Lake Guntersville Day 2 Coverage
It’s about time to weigh ‘em up
Quick Links
Top five patterns from day one
2:00: It’s about time to weigh ‘em up
Day one is done as far as the coverage blog is concerned. If you’ve been following along, you know that some of the leaders have struggled mightily thus far. With only the top 20 fishing tomorrow, weigh-in today could be very interesting. By the looks of it, we’re going to go into the weekend with a super tight race. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. CT and we’ll crown a co-angler champion at the end of it and decide who fishes on Saturday. It’s Guntersville, so there are gonna be some giants to see regardless!
Tournament Details
Takeoff: 7 a.m. CT at Guntersville City Harbor, 201 Blount Avenue, Guntersville, Ala.
Weigh-in: 3 p.m. CT Thursday and Friday, 4 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday at Guntersville City Harbor
FLW Expo: 12 to 4 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday at Guntersville City Harbor
1:30: Morehead needs more
Dan Morehead is usually the man on the Tennessee River, but that’s not the case today. Unfortunately for Morehead, he’s still got an empty livewell.
1:17: Osborne has a limit
Jordan Osborne has limited out for about 13 pounds, in stark contrast to his day one catch that was three bass worth 19-10. Backing up a day one creel with the exact opposite is an odd way to go, but when it all totals out he may like it a lot. There’s also plenty of time left for him to get another big bite and make something really fun happen.
1:05: Just three for Sprague
Jeff Sprague seems to have a knack for a few bigs on Guntersville. He only weighed four on day one, but two of them were dandies. Today he’s got three in the box for about 9 pounds total. If he can run into another really big one he may do well with just four.
1:00: A handful of updates
Brandon Mosley has two in the ‘well, the same as day one. Michael Neal has just three small ones, but he’s committed to his spot. It’s the same place he caught 16+ on day one and he’s planning on staying there until the end of the day.
12:50: Wooley update
Michael Wooley has four in the boat and is broken down at the moment. He’ll probably need to get a ride back to weigh-in, but if he can get his fifth that’ll be a decent day in the end.
12:25: Cortiana is on the board, Davis is culling
Kyle Cortiana only weighed three on day one, but he’s on track a little better today. So far he’s got two in the box, though nothing too special to brag about. He's fishing a jerkbait down a bluffy bank.
More in the hunt, Alex Davis just culled up another half a pound or so. The afternoon sun really seems to be helping the bite.
12:20: Kendrick is back at the bridge
Kendrick said he wasn’t going to fish anything from yesterday, but he’s back on the bridge where the magic happened on day one, still with just one in the box. Atkins has joined him there, though he’s cranking rock instead of swimming. Additionally, Alex Davis has made a small cull to bring his weight up to perhaps 15 pounds.
12:10: A few more updates
Billy McCaghren has three small ones in the box. Stephen Patek still has just one. Clark Wendlandt has three for about 8 pounds. John Devere (the favorite for Cumberland) has one.
11:57: Atkins again
Justin Atkins is on a bit of a roll. He says the increasing sun should help him out, and he just backed that up with another keeper to cull him up past 17 pounds.
11:45: Atkins is cooking now
Justin Atkins has filled his limit with another 2+ fish. He’s got about 16 pounds now keyed by a 6-pounder and is winding a hard bait offshore. Atkins is pretty familiar with the Tennessee River and Guntersville and seems on track to make the weekend. Making the cut in the first Tour event of your career is certainly a great way to start.
11:30: Davis has a limit, another for Atkins
Alex Davis has a solid limit for about 13 pounds now. He looks to be well on his way toward making the cut on his home pond. Justin Atkins is also doing pretty good – he just added his fourth fish to get up to maybe 14 pounds for his livewell weight.
11:00: Kendrick is on the board!
It took some doing, but Jay Kendrick finally has his first keeper. It’s a chunky 2-pounder that has got to take some weight off his back. He caught it just slow-reeling a swimbait off the bank.
10:50: Gagliardi and Jocumsen
Anthony Gagliardi and Carl Jocumsen each has just one in the boat today. Gagliardi did pretty well yesterday with a 15-pound limit, so he’s got a lot of ground to cover if he’s going to get back up to speed. Also, Daniel Kweekul is still looking for his first.
