GUNTERSVILLE, Ala —
After opening the season on the Sabine River where daily limits of 14-inch
keepers were impossible for some anglers to come by, the Bassmaster Elite
Series pros are now headed for the land of giants, Alabama’s Lake Guntersville.
Better still, they’ll arrive at the time of year when giants are most common.
The Diet Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, scheduled for April 9-12 with daily takeoffs and
weigh-ins at Guntersville City Harbor, will offer anglers a chance to attack
one of the nation’s premiere fisheries under near-perfect conditions.
With water temperatures still in the low 60s, the lake’s giant female bass
haven’t completed their spring spawning rituals. That means they’re still
carrying eggs and the extra layers of fat they packed on during the winter
months in preparation for the spawn — and that could mean fishing fans will see
some gigantic fish brought to the scales during the four-day event.
“There was a 12-7 caught in a tournament here just recently,” said Chris Lane,
winner of the Sabine River Elite Series event, who makes his home in
Guntersville. “I would be surprised if there aren’t several fish over 10 pounds
caught next week. It’s going to be that kind of tournament.”
Many anglers have been predicting a “slugfest” at Guntersville. But Lane, whose
fishing vernacular includes the catchphrase “Pow!”
when he catches a big bass or wins a tournament, has another word for what he
believes it will be like.
“It’s gonna be a smashfest,”
Lane said. “I haven’t always done well in tournaments like that, but I’m trying
to learn how to deal with it. You just have to keep telling yourself that 2-
and 3-pounders aren’t going to help you any. You need big fish, because 18 or
19 pounds a day might not even get you paid.”
Guntersville’s vast beds of milfoil, hydrilla and coontail
grass will likely play a role as the Elite pros begin forming strategies during
the official practice period Monday through Wednesday. With fish moving into shallow water for the spawn, heavy limits
could be caught on a wide variety of lures.
Lane agreed with the popular assessment that it could take a four-day weight of
more than 100 pounds to win. So did Casey Ashley, winner of the GEICO
Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro held on South
Carolina’s Lake Hartwell in February.
Ashley said the tournament will require a different kind of discipline than the
Sabine River.
“On the Sabine, we were weeding through 13 1/2-inch fish, trying to find five
keepers,” Ashley said. “On Guntersville, it’ll be sort of the same deal, except
we’ll be weeding through a bunch of 3-pounders trying to find five fish that
are big enough to actually help us at the scales. It’s two different kinds of
challenges, but they’re both tough in their own way.”
Like all B.A.S.S. events held in Alabama, the field will include a host of
in-state anglers with extensive knowledge of the venue.
Lane, who lives close enough to the lake that he can have his boat in the water
in just minutes, finished 36th in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic and 40th in the
2010 Elite Series event on Guntersville – his two most recent events on the
fishery.
Justin Lucas, who relocated to Guntersville from his native northern
California, will be fishing a professional event for the first time on his new
home lake.
“I’m in a pretty unique position this year,” said Lucas, who is off to an
excellent start in 2015 with a ninth-place finish in the Bassmaster Classic and
a 10th-place effort on the Sabine River. “I get to fish back-to-back events on
my new home lake, Guntersville, and the California Delta, which is where I used
to call home. Not a lot of people can say that.”
Aaron Martens, another California native who now makes his home in Leeds, Ala.,
has a rich history on Lake Guntersville that includes a win in the 2009 Elite
Series event on the lake. He also finished 13th in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic,
17th in a 2006 Elite Series event and 14th in Bassmaster Tour events in 2004
and 2005.
John Crews, a Virginia angler who finished third in the 2010 Elite Series event
on Guntersville, elected not to pre-fish before the lake was declared
off-limits because he already knows it so well. He expects the grass to play a
big role in the outcome.
“I’ve been to
Guntersville 15 times,” Crews said. “The grass changes from year to year, but
that’s true of any lake with grass in it. That’s what you have to be ready for.
“I think there will be a ton of 6- to 7-pounders caught. I’m really looking
forward to it.”
Launches are scheduled for 6:15 a.m. CT each day from Guntersville City Harbor with weigh-ins also set
for the ramp each day at 3:15 p.m. CT. Launches and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The local host of the event is the Marshal County CVB.
2015 Bassmaster Elite
Series Premier Sponsors:
Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, GoPro,
Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter
Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Bassmaster Elite
Series Supporting Sponsors:
A.R.E. Accessories, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires &
Wheels, Huk Performance Fishing, Livingston Lures,
Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the
worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport.
Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully
integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster
and B.A.S.S.
Times),
website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2),
social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been
dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster
Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of
competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster
Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events,
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa
Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship
and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster
Classic presented by GoPro.