NEWS

2016 Lake Guntersville Tournament Feature Story

Lake Guntersville Preview Story
by Dan O’Sullivan

Decatur, Ala. March 16, 2016 – For the past two seasons, the opening event of the Alabama Bass Trail’s Northern Division has been held at Lake Guntersville.  While the mere mention of the famed Tennessee River impoundment can make an angler’s spine shiver with anticipation, the February openers greeted the field with snow and less than a hot bite.

But, with this being the second stop on the ABT Northern Division schedule for 2016, the chances of snow are less than slim, and the chances for a hot bite are more than hoped for; they may be expected.  However, according to Northern Division competitor and Phoenix Boats and T-H Marine pro Jimmy Mason, they expectations may need to be tempered slightly.

He said that the trends are improving but he’s not quite sure how good it will be. “I think that the fish are definitely moving to where the fishermen want them to be in their prespawn mode, but I’m not certain that they’ve gotten all the way there yet,” said Mason.  “I looked at the weights from the BFL in early March, and it took not quite 12 pounds to get a check, and that’s lower than normal.”

With that in mind, the longtime tournament angler said that he does expect Guntersville to show out at the upper ends of the field.  “I would almost guarantee that the winning weight will be in the 27 to 29 pound range,” said Mason.  “It wouldn’t surprise me to see the winning weight eclipse 30 pounds, but I’m not quite sure to say that it’s going to happen.”

As far as the patterns to expect, Mason said that he can expect the fish to be all over the water column,” he said.  “I can see them eating YUM Christie Critter’s in a foot of water, in the drains on a Booyah One Knocker or even on a topwater bait; it’s going to be a very interesting tournament.”

The registration and rules meeting begins Friday March 18 at 5:00 at the Lake Guntersville State Park and takeoff and weigh-ins will be held at the State Park as well on Saturday March 19, 2016. Lake Guntersville State Park is located at 1155 Lodge Drive, in Guntersville, Alabama.

The sponsors of the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail include; Bill Penney Toyota, Phoenix Bass Boats, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Wind Creek Hospitality – Wetumpka, Wind Creek Hospitality – Montgomery, Alabama Tourism Department, SCA Performance, Mt. Dew, Boat US, T-H Marine Supplies, AllState, TVA, Alabama Power, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Lew’s Fishing, Frogg Toggs, Crossed Industries, Alabama Foundation Specialist, Costa, YETI, Leer, E3

For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.