Washam Grabs Lead on Lake Guntersville
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro Jimmy Washam was the only angler to break the 20-pound barrier on Day 1 of the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. Central Division on Lake Guntersville Wednesday. Washam, from Covington, Tenn., leads the field with 23-7.
Even after a one-hour delay due to a winter storm warning that made putting in at the Guntersville State Park ramp a bit of a chore, Wednesday morning brought brutal weather conditions. Anglers launched in 18 degrees with boats frozen to trailers, and even some sliding off trailers. It warmed up in the afternoon, though, as a front moved into the area with rain expected overnight.
After more than 36 hours of temperatures well below freezing, most anglers were looking forward to afternoon temperatures making it into the 40s. Washam was one of those counting on – or at least hoping – the afternoon change in the weather would trigger a better late bite.
“It literally took all day,” he says. “I didn’t have but three fish at 3 o’clock, but I knew these fish would bite in the afternoon with the crazy weather we’ve had. We’ve had a six- or seven-degree drop in water temperature, but the warmer temperature and recovering from that east wind, plus a little cloud cover moving in this afternoon, helped the fish recover.”
Of course, every angler has to be where fish are if or when they decide to trigger.
“I was able to luck up and get on a good place at the end and got in on 30 minutes of glory,” Washam adds. “The 3:45 check-in time snuck up on me quicker than I thought it would. I wish I was still out there.”
More than 200 anglers took to the water in the largest Central Division openers ever. Like most anglers, Washam was fishing shallow eelgrass.
“I was throwing a [lipless crankbait] most of the day and just catching one here and one there,” he adds. “I made a little change late in the day, and it seemed to make a difference. I’ll let that go tomorrow.”
Washam said he only had eight bites all day and was able cull once, but he lost one on his last cast. He was power fishing, putting the trolling motor down and covering lots of water. He says a slow retrieve was the key to getting bites.
“I was just dragging it through the grass,” Washam explains. “Sometimes you’d catch one and think you were pulling it off a clump of hydrilla and it would be a 5-pounder.”
It was only the third time Washam has ever fished Guntersville, and like many, he was surprised to see how much eelgrass has taken over the lake.
“The eelgrass is incredible,” he says. “We’ve got 39- and 40-degree water temps and we’ve still got 10-foot-deep eelgrass. I’m amazed at how shallow these fish will get and how they’ll destroy a moving bait in 40-degree water. Man, they jump and they pull drag. It’s something I’m not used to (this time of year), but it’s a lot of fun.”
Washam has high hopes his key areas will hold up on Day 2.
“A couple people saw me catch big ones, so I hope I get a little bit of love from them,” he adds. “But that’s not the only place. I’ve got two places where I caught good fish, and the pattern that I’m on seems to be something that I can run around the lake and hopefully duplicate.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Jimmy Washam – 23 – 07 (5)
2. Casey Martin – 19 – 12 (5)
3. Trent Palmer – 19 – 11 (5)
4. Will Robinson – 19 – 05 (5)
5. Sloan Pennington – 19 – 04 (5)
6. Blake Hall – 17 – 05 (5)
7. Steve Lopez – 17 – 01 (5)
8. Tony Hatten – 16 – 15 (5)
9. Jason Grape – 16 – 14 (5)
10. Scotty Estes – 16 – 09 (5)
Crouch Blasts 18-11 from the Back of the Boat
On the Strike King co-angler side, Wayne Crouch from Jamestown, Tenn., brought 18-11 to the weigh-in stage. Like Washam, he says he had eight bites all day.
Every angler agrees the recent cold weather has made the Guntersville bass lethargic. Everybody knew coming into today that it was likely to be a grind.
“It’s a tough bite,” Crouch says. “The fish are biting slow.”
Like many anglers on Day 1, Crouch wasn’t anxious to share much about his strategy except to say he was trying to show the fish “a little something different” from whatever his boater, Jason Grape, was throwing. Grape ended the day in ninth place with 16-14 on the pro side.
Top 10 Strike King Co-Anglers
1. Wayne Crouch – 18 – 11 (5)
2. Billy Taylor – 15 – 13 (5)
3. Hayden Marbut – 15 – 09 (5)
4. Blake Lewis – 14 – 11 (5)
4. Benton Peoples – 14 – 11 (5)
6. Tim Curran – 14 – 10 (5)
6. Brad Edwards – 14 – 10 (5)
8. Luke Glasgow – 14 – 05 (5)
9. Dan Ehmen – 13 – 07 (5)
9. Colton Johnson – 13 – 07 (4)