The momentum has been building for Alabama angler Zeke Gossett.
The young fisherman from Pell City, who has excelled at every level of competitive fishing, has been on a roll in recent weeks, traveling extensively and competing well in various high-level tournaments.
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The torrid schedule reached another peak for Gossett Thursday and Friday (Nov. 6 and 7) on Lake Eufaula in the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation State Championship. Gossett (Shotgun Sports Supply) positioned himself well with a 20-lb. bag on Day 1 and then dropped a limit over 25 lbs. on Day 2 to surge to his second ABN state title. That final-day, 25.41 total included an 8.38 largemouth, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish for the tournament, and another that weighed over 7. He had 45.86 overall.
Veteran Eufaula competitor Shane Powell (Wiregrass Bassmasters) finished second after leading the event on Day 1 with 21.97. His two-day total weighed 37.29. Carson Maddux (Wiregrass Bassmasters), who captured the boater Angler of the Year title, took third with 32.72.
Among the co-anglers, Mark Clifton, of Cedar Bluff, came from deep in the field to win the state championship. His 10.22, 3-fish limit on Day 2 boosted his final weight to 14.69.
Other highlights included Powell and Tim Fox capturing the team title. Donny Davis (Belgreen Bass Club) jumped to the top of the co-angler Angler of the Year standings and claimed co-AOY with a 5th-place finish overall.
“The last 6 weeks or so has been crazy,” Gossett said.
“Anytime you can be labeled a state champion, it’s a big deal. I won back in ‘22 (on Eufaula) and now to win again is a great feeling. I’ve been blessed this year. Also, to fish with my dad (Curtis Gossett) and share that together is really special.”
In recent weeks, Gossett traveled to La Crosse, WI, and the Upper Mississippi River for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship and finished 5th overall, building momentum each day of that tournament. Closer to home, he and team partner Ethan King capped off Angler of the Year honors on the Alabama Bass Trail 100 series with a strong finish on Wilson Lake, and Gossett claimed the top spot in a BFL Regional on Logan Martin, bringing home a new boat for his efforts.
“I’ve been fishing a lot lately, and doing well in other tournaments,” Gossett said. “That’s a lot of momentum building up. That’s a big deal when you’re fishing so many tournaments in a row.”
Gossett said he had two good practice days leading up to the tournament. Paired with his extensive history on the lake, the pre-fishing allowed him to pinpoint some of the trophy largemouth on Eufaula. The difference came in the overall quality that he caught: His 3-5 lb. tournament-grade fish on Day 1 were capped off by the two giants on Day 2.
He said he caught most of his Day 1 fishing “just below the twin bridges” (the Highway 82 bridge and the old railroad bridge that cross the lake near downtown Eufaula). Day 2 proved more difficult despite the ultimate mega bag.
He eventually moved down the lake and still had only about 14 lbs. with just over an hour before weigh-in. Gossett said he targeted the area from Thomas Mill Creek down to around the dam in the afternoon and eventually pulled up on the magic spot.
“I caught the 8 and the 7 on back-to-back casts,” he said.
“I had a bad morning that second day. I had about 14 lbs at 2 o’clock and from 2 to 3, I had 25. I guess I got on a little streak there at the end.”
Gossett wasn’t specific about which lure caught the big fish, but he did mention several Strike King products that helped him win the tournament. He rotated between a Pure Poison bladed jig (⅝ oz. in spot remover color), a ElazTech Z Too minnow (the new 7-inch size), and a 4.75 Rage Swimmer (electric shad).
“I love Eufaula,” Gossett said. “I’ve always fished well there. I feel like I know the lake and how the fish set up.
“There are lakes that agree with you. Like Martin just does not agree with me. You’ve got your favorite lakes, and Eufaula is one of them.”
Clifton, who fished in the back of the boat behind his brother James, used some specific strategies to overtake the co-angler field on Day 2. The team practiced mostly upriver without success and chose to go to the mid-lake area for the tournament, focusing on the mouths of the creeks just below the two bridges.
Clifton (Neely Henry Bassmasters) specifically mentioned the mouth of White Oak Creek as a main part of their success but added that they fished various creeks on both the Alabama and Georgia sides of the lake.
Employing a technique that proves successful back home on Weiss Lake, Clifton found plenty of willing spotted bass and some largemouths under docks on Day 1, catching most on a wacky-rigged Senko. A subtle change on Day 2 proved to be the difference, however. Moving from one dock to the next, he tossed the stick bait on a seawall laden with grass and caught a big spotted bass.
The Cliftons abandoned the dock pattern and fished seawalls and grass the rest of the day. Clifton added two big largemouth, including 1 that weighed 5.25, to bump his total past 10 lbs.
“We saw everybody fishing out on the ledges, so we decided to do something different,” Clifton said. “We were catching some 2- to 3-lb. spots under the docks, so we stuck with that game plan on Day 1.
“If we had figured out the seawall deal, I might have caught 10 lbs. on Day 1.”
Following Clifton in the co-angler standings were Ashley Sides (Rumbling Waters Bass Anglers, 13.63); Barrett Choquette (Headland Bass Team, 12.27); Fox (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 12.16); Davis (11.83); and Greg Wray (Tennessee Valley Bass Club, 11.74).
On the boater side following Gossett, Power, and Maddux were Avery Padgett (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 32.64); Lucas Lindsay (Auburn Anglers, 31.92); and Brent Shores (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 30.94).
(Full results can be found at the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation website.)
Following Powell and Fox in the team standings were Padgett and David Fincher, Hudson Choquette and Barrett Choquette, James Clifton and Mark Clifton, and Charles Nowling and Jonathan Watson. Qualifying teams earned bids to the Bassmaster Team Championship on Lake Hartwell, SC, in December.
Maddux, the former Auburn angler fishing his 1st year on the ABN circuit, held off Joe Lay (Lake Tuscaloosa Bassmasters) for the Angler of the Year title. Lay was the 2024 AOY winner.
In the co-AOY race, Davis started the tournament in 3rd place but vaulted ahead of 2nd-place finisher Wallace Williams (Birmingham Bass Club) for the title. Williams also won the Academy receipt drawing.
President Eddie Plemons thanks all the sponsors who support the ABN schedule. In addition to Academy, they include Airport Marine, Fish Life Fish Care Products, Impulse Lithium batteries, AmFirst BassCash, Office Partners, Halo Rods, Radicull Culling Devices, Davis Bait Co., George Paint and Body, BassCats Boats, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury, Motor Guide, Lowrance, NetBait, Shell, Hammer Rods, Shelby County, Strike Zone Lures, Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting.
Greg McCain is a freelance writer from Russellville, AL, and a member of the Belgreen Bass Club. In addition to producing content for this website, his credits include articles in Georgia Outdoor News, the ACC Crappie Stix blog, the Cornfield Fishing Gear website, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors.
