Lake Martin Kicks Off Celebration with Bassmaster Elite Event

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Central Alabama’s scenic Lake Martin is cranking up a year of celebration that includes the Tallapoosa River impoundment’s 100th anniversary. To kick off the festivities last week, BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) brought its Bassmaster Elite tournament series to Wind Creek State Park to test the fishing prowess of their top professional anglers on the 44,000-acre lake known for its spotted bass population.

In fact, it was those spotted bass that lifted Fisher Anaya, a 21-year-old Elite Series rookie from Eva, Alabama, to victory in the four-day event. Anaya caught a limit of spots that weighed 15 pounds and 12 ounces during Sunday’s final round for a total of 54 pounds, 6 ounces, easily defeating runner-up Brock Mosley, who finished with 52 pounds, 14 ounces.

In Anaya’s first Elite Series tournament at Lake Guntersville, where forward-facing sonar was not allowed, he finished 65th.

At Lake Martin, where forward-facing sonar was allowed, Anaya excelled and held a two-ounce lead going into Sunday’s finale before expanding his lead and capturing the $102,000 top prize.

While Lake Martin didn’t produce the size of fish compared to Lake Guntersville, Martin produced vast numbers of bass that had most anglers nursing sore thumbs from lipping so many fish. 

BASS CEO Chase Anderson said bringing the Elite Series to Lake Martin was much more than bringing huge bags of bass to the scales.

“Alabama is our home state,” Anderson said. “We were founded in Montgomery, and we love to have our events in Alabama. This (Lake Martin) community is so supportive. We’ve had a number of BASS events at Lake Martin over the years, and the community is so hospitable.

“And it’s a great fishery. We go to a diverse range of fisheries across the country on our Elite Series tour, and this is a great stop for us.”

Alabama pro angler Justin Hamner, who won the 2024 Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake in Oklahoma, said fishing Lake Martin is always fun.

“I love being able to fish this lake because of the opportunity to catch a bunch of fish,” said Hamner, who finished in 30th place. “You can bring kids here, and they will have a ball. Teaching kids how to fish on this lake is perfect. They get to set the hook a lot. They’re not getting bored, I promise you, because you will be catching fish all day long.

“The problem during a tournament is trying to separate yourself from the other anglers. There are so many fish, you’ve got to figure out how to get those one or two big bites each day.”

Sandra Fuller, Explore Lake Martin Tourism President/CEO, said Anderson told her BASS didn’t come to Lake Martin for the size of the bass but because of the support from central Alabama.

“We’re here because the community is so wonderful, and it’s such a beautiful environment,” Anderson said. “It’s a wonderful lake. We fish all types of lakes in the country, and some have bigger fish than others. A lake like this really tests the anglers’ skills and abilities in a lot of different ways, and a lot of our fans like that. A lot of factors go into selecting a lake, and it’s not just big fish. Being able to serve the fishing community in this area of Alabama, where a lot of anglers live and fish, it’s what we love to do – bring events to our fans in places like Lake Martin.

“And Wind Creek (State Park) is one of the best facilities we go to, and it’s great to partner with Alabama State Parks and Wind Creek.”

Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), said the Department is committed to the support of the Lake Martin community and Wind Creek.

“This is a great lake in Alabama,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We just built the new cottages here at Wind Creek. They’re three-bedroom, three-bath cottages on the lake. There are five of those, and they are beautiful, first-class cottages. We also have done more than $6 million of renovations in the campground. We have added Glamping tents to this park as well.

“Then, as a Department, we’re putting in a brand new boat ramp in cooperation with Alabama Power and Tallapoosa County off of Highway 49 on the east side of the lake. It will have several hundred parking places with a big tournament-style boat ramp. We’re also working with Elmore County to expand the Kowaliga ramp to provide better access and more parking there. We’re investing in this lake because it’s a great place for outdoor recreation in Central Alabama. I am so appreciative of BASS holding the event this week at Lake Martin and on Lake Guntersville last week to start their season. We have fantastic bass fishing in Alabama, and being able to showcase that in the first two Elite events of the year is great for Alabama.”

Will Queen, Wind Creek State Park Manager, oversees the largest public campground in the state with 532 campsites.

“We renovated the campground,” Queen said. “We took out quite a few 30-amp campsites and added 50-amp service with water and sewer on the waterfront. We added pull-through sites, which Wind Creek had never had before. And we added those five new cottages in the north picnic area of the park. The cottages are very popular, especially with the fishermen this time of year. They’ve been booked up just about every weekend since they were opened last fall.”

Katelyn Cotten of Explore Lake Martin said the lake is very popular with people from a variety of locations, including Birmingham, Montgomery, Auburn and Georgia.

“I think it’s because we’re a very welcoming community,” Cotten said. “People come to Lake Martin for recreation, whether it be social or boating, skiing or doing things like fishing. You can also paddle the Tallapoosa River; that’s a big deal these days.”

Fuller said Lake Martin is a popular vacation location during the warm months with visitors coming in for the social scene as well as the fishing. In the offseason, the lake depends on anglers, especially for tournament fishing.

“A lot of people think we’re a social lake, but we have a good balance,” Fuller said. “Restaurants and gathering places on the lake are seasonal from March to September-October. What’s very fortunate for us is then the fishing tournament season starts around October and takes care of the rest of the season. I think it’s a really good balance of activities on Lake Martin.”

Cotten added, “I think this shows the importance of our state parks and what Wind Creek State Park does for the Lake Martin area. They’ve updated with these new cottages and campgrounds. It’s really just a wonderful place for events, activities and accommodations. All of the staff have been wonderful to work with for both our locals and our visitors at events like this.”

To celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the completion of the dam that impounded Lake Martin, the community has created a list of special events to celebrate.

“Of course, the Bassmaster tournament was the first of the big events we had,” said Fuller, who said the Bassmaster event will have a huge economic impact on the area. “We’re having our very first dragon-boat race, the boats with the big dragon heads on April 18. It’s a promotion with Alabama Tourism and our Chambers (of Commerce) in Dadeville and Alexander City. That will be here at Wind Creek State Park.”

Other events include an enhanced Lake Martin Fourth of July celebration by Russell Lands, a four-day Lake Martin Songwriters Festival that last week of July and birthday celebrations at both chambers.

Visit https://explorelakemartin.com/ to discover the upcoming events in the Lake Martin area. Go to www.alapark.com to explore the recreational opportunities and events at Alabama State Parks.

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