Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Season four of the NPFL kicks off this week from Oxford, Alabama, and Logan Martin Lake as the anglers and their families anticipate a fun, diverse schedule ahead for 2024. Logan Martin is located in east-central Alabama along the Coosa River and stretches between Logan Martin Dam on the South and Neely Henry Dam on the North. This week’s playing field boasts over 275 miles of shoreline and is over 48 miles long from dam to dam.
Home to the Bassmaster Classic in 1992, 1993, and 1997, Logan Martin has played host to numerous national events in history, with former Bassmaster Elite Series angler, and now NPFL pro, David Fritts winning in 1993. The 126-angler field, featuring anglers from the industry’s highest ranks, is ready to kick off 2024.
David Fritts fished three Bassmaster Classics on Logan Martin and notched top ten finishes in each, including his win in 1993. This week, the field will be facing cold, dirty water with freezing temperatures in the weeks leading up. Although temperatures this week are expected to be near freezing at take-off and increasing to the high 50’s, the water is cold and muddy after a day of practice.
As anticipation builds among the anglers to kick off the diverse schedule ahead in 2024, insights from the anglers offer a closer look at what to expect from this unique bass fishing destination.
Thomas Shelton
Thomas Shelton resides in Oxford, but his experience with Logan Martin is limited. Fishing the Alabama Bass Trail in 2023 taught him valuable information on breaking down Alabama water, but he is more experienced on the other side of the dam to the North on Lake Neely Henry.
Despite the dirty water, Shelton said (on the Sunday Night NPFL Round Table with host Ken Duke) the spotted bass bite this week will be very dependent on the dam and exactly how much current is moving during the tournament.
“I believe it will still take a 15 and 16-pound average and about 46 to 47-pounds to win this event despite the current lake conditions,” he said. “Plenty of guys will focus on largemouth and come in with a big one, but have a hard time putting spotted with it in their bag. The key to Logan Martin is consistently catching 3-pound spotted bass, and that will be key to this event.”
Jake Maddux
Jake Maddux is a “local” who grew up just 30 minutes away from Logan Martin. Despite the proximity, he considers Lake Martin (not Logan Martin) his home waters but has fished Logan Martin extensively. He says current conditions are tough throughout practice, and the adjustments anglers make during the event will be crucial to success.
“It’s definitely a little tougher than initially expected,” Maddux said. “The fish are still on bait, but there’s so much of it that the bass get keyed in on certain size baitfish, and it’s challenging to present a bait precisely, especially in the dirty water.”
He added that traditional wintertime baits will play this week – fishing the bank, crankbait, jerkbait, and “other sneaky things” – but expressed some surprise at the lack of bites in some areas.
“I have been running around some and definitely not fishing much, but I checked some things that are typically good and didn’t get bit,” he added. “It was surprising; I will have to fish through those areas again during the event. Today I got seven or eight bites but Sunday it was only two or three bites, not many. It changes day to day out here.”
Lonnie Cochran
Lonnie Cochran is a veteran tournament angler and currently guides on Lake Guntersville. With limited experience on Logan Martin, the official NPFL practice has been less than he was hoping, but he understands the changes coming with improving weather conditions the next few days.
“A lot of this water was under ice 10 days ago, a drastic change from where it was before that and where we are at now,” says Cochran. “I think it should change and get better for us; I hope it changes, for myself and the tournament’s sake. Things do have to line up, but we do have sun and warmth ahead. The sun heats up the muddy water quickly and things are fixing to change.”
Cochran understands the consistency it takes on Logan Martin and how quality catches in this event will make a big difference in the standings.
“You are going to have to catch 3-pounders in this event to put yourself in it, and a kicker one day to get the win,” he added. “I am thinking fifteen pounds per day will put you near the top 5; right now (after two days of practice), I don’t see it out here. This lake is capable of 17 to 18 pounds or more, but currently, I don’t see that.”
How to Watch
Tune in daily from February 1 through 3 to watch daily action from Logan Martin Lake with Live Coverage here steamed exclusively on PHYX TV beginning on Thursday.
Follow along and watch the daily LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers on Logan Martin.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast or check out the real-time leaderboard on the Weigh Live Tracker with estimated weights entered by the anglers on the water and join us for the LIVE Weigh-ins, here!
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Event Information, here.
