GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Going to plan, Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division event on Lake Guntersville was pretty impressive. More than 30 pros caught 20 pounds and 23 pounds went all the way down to seventh place. In the lead, Andrew Jeffers rallied up 24 pounds, 5 ounces, and Ken Chambers followed him up with 23-12. In all, the top 14 are all over 22 pounds, and the top 12 are less than 2 pounds apart.
On the co-angler side, Alan Hults caught an incredible 26-1 for the lead, which would also lead the pro side. In second, Brian Strickland weighed 20-12, which has him narrowly ahead of third, but well off the pace set by Hults.
On Day 2, the full field will fish again, but everyone is battling to make the Top 25. With another beautiful day on tap, but with the addition of some sun, the bite might be even better tomorrow.
Bad practice turns into a good day for Jeffers
At home in Ohio, Jeffers works for the Le-Ax Water District, but he’s consistently made time to come down to Guntersville, and this week, it may pay off big.
“This is my favorite lake,” he said. “When I decided I wanted to start fishing Toyotas, I had heard so much about this place; it drew me in. The way this place fishes fits my style.”
Despite his love for the fishery, it didn’t love him back in practice.
“I had a really bad practice this week,” he said. “I just put my trolling motor down and fished and did what I know to do and it worked out.
“I started with a small keeper, and then around 9:30 or 10 o’clock, I hit a flurry,” he said. “I caught a 6 and a 5, and a couple 4s. For the longest time, I had one squeaker, and then I hit another flurry and culled it out. I did some moving around, I had to work for them, they didn’t come easy.”
Not using his forward-facing sonar for anything other than seeing grass, Jeffers ground it out shallow all day. Now, with one good day in the books, he’s hopeful he can keep the train rolling.
“I like what I found, this lake is so full of fish, I don’t think you can beat ‘em up,” he said. “I’m hopeful about tomorrow. I would never say I’m going to catch ‘em, but I’m hopeful.”
Chambers right on pace in second
Maybe indicative of the amount of change happening right now on Guntersville, with water rapidly warming from winter to spring, both first and second say that practice was worthless. A Guntersville local, Chambers went into the day with little to go on.
“It was a great day, it started off with small ones; you’d have to make 100 casts minimum, before you got a fish,” he said. “We chunked and wound a lot. It was a slow day, but I got the right bites later on – I culled out all the little ones.”
In the afternoon, Chambers got right, but even that doesn’t have him sure of replicating things on Day 2.
“It was few and far between, but I got the right bites,” he said. “I had a 7-pounder today. I caught three fish in practice. I stumbled on the right places and got the right bites. I’d love to have 20 pounds tomorrow, 18 at least, but we’ll see how it turns out.”
Top 10 pros
1. Andrew Jeffers – 24 – 5 (5)
2. Ken Chambers – 23 – 12 (5)
3. Cal Lane – 23 – 7 (5)
4. Clint Knight – 23 – 5 (5)
4. Austin Overdorf – 23 – 5 (5)
6. Grant Galloway – 23 – 1 (5)
7. Kane Weekley – 23 – 0 (5)
8. Gavin Cloutier – 22 – 11 (5)
8. Caleb Kuphall – 22 – 11 (5)
8. Ethan Seitz – 22 – 11 (5)