By Jason Duran
The Alabama Bass Trail South Division heads to Logan Martin Lake on May 16 for what may become one of the more nuanced tournaments of the spring schedule, a one-day event that appears to offer plenty of fish, plenty of options, and just enough instability to keep anyone from feeling completely comfortable.
Logan Martin is setting up in a true transition phase. Fish remain scattered from shallow cover to offshore structure, the shad spawn continues lingering later than expected, and warming temperatures this week could finally begin pushing portions of the lake toward more stable summer patterns.
That combination leaves anglers with decisions everywhere.
According to Joey Nania, the unique part about Logan Martin right now is that fish can legitimately be caught almost anywhere in the water column.
“There’s fish shallow and deep,” Nania said. “You can catch them in two feet of water or out on the main river channel as deep as you want to fish.”
That opens the door for nearly every traditional Logan Martin pattern to factor this weekend. Grass lines, seawalls, riprap, docks, offshore brush piles, and ledges are all expected to produce fish during tournament day.
Nania believes the warmer-than-normal spring accelerated much of the spawning cycle early, but lingering cooler weather afterward slowed the overall transition enough to keep fish spread across multiple stages.
While he believes the actual spawn is nearly complete, postspawn movement remains inconsistent enough that anglers could still encounter fish almost anywhere on the lake.
The lingering shad spawn may also become one of the tournament’s biggest variables. Nania said bait activity was still surprisingly active this week despite the calendar moving deeper into May.
“It was going really strong this morning,” Nania said. “I was shocked by it.”
If that continues through tournament morning, short feeding windows around shallow cover and current seams could become critical. On Logan Martin, those brief windows have historically produced some of the heaviest bags of the day in only minutes.
“You can pull up and catch 15 pounds really quick sometimes,” Nania said.
That possibility becomes especially important because Logan Martin rarely turns into a pure numbers tournament. Instead, the challenge is finding the right quality bites.
“You’re focused on getting five of the right bites,” Nania explained. “If you can catch five of those right ones, you’ll have a shot.”
Historically, even under ideal current conditions, Logan Martin has produced tighter winning weights during late spring ABT events than many anglers expect. This year, with limited rainfall and inconsistent current generation across the Coosa River system, many competitors believe another tightly packed leaderboard is likely.
A bag somewhere in the 16 to 17 pound range could once again be enough to contend for the win Saturday afternoon.
Several techniques are expected to dominate throughout the event. Swim jigs should play a major role around grass and shallow cover, while jighead minnows continue influencing tournaments throughout the Coosa River system thanks to forward-facing sonar techniques. Frogs, buzzbaits, and other topwater presentations could also become important if the early morning shad spawn remains active.
Nania enters the weekend alongside his 13-year-old son Zeke Nania as one of several family teams helping shape the storyline of the 2026 season.
The Nania team currently sits 12th in the South Division Angler of the Year standings with 561 points and remains well inside Championship qualification range with only one regular season event remaining after Logan Martin.
For Joey Nania, though, the bigger goal this weekend goes beyond points.
“I really just want to stay calm and have fun,” Nania said. “I’m on a lake that I know from top to bottom and I get to fish it with my son. That’s the blessing.”
Zeke Nania enters the event carrying momentum of his own after recently finishing 10th at the ASA B.A.S.S. Nation High School State Championship at Pickwick and winning an ASA event on Logan Martin only weeks ago.
“He thinks he could beat me right now,” Nania joked. “He’s really fishing well.”
The Angler of the Year race also continues tightening as the South Division enters the final stretch of the regular season.
Chris Rutland and Coby Carden currently lead the AOY standings with 665 points, narrowly ahead of Foster Bradley and Nick Harris with 659 points.
Meanwhile, teams like Thomas Shelton and Mattie Shelton, along with Noah Godwin and Cole Godwin, remain firmly within striking distance entering one of the most unpredictable events left on the schedule.
Launch & Weigh In Lincoln Landing 740 Travis Drive Lincoln, AL 35096
Launch will be at 5:45 A.M. or safe daylight.
First flight due in at 2:30 P.M.
With fish spread throughout the lake and multiple patterns expected to produce, Logan Martin appears positioned for another tournament where decision-making and timing may ultimately matter just as much as execution.
Live coverage of the tournament will begin Saturday morning on the Alabama Bass Trail Facebook page and YouTube channel with on-the-water coverage, leaderboard updates, and weigh-in coverage throughout the day.
The 2026 Alabama Bass Trail Team Series is made possible through partnerships with industry leading brands: Phoenix Boats, AMFirst, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, 13 Fishing, Rapala, VMC, CRUSHCITY, Buffalo Rock, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Jack’s, Garmin, Thompson Tractor Company, Pirnah02, Alabama State Parks, Halo Fishing, Snag Proof, NetBait, Bait Fuel, Alfa Insurance Thomas ALFA MAN Shelton, TH Marine Supplies, Power Pole, Pro Guide Batteries, Yamaha, SCUM FROG, E3 Sports Apparel, FishAlabama.org, Sweet Home Alabama, and Alabama Mountain Lakes
The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.
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