POWERGRAMS

PG_October_November_December_2020

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39 Grove spent a lot of time fishing Alabama Power lakes during his years in college, professing a special fondness for Yates, which is about 45 minutes from the Auburn campus. He went on to marry Jay, who has a doctorate in fisheries science, and move to Florida, where Lee has worked the past five years for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Jay is working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He's never come close to another fishing record while wearing the crown of Alabama's newest freshwater fishing record-holder. Taking the BAIT Kyle Bolton of the ADCNR Fish & Game Division puts together the state's annual BAIT Report, which for more than 30 years has summarized catch data on reservoir bass populations. The information gathered from bass clubs and biologists helps establish tournament sites and assists fishermen in selecting prime locales. In 2018, nearly 1 million bass weighing about 2 million total pounds were reported being caught across the state. While Lake Wilson and Lake Guntersville in north Alabama remained on top of the survey, Weiss, Logan Martin and Lay reservoirs were just behind the Tennessee River lakes in the Top 5 for overall angling quality. Among many findings of the state survey, a new record was set for number of bass weighed in per angler (3.92), average weight (2.16 pounds) and number of hours required for a fisherman to catch a 5-pound bass (204). Statewide, the largest bass caught was 11.69 pounds. There were 31 bass weighing 8 pounds or more and 521 caught that weighed 5 pounds or more statewide. "APC lakes are excellent places to fish, and each has something different to offer," said Bolton, a fisheries biologist in Carbon Hill. "If you like bass fishing, try Weiss, Martin, Neely Henry or Smith for a good chance at catching high numbers of fish. For big bass, try Jordan, Lay or Logan Martin. Smith and Martin are excellent striped bass fisheries. Check out Yates Reservoir for springtime yellow perch or summertime bream fishing." Bolton urges anglers to take children with them when they go fishing, noting youths are the future stewards of Alabama's waterways, lands and wildlife. "I grew up fishing for bass, bluegill and striped bass on Smith Lake," he said. "Over the years, I have enjoyed fishing the lakes and tailwaters of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers in Lucky fishermen have this Lake Martin cove all to themselves.

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