The season final event on the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Tour gets underway today on the Alabama River at Montgomery, Alabama. Many of the pros have been scouting the area with several looking at the possibility of fishing in the shoals that are found on the Coosa and Tallapoose rivers just above where they join to form the Alabama River. The shoals area on both rivers have produced some nice spotted bass in the past, and this looks like a promising area to many of the anglers.
With this plan in mind, BASS Master Champion Jay Yelas began working
on a strategy of how best he could capitalize working the shoals. He
developed a Plan B using an aluminum boat powered by a Jet Drive outboard which would provide a shallow water solution.
Jay turned to Yamaha and G3 Boats to see if they could put together a
fishing rig that would be more suitable for fishing in the shallow, rocky waters.
They came up with a G3 HP180 Aluminum boat powered by a Yamaha 115 HP Jet Drive outboard.
Roger Bills of G3 Boats said they picked the HP 180 series boat as
it features a high performance pad hull designed with a 61″ bottom
for maximum stability and it features extra wide casting decks for
comfort. The custom 500 gph livewell control system has fill,
recirculating and drain modes and adjustable timers for precise
control of livewell environment. Bills said, “We wanted to give Jay a
boat that would provide him all the features needed for tournament conditions.
The Yamaha 115 HP Jet Drive will provide a high performance engine, but the Jet Drive removes the problem of damaging the prop in the rocks while being able to operate in shallow water.
G3 and Yamaha have delivered the boat to Jay in Montgomery, so if he
decides he needs it, it is ready to go. During the past week the
area has experienced a tremendous amount of rain, and both the Coosa
and Tallapoose rivers are running several feet above normal which may
preclude the need for a shallow water boat, but with the possibility
of the water level being dropped, Jay will be prepared.
G3 Boats and Skeeter Boats are Yamaha Boat Companies.By: Fishingworld staff
