16.73 pounds. Fourth was Roger and Michael Etheridge with 17.10 pounds and a purse of $250. Todd and Trevor Nelson were the third-place team winning $500 with a bag weighing 17.63 pounds. In second and taking home $1,000 were Justin Coxwell and Thomas Moore with 17.83 pounds. In first taking home about $3,000 and a nice first-place plaque, were Justin Paul and Chase Locke with a total weight of 20.26 pounds.

Outdoor Guru and host of the Gettin’ Outdoors with BDL podcast James “Big Daddy” Lawler said he was glad to see such good weights. He said it goes to show the quality of the fishing on the Alabama River, and the quality of the anglers.

Bass said the next stop for Pride of the South Elites is Franklin’s Ferry in Bankhead on March 19. They will be back at Bridgeport April 9. Bass said he hopes to be back in Selma in the fall. The complete schedule is on the website, prideofthesouthbassanglers.com. You can also find them on Facebook.

The Alabama Bass Trail is coming back to Bridgeport Landing in Camden.

According to a news release from ABT Tournament Director Kay Donaldson, the ABT 100 Series is open to professional and amateur anglers and features three tournaments. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 100. Entry fee for each event is $1,000, and teams must fish in all three tournaments. (No single entries allowed.)

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Tournament dates and locations for the 2023 Alabama Bass Trail 100 Series are:

Jan. 21, 2023, Lake Wedowee, hosted by the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce

June 3, 2023, Millers Ferry, hosted by the City of Camden.

Nov. 14, 2023, Smith Lake, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County

“On behalf of the City of Camden, we welcome the ABT 100 anglers and fans to our community and Millers Ferry Lake,” Camden Mayor Phil Creswell said. “We’ve had the opportunity to work with the Alabama Bass Trail on four other occasions, and we look forward to hosting the best anglers from across the country next summer. Millers Ferry offers excellent fishing opportunities year-round, and we invite tournament anglers to visit early and often.”

Each tournament features a $25,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 20 places plus a $1,000 big fish totaling $100,000.

The Alabama Bass Trail 100 Series made its debut in January 2021 with professional and amateur anglers from 13 different states competing. According to Donaldson, anglers are traveling from 12 different states to compete in the 2022 ABT 100 Series.

For more information, call Donaldson at 855-934-7425 or visit online at www.AlabamaBassTrail100.org, on Facebook at Alabama Bass Trail 100 Series and on Instagram at albasstrail100.