Logan Johnson and Jeremy Christian Win 2016 Alabama Bass Trail Lake Gunterville
by Dan O’Sullivan
Guntersville, Ala. March 12, 2016 – The more than 300 angler field of the Alabama Bass Trail Northern Division had looked forward to this day since the schedule was announced; Lake Guntersville, the home of bass fishing history, perhaps the most prestigious and recognized fishery in the country.
Guntersville is known for giant bags of bass and heavy individual fish, and since the appearance of Guntersville on the schedule is smack dab in the middle of the expected prespawn period, expectations were for a high weight event. Despite the expectations, Mother Nature threw a curveball, and brought a cold front to town after two weeks of warm conditions, thus the fishing cooled slightly as well.
The one thing that you can guarantee, no matter how tough things are, is that somebody is going to figure them out, and somebody will always find a way to excel, no matter the conditions. The team that performed the best at the second event on the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail schedule was Logan Johnson and Jeremy Christian.
The pair posted a solid Lake Guntersville limit that weighed 26.87 pounds to take their first Alabama Bass Trail win. “We never would have thought that 26 pounds would be enough to win here at Guntersville,” said the pair. “But, now that were here, it really is special to win an event like this, this is a strong field, and it means a lot to be standing here as winners.”
The pair reported that they fished in the Brown’s Creek area, and that they threw mostly 1/2-ounce Chatterbaits paired with a Keitech swimbait as a trailer around grass clumps. Their big fish, a 7.55 pound largemouth was caught by Christian on a special run, 1/2-ounce Guntersville Shad colored Excalibur Xr50 One Knocker lipless crankbait.
“This is the biggest win I’ve ever had, and I’m really excited about it,” said Christian. “I know this is the most money Logan has won at a single event too, so this is really something we’re bot pretty happy about.”
Craig Grubbs and Matt Ferguson didn’t make things easy on the winners. The pair reported running to the midlake area to target grass clumps with lipless crankbaits as well. They reported using Royal Shad colored 1/2-ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbaits near the Waterfront area to produce a 26.45-pound limit to take home second place and $5,000; they had their weight by 9:30.
“We didn’t think 26 pounds would win, but when you catch that much weight early, you think you’ve got a shot,” they said. “We want to win one of these ABT events so badly, but when you catch a big bag, and somebody beats you, all you can do is tip your cap and tell them congratulations; we had a good day, and are pleased with the results overall.”
The team of Waylon Hancock and Timothy Little finished third with 24.90 pounds and took home $4,000. The $500 Mountain Dew Big Bass of the tournament was an 8.11-pound largemouth caught by the team of Michael and Cameron Naron. The fish helped them weigh 19.63 pounds to finish in ninth place and brought their total earnings to $1200.
The top 10 in the standings are below – the complete standings can be found at: http://dev-alabama-bass-trail.pantheonsite.io/tournament-series/lg-results/
| Place | Name | Weight | Big Fish | Winnings |
| 1 | Logan Johnson/Jeremy Christian | 26.87 | 7.55 | $10,000 |
| 2 | Craig Grubbs/Matt Ferguson | 26.45 | 7.49 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Waylon Hancock/Timothy Little | 24.90 | 6.43 | $4,000 |
| 4 | Damien Willis/Mark Steward | 23.42 | $3,000 | |
| 5 | Erick Sommers/Tommy Pegues | 22.75 | 5.89 | $2,000 |
| 6 | Jamie Smith/Michael Rains | 20.95 | $1,000 | |
| 7 | Rex Chambers/Ryan Salzman | 20.32 | $900 | |
| 8 | Deron Patrick/Cory Freeman | 20.05 | $800 | |
| 9 | Michael Naron/Cameron Naron | 19.63 | 8.11 | $700 |
| 10 | Linda Sands/Betty Stahl | 19.59 | 7.1 | $600 |
Next on the slate for the Southern Division is Pickwick Lake on April 23, 2016.
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 Apparel.
For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.
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