A level playing field

West Point Lake has played no favorites this week

VALLEY, Ala. – West Point Lake, sight of the EverStart Series Southeast event this week, is the kind of lake that can favor local anglers, especially in the heat of summer.

Similar to its well-known cousin, Lake Eufaula, situated farther downstream on the Chattahoochee River system, West Point is famous for its offshore humps, breaks and ledges that hold fish throughout the year. And knowing where a few dozen fat brush piles are located is usually an ace in the hole here.

But local names have been suspiciously absent from the top five on the pro leaderboard this week. Second-place pro Steve Kennedy of nearby Auburn, Ala., could qualify as a local, but other addresses in the top five include North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina.

West Point bass have chosen to stay shallow this week, allowing the out-of-towners to take up the top spots on the leaderboard. Top patterns have included sight-fishing, topwaters and Senkos fished around shallow wood.

“It’s been nice to run a definitive shallow-water pattern this week,” said Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., who was in the third place going into the finals. “Normally on this kind of lake, you can get your brains beat out by locals that have sweetened up humps and ledges with brush.”

This morning, Powers was already experiencing success with his topwater pattern. He had boated two keepers by 7 a.m.

The day-three weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart in Lanett, Ala.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:38 a.m.

Water temperature: 78 degrees

Air temperature: 64 degrees

Expected high: 77 degrees

Wind: W at 5 to 10 mph

Day’s outlook: 70-percent chance of thunderstorms