SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Normally, spring transitions happen step-by-step. Not on Lake Guntersville this year.
A rollercoaster spring has turned into a trainwreck, with multiple species all spawning at the same time, and bass not sure where to be or what to do. Making it a prime test to see who can figure out a pattern from the chaos for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Choo Choo Division event.
What to expect
There are few fisheries like Guntersville.
“It’s amazing, because no matter the conditions or fishing pressure – and it’s been getting the most pressure I’ve seen in my lifetime this spring – it just keeps producing fish and big bags,” said local Hayden O’Barr.
There should be no deviation from the norm at this event. Though, how those big bags will be caught is anybody’s guess.
O’Barr said a “weird” spring with snow in March and a quick warm up after prompted bass to spawn faster than normal. Which was probably good, because the water temperatures never stopped rising, now sitting in the mid to upper 70s, which is well above the norm for this time of year.
That has the shad quickly trying to spawn, too, with the bluegill also bedding up. Meaning, there is a ton of food up shallow for bass right now. That’s created a great shallow bite.
Only thing is, the bass are usually looking to head offshore this time of year, and plenty have. Yet, a lack of rain has lent itself to a lack of current. So, the offshore fish that are usually tournament winners are pretty finicky.
“Every fish is doing something different,” O’Barr said. “It’s really tricky to find or identify a winning pattern right now. And even if you do, you need a little luck.
“I had 19 pounds in a local tournament the other day, and 26 pounds won it,” he said. “We were doing the same thing, but he caught a 9.2 and I didn’t.”
With the uncertain nature, O’Barr thinks this is anyone’s tournament, as local advantage won’t come into play as much as usual. It will just be about picking a pattern and hoping to land on the right fish at the right time.
Baits to bring
Is everything an option? Because O’Barr said not to rule that out.
In all seriousness, with so many patterns going, he said it’s conceivable to have 20 rods on the deck – one side just for shallow patterns and the other for deep.
For shallow, topwaters, vibrating jigs, and soft-plastic stickbaits will be big, along with white swim jigs or swimbaits for the shad spawn. For deep, the staples of jigs, Carolina rigs, big worms and crankbaits will all play.
“Pick your poison,” O’Barr said. “You can win in a foot or water or 20 feet of water. So, you’ll need to bring the kitchen sink.”
What will it take?
Pretty much every tournament on the Big G starts at 20 pounds, and winning weights start around 25 pounds. Expect the same this go-round.
“When you get to 25 pounds, that’s a really good number,” O’Barr said. “I could easily see a huge bag of 28, but 25 is hard to top. And even if it’s a tough tournament, it could still take 24 pounds.”