ON THE TRAIL...
The Alabama Bass Trail Weiss Lake has been known as the “Crappie Capital of the World” almost since the lake was first created and the dam first started to produce hydroelectric power in 1961. The bass fishery is pretty impressive as well. Kay Donaldson, director of the Alabama Bass Trail, a tournament fishing company, said that during the 2020 season, more tournament competitors caught their limit of bass than any other tournament on the Northern Division of the Trail. The Weiss Lake stop on the trail is held in May each year, so as not to compete with the growing number of crappie events held earlier in the year. Since the Leesburg Landing Park was upgraded almost five years ago, Donaldson said the Weiss event has turned the corner in terms of attracting a large crowd to Cherokee County. “It’s one of the best facilities we attend,” Donaldson said. The size allows virtually all of the teams to start from the same location, allowing the organizers to spread out. In 2016, the first phase of the upgrade was completed, creating parking spaces for more than 260 trucks and trailers. The following year work started on a four-space boat launch and additional improvements to the parking lot. A third phase of the project will include a huge pier with slots that 16
can handle some three-dozen boats. The May 16, 2020 tournament was the second tournament back after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased. The event drew 218 teams (two anglers per team). Due to the travel ban at that time, seven teams that had pre-registered were unable to attend. The Weiss stop was won in 2020 by Mark McCaig, from Oxford, Alabama, and Tim Hurst from Anniston. They weighed in five fish at 22.6 pounds, easily outdistancing the second-place team of Stephen McAvoy and John Butts from Springville, who weighed in five fish at 16.12 pounds. With several tournaments going on that same day, including a kayak tournament, the fishing was a bit challenging. “I can’t say enough about the folks there,” Donaldson said. “People from Leesburg and the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and all their volunteers who came out were just great. The mammoth Leesburg Landing parking area meant that some of the teams had to park a bit away from the launch area, but the volunteers with golf carts helped ferry anglers from their parking spaces to the launch. Their help was invaluable. The Alabama Bass Trail has included Weiss Lake for several years. After the initial first year, the next year was passed due cherokee-chamber.org
