O’Connell surges into lead with 27-6 at Guntersville
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Coming into the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division opener at Lake Guntersville, dock talk suggested it might take 25 pounds a day to secure a big-time win over a full field of 260 competitors. After two days, it’s becoming clear that number is indeed the mark to hit.
With 27-6 on Day 2 (tacked onto a 20-8 showing Wednesday), Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, is setting the pace with a two-day total of 47-14. And he’s doing so on the heels of a ninth-place finish (23 pounds) in last Saturday’s Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine event at Guntersville, a bout of food poisoning and a practice period that saw drastically changing weather and water conditions.
In other words, he’s just dialed right now.
“I’m basically rotating (spots),” he said. “I have a good school for the morning that’s only there in the morning – that’s more like a bigger swimbait, slow-rolling it on the bottom kind of thing, and every once in a while, one thumps it.
“As the day goes on, I’ve got some current-related stuff that I’m either throwing the swimbait on or an A-rig. The swimbait and A-rig is what I did all my damage on (today).”
But the swimbait and Alabama rig combination wasn’t what O’Connell hoped for or expected to be the deal prior to Wednesday. As several other anglers have found this week, ripping current has muddied up the water at Guntersville and has plenty of fish positioned tight to cover and roaming less – making the LiveScope game all the more tricky.
“Anything that’s current-related, you’re really not seeing (bass) up and swimming because they’re hugging whatever they’re on because the current’s ripping,” he explained.
In addition, bluebird skies have pushed out the cloud cover anglers were used to during practice, which seems to also have influenced the way Guntersville bass are moving and positioning.
“There’s something just different,” he said. “The way it’s been bluebird the last two days compared to how it was cloudy before, it seemed to make them bite more consistently when I was ‘Scoping the solos versus now being more dependent on these bites being in the right place instead of targeting specific fish.”
Luckily, O’Connell has been in the right areas, and he’s confident those spots are going to hold up another day as he chases down a huge win over an enormous field. He admits the first two days have been about fishing with his gut and searching for good areas that hold the right fish. Now, heading into the final day, he has a good game plan and a ton of confidence in it.
“(Friday) I have a chance to catch some more fish because I have some better setups than I thought I had,” he admitted. “I would say I’ve got a pretty good pattern put together now, but it’s not like each spot is exactly the same. I’ve kind of just figured out the areas that are setting up good with the current and I’ve also found some areas with a lot of bait with the fish working the bait. With that combination, I think it’s kind of a deal.
Of course, much depends on being around the right fish. That hasn’t been a problem for O’Connell over the last week or so, though.
“I think every day – except for Sunday (when O’Connell was in the thick of a bout of food poisoning) – since Friday last week I’ve caught one over 6 pounds, but I’m catching maybe a dozen keepers a day,” he said. “I’m just getting really dialed in on where I need to be and what the better fish are doing – at least I think I am. You never know how it’s going to go.”
As for Day 3, O’Connell expects to run mostly the same areas, and he’ll certainly put the big swimbait and A-rig to work. He also hopes to make use of forward-facing sonar and a hover rig with a CAST Fishing Co. Echo swimbait that he’s been doing damage on pretty much everywhere.
“(Wednesday), I caught my kicker on a hover rig with a CAST Echo on it, a little 3-inch bait,” he said. “It was a good one working a big school of bait and just kind of got my bait on its nose – and then I had some fun with some 8-pound line.
“That CAST Echo hover rig, I’ve been catching them everywhere I’ve gone for a month and a half on it. I got fourth in the Keowee BFL and caught probably 25 on it that day. I fished in the Skeeter Challenge in Georgia and I caught every fish I weighed in at Clark’s Hill on it. It’s been working for me everywhere I’ve gone.”
Still, O’Connell knows enough to know ‘Scoping might not be the deal again tomorrow, and he’s got a solid plan for that possibility – a Plan B that netted 27-6 and the lead on Day 2.
Top 10 Pros
1. Matt O’Connell – 47-14 (10)
2. Hayden Marbut – 47-11 (10)
3. Austin Swimdle – 46-5 (10)
4. Jacob Daily – 45-3 (10)
5. Dillon Falardeau – 45-1 (10)
6. Jordan Wiggins – 44-6 (10)
7. Clint Knight – 44-3 (10)
8. Travis Alcock – 44-1 (10)
9. Mickey Beck – 42-15 (10)
10. Aaron Stephens – 42-8 (10)