CEDAR BLUFF — There's a new face with a familiar name at the north end of Weiss Lake. Little River Marina, recently known as J.R.'s Marina, is again open for business.

The establishment, located between Cedar Bluff and Gaylesville off County Road 44, actually began as Little River Marina nearly 40 years ago.

New owner Alan Abbott said the those old memories always had an influence on him.

“That's why we went back to that name,” Abbott said. “I remember when we used to come over here when I was a kid in the late 1970s.”

Don't expect the new marina to look just like J.R.'s or its elder counterpart with the same name, for that matter. The new marina still serves the public with familiar staples: a convenience store, motel rooms, outboard service, storage, gas on the water, guide service, and fishing tournaments.

But in many other ways, the place will be truly unique.

“You wouldn't recognize the place,” one employee told The Post. “We've pretty much just completely remodeled everything.”

“Probably the biggest change we've made is that we've gutted and renovated all 29 motel rooms,” Abbott said.

Even though the new Little River Marina has yet to see its official grand opening, it has already been visited by a flurry of February fishermen. There's a modest $2 for a ramp fee, and the new owners are preparing for tournaments — lots of tournaments.

“We've also talked a to lot of the guys who run some of the local tournament trails,” Abbott said. “We've got about 25 tournaments scheduled, so far.”

Abbott said Weiss Lake Anglers is going to have all its tournaments launch out of the new marina. And they aren't the only ones.

“Besides them, we'll have the Bassmaster Weekend Series, Coosa River Team Trail, and the BAIT Trail,” he said.

Little River Marina is also hosting a series of “pot tournaments,” informal contests where anglers just walk up, pay an entry fee, and fish for a few hours. The team with the heaviest stringer takes home “the pot.”

“We're going to have a crappie tournament every Saturday from now to the end of April,” he said. "There's going to be a pot bass tournament on Wednesday, one on Thursday, and we're going to start one up on Sunday afternoon.”

Little River Marina has already been busy advertising, and not only to local fishermen and boaters with newspaper and radio spots. The new owners have also sent their head guide and local fishing pro, Lee Pitts, to conventions in cities such as Louisville, Ky. and Cincinnati.

Pitts spends his time there handing out pamphlets and drumming up business from out-of-state tourists. Also, Abbott said, he and his co-owners are busy restructuring the old website and establishing a social media presence, including a Facebook page.

The new owners are no strangers to Weiss. All three grew up in nearby Fort Payne.

“I've been in the boat business there basically since I was born,” Abbott said. “My father had a boat dealership over there since 1965, and I've been coming over here since I was four or five years old.”

In addition to renovating the motel rooms and store, the owners plan to improve some of the boating and fishing access points.

“Our first thing, as far as long-term plans, is to upgrade the on-the-water facilities, including the ramps and docks,” he said. “We've already been talking to Alabama Power about that. Another long-term plan includes the possibility of having a separate restaurant on the property.”

Abbott and the other owners, Jody Goggans and Michael Burt, are hoping to distance themselves from a spate of negative publicity that swirled around the establishment in recent years.

“Once people realize that it's new owners, our business will come back pretty quickly,” Abbott said. “The main thing we want everybody to know is we're trying to make this a family-friendly place.”

With nine kids between the three of them, Abbott said he and his co-owners are determined to have operated a friendly marina where the entire family can come and enjoy the waters of Weiss Lake and Little River.

“We're not going to have a place where we're not comfortable with them running around,” Abbott said. “It's a good place to come.”