2008 BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship

Location/Dates

• The BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship (WWC) will be held April 3-5, 2008 at Alabama's Lake Pickwick.
• The City Of Florence, Alabama is the host location: VisitFlorenceAL.com.

Located in northwest Alabama on the Tennessee River, Pickwick Landing Dam sits in Tennessee, but the majority of the reservoir floods Alabama. Pickwick Lake runs 50 miles from Pickwick Dam to the Shoals area in Alabama and Wilson Dam. McFarland Park in Florence hosts major tournaments.

Largemouth and smallmouth bass are Pickwick's bragging species, and Pickwick's greatest reputation centers on its superb smallmouth fishing. A 14-inch minimum size restriction limits harvest of smallmouth bass in Alabama-controlled waters. One of the most popular smallmouth-fishing areas is the "Shoals" that reach from directly downstream of Wilson Dam to the end of Seven-Mile Island. Generation discharge from Wilson Dam creates a strong current in this area that smallmouth bass love. The lower reaches of Pickwick provide excellent habitat for both largemouths and smallmouths. Smallmouth habitat in Pickwick Lake is so good that several line-class records caught in the lake have been certified by the International Game Fish Association.

• Lake Name: Pickwick
• Type of Water: Big main-stem river impoundment
• Primary structure/cover: Rocks, humps, current-breaks, ledges
• Average depth: 15 feet
• Species: Largemouths, smallmouths, spotted bass
• Reputation: Big but schizophrenic smallmouths, good limits can be a challenge at times
• Primary patterns: Jerkbaits, shakey-head worms, grubs in tailraces, Carolina rigs, small jigs
• Winning weight: 15 pounds a day
• Biggest factors that affect fishing: Power-generation schedule and weather, plus spawn-phase
• X-Factor: A jumbo smallmouth (or two)

• Official off-limits begins 12:01 a.m. March 22, 2008 and runs through 11:59 p.m. March 28, 2008. No contestant can be on the lake or obtain any sort of information about the lake, other than publicly available information, during this time.
• Official practice is from 12:01 a.m. March 29 until 4:00 p.m. April 3
• Registration is April 3, 5:00 p.m. in conjunction with a contestant banquet. Rules briefing will be at the same time. Location is Florence/Lauderdale Coliseum, 702 Veterans Dr., Florence.
• Launch will be at safe light at McFarland Park, April 4-5.
• Weigh-ins will take place at McFarland Park at 3:00 p.m. on April 4-5. The park is located off Hwy. 20/Savannah Hwy., adjacent to Florence Harbor.
• Other awards and prizes will be awarded to the contestants and fans at the weigh-ins.
• Official Rules can be found here.
• Official Hotel is the Jameson Inn: (256) 764-5326
• Additional Hotel suggestions are:
  • Hampton Inn Florence: (256) 764-8888; 1-800-HAMPTON
  • Comfort Inn Florence: (256) 740-0444; 1-800-228-5150
  • Super 8 Motel: (256) 757-2167; 1-800-800-8000
  • Marriott Shoals: (256) 246-3600; 1-866-746-2569

We'd like to thank our great sponsors for supporting this event and for helping crown the country's best Weekend Warrior.

For a complete list of BassFan Army Sponsors, click here.

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