10:45: Birge and Voyles
Zack Birge has two in the box today and says it’s tougher than yesterday. He was fishing shallow on day one, so maybe he needs the sun to get going a little more before his fish will turn on. John Voyles only weighed three in on the first day and has nothing so far today.
10:42: Atkins is doing alright
Justin Atkins is a rookie on Tour, but he’s not fishing like one this week. After dropping 18-8 on day one, Atkins is cruising today with three fish for about 12 pounds including one 6-pounder. That’s a great start to the day and pushes him up pretty far into the top 10 at the moment.
10:30: Still nothing for Kendrick
It’s 10:30 in the morning and Jay Kendrick still hasn’t put a keeper in the boat. More than three hours without a fish is a long haul. It’s hard to imagine Kendrick not being at least a little worried at this point.
10:19: A handful of updates
Austin Terry has two in the boat today. Bryan Schmitt has just one so far. Matt Greenblatt is on the board with three keepers for about 7 pounds.
10:10: Rose has his limit
Mark Rose is cranking rip rap and has a limit for 12 pounds. That limit easily gives him the unofficial lead over Jay Kendrick, who is still fishless. Casey Martin (yeah, that Casey Martin) says that Rose is the pick to win, which would be no surprise for the Tennessee River veteran.
9:55: Current conditions
It’s finally beginning to get sunny on Guntersville, both down by takeoff and up past Goose Pond. That said, it’s still not warm, and a biting wind is continuing to freshen. The wind is from the north, so it isn’t making the water super rough, but it’s still moving pretty good out there. When you throw in the TVA pulling about 45,000 CFS at the moment you can be sure that the current is rolling.
9:44: Thrift has three
Thrift’s third is not much to talk about, but it’s a keeper. The way he’s going it seems like he’ll be making the weekend as he usually does.
9:40: A couple more updates
Working around the field, Joe Holland and James Watson don’t have any keepers yet. Aaron Britt doesn’t have any keepers either, but he’s crushing the crappie on a bridge in Spring Creek. Nixon is still fishless as well, but he’s hunkered down in Alred’s and is pretty committed to his lipless crankbait deal.
9:30: Canterbury, Thrift and Morgan updates
Scott Canterbury doesn’t have anything in the boat yet. He only had three on day one, but they weighed more than 16 pounds. Andy Morgan seems to be setting a pretty good pace today – he’s already got three keepers in the boat.
Thrift’s recent move seems to have paid off. He just landed his second keeper, a chunky 2-pounder.
9:29: Thrift is still moving
Thrift hasn’t picked up any new fish, but he’s moved again, this time running up toward Guntersville State Park. He’s still slinging a lipless, looking for four more bites like his first.
9:23: Moving on from Meyer
Cody Meyer caught fish pretty much all day yesterday, but he doesn’t have anything in the boat at the moment. For some reason Guntersville is being a little stingy today. We’re moving on from Meyer now, but the sun is starting to pop out from the clouds and it might just start to warm up a bit. Maybe they’ll start to bite!
9:11: Kendrick is changing again
Jay Kendrick has fished seemingly everything but grass so far today. Now, he’s settled down and is fishing a bank with a jig. He still doesn’t have a keeper in the boat.
9:06: Reehm report
Clark Reehm is having a pretty good day cranking rip rap. He’s only got one 2-pounder in the boat, but he found an original Wiggle Wart on the causeway, so he’s already up $25. Reehm also says that Blake Smith has a 4-pounder, but that’s not a direct report from our eyes.
8:50: Thrift has his first and Kendrick is still scuffling
Bryan Thrift’s first is a 4-pounder. Promptly after catching it he left and moved back to his starting spot. Jay Kendrick’s first won’t keep. Kendrick has been slinging a swimbait most of the day, but now he’s put that down and picked up a jig instead.
Patek has left his main area a little, he’s not far away, but says that it needs to rest – he can only catch one or two at a time out of it.
8:32: It’s a slow start today
Bryan Thrift is on to his third stop of the day so far with just one short to show for it. Still mostly slinging a lipless, he’s doing his best to back up a strong day one. Meanwhile, Todd Hollowell is off to a much better start on day two – he’s already got one keeper in the box. Hollowell didn’t have his first keeper until 2:00 p.m. on day one.
8:13: Dunkin is better off today
Luke Dunkin only weighed two on day one. Today, he’s already got two in the box and one of them is over 4 pounds. He’s an easy example of someone who had a bad day one and might be able to make a huge comeback with a giant Guntersville bag on day two.
Kendrick has now bailed on Spring Creek and is heading back toward the main lake. He might have miscalculated early. He plans to fish all new water today, but so far he hasn’t been able to fish it like he wants to.
Day one GoPro highlights
8:00: Kendrick is waiting, others are winding
There’s a crowd at the bridge in the back of Spring Creek. There are three or four boats fishing the actual bridge, but Kendrick is hanging back slinging a swimbait on an old road bed. He’d probably like to be on the bridge, but for now he’s got to bide his time.
Larry Nixon and Bryan Thrift are still slinging lipless baits on their respective areas, but neither has hooked up yet. Mark Rose is nowhere to be found at the moment, but we’ll no doubt run into him eventually.
7:40: Kendrick is moving and grooving
Jay Kendrick literally anchored down at one point yesterday. So far this morning, he’s fished two different places already, one a bridge and one a little offshore spot. He hasn’t caught any yet, but he’s only just getting the day started.
Starting the day in third, Stephen Patek has landed one and lost one so far. He’s slinging a vibrating jig in some deeper grass to start his day.
7:30: The first morning updates
The first fish of the day belongs to Stephen Patek, who is fishing deep grass and started off with a 3-pounder. Cody Meyer and Larry Nixon both did well on day one, and they started day two about 100 yards apart. As for the leader, Jay Kendrick has started on a bridge, but not the same one that produced so well for him on day one. We’ll be keeping close tabs on him all day, but he says his plan is to run different stuff – he has hundreds of waypoints on Guntersville, so he certainly has plenty to run.
7:10: Kendrick has the lead, but no lead is safe at Guntersville
Jay Kendrick dropped 25-12 on the scale on day one of the FLW Tour presented by Lowrance on Lake Guntersville. That was enough for a sizable lead over Mark Rose, but it’s only a start if he wants to take home the title.
Today, Kendrick and the rest of the field will be challenged by a fresh set of conditions. Day one was blustery and overcast, but largely mild. Today, the wind is gusting harder and has a distinct bite to it at takeoff. In short, it feels like February in northern Alabama. All the pros in the field have dealt with bad weather before, but the wind can get up pretty easily on G-ville and fishing offshore in the cold and wind can be a big challenge. It’ll be interesting to see how well anglers can repeat their day one success.
Only the top 20 pros will fish on Saturday, and that group is by no means set. Though nobody dropped 30 pounds on day one, it's a distinct possibility today. When (not if) someone new does catch them big, they could easily vault into the top 20 or even the lead.
As for tactics, we saw the usual mix of lipless baits in the grass, crankbaits on hard cover and swimbaits on everything in between on day one. We’ll probably see a lot of the same today, but the colder weather might force some pros to change things up a little.
Kendrick in action on day one
Top 10 pros
1. Jay Kendrick – Grant, Ala. – 25-12 (5)
2. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 22-4 (5)
3. Stephen Patek – Dallas, Texas – 21-4 (5)
4. Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C. – 20-13 (5)
5. Todd Hollowell – Fishers, Ind. – 20-12 (5)
6. Larry Nixon – Bee Branch, Ark. – 20-9 (5)
7. Jordan Osborne – Longview, Texas – 19-10 (3)
8. Clark Reehm – Huntington, Texas – 18-12 (5)
9. Cody Meyer – Auburn, Calif. – 18-10 (5)
10. David Dudley – Lynchburg, Va. – 18-9 (5)
10. Andy Morgan – Dayton, Tenn. – 18-9 (5)
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 41 degrees
Forecast high: 44 degrees
Sky: overcast, clearing in the afternoon
Precipitation: 10 percent chance of rain
Wind: N at 12 mph
Tournament Details
Takeoff: 7 a.m. CT at Guntersville City Harbor, 201 Blount Avenue, Guntersville, Ala.
Weigh-in: 3 p.m. CT Thursday and Friday, 4 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday at Guntersville City Harbor
FLW Expo: 12 to 4 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday at Guntersville City Harbor