Guntersville Lake's Trophy Size Largemouth Bass
Lake Report By Reed Montgomery
Owner of Reeds Guide Service (205)663-1504
Birmingham, Alabama
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
"GUNTERSVILLE LAKE'S OLDEST, PROFESSIONAL GUIDE
SERVICE FOR OVER 40 YEARS"
I did not think it would be anytime soon before we broke a now rather old, late winter Guntersville Lake fishing trip in which we had a 5 bass limit weighing 35 pounds.
Which included a 9 & 10 pound bass, a 7 pounder, a 5 pounder and a smaller, 4 pounder. These huge bass were caught during some bad, cold front conditions on a guided fishing trip.
The morning lows were near 25 degrees and midday highs of only 48 degrees, with water temps 43 degrees and nobody was catching bass of this size at the time on massive, Guntersville Lake.
A cold day to remember indeed!
But, we did it again (with two 9 pounders), and again(with a 7, 8 and 11 pounder), in two of our previous best trips during this mid-spring period.
Here's How, Who, Where, and What Lures we Used;
TRIP # 1 - DAY ONE
* March 2 & 3 Wednesday and Thursday - Fishing Mid-lake on a Two-day Corporate Guided Fishing Trip with Reed Montgomery, Owner of Reeds Guide Service.
Four rather frozen anglers came to Alabama to thaw out and do a little fishing and escape their snow-blanketed home back in St. Peters, MO.
This corporate guided trip was for Eddie Wilson and some of his co-workers at the St. Charles Hardwoods Inc.
They brought one brand new Triton boat and intended to follow us for two days while the other two anglers fished with me in my Ranger Boat. You know the new ones, the Ranger Z Series, that require no key to crank them!
But when they arrived they discovered the new boat had no key! So those two would-be anglers, spent all day looking for a lock smith and ended up going all the way to Weiss lake in North Alabama to get a key made.
So meanwhile the other two anglers, Eddie and a co-worker, fished with me on Wednesday.
The morning low was 38 degrees on day one of this two day trip. But the air temps warmend up fast into the low 60's by that evening. Water temps were 49 degrees that morning, but it got up to 60 degrees by the evening.
We had a good day catching about 15 bass some bass up to 6 pounds on a rattling lipless lures of all kinds, shallow-diving crankbaits, Scrounger lures rigged with Berkely Shad imitation and a few on spinnerbaits.
TRIP #1 - DAY TWO
Boy what a differance a warm morning and clouds can make! On day two it was 50 degrees that morning and water temps started out in the low 50's.
The guys that had spent their first vacation day "fishing for a locksmith" fished with me today. While Eddie and his angling friend headed far up the lake on a "hot tip" from a local angler in their new boat...with a shiny new key!
By days end they came back to mid lake to join us only to sadly report that they had zeroed and had ran over 40 miles round trip for nothing.
By midday, on a now partly cloudy Thursday, the air temps had soared into the mid-70's, and water temps had rose 10 degrees to 64 degrees...and boy did those big bass turn on!
We fooled a couple of 9 pounders, moved to another location and caught a 7 pounder, fished another spot (we had fished the day before where we had zeroed), and then we caught several 4 to 5 pounders and lost a 6 pounder. Then we had an 8 pounder!
What an incredible day! One angler lost one -- we all saw escape, as it slung a Red Eye Shad lipless lure -- a monster bass that looked even bigger than the 9 pounders! Could it get any better?
Unbelievably (oh, we got pictures of all of them!), on the next best trip of the spring season(so far), it got even better.
Little did I know, an 11 pounder was only a few weeks away, waiting for some lucky angler fishing out of my boat...to catch it.
TRIP # 2 - DAY ONE
Just recently a nice man and woman couple from Papillion, NE (they went by the name of Reid and Carrie Adkins), came to Alabama to spend three days fishing with me. From Sunday, March 13 to Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
Their chosen lake was Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham. But upon their arrival another cold front had arrived and it had just rained as much as 4-5 inches throughout all of Alabama. Logan Martin had came up 6 feet and was flooded.
Cold muddy, flooded waters...the worse conditions you can get for fishing.
So we decided to fish lower Coosa River Impoundment Lay lake and we all caught bass in the flooded weeds on lures like Zoom's bubblegum colored trick worms and chartruece and white spinnerbaits.
With the biggest bass, a four pounder caught by Carrie taken on that single Colorado bladed spinnerbait, we called it a day on day one.
As that Sunday ended, I offered to take them to Guntersville lake, a 100 miles away, but worth the drive and now, I think they are glad they did!
TRIP # 2 - DAY TWO
We began our second day of this 3 day guided trip fishing Guntersville lake's shallow weeds.
The weeds are not really growing into the "matted millfoil" stage, that so many flippers and frog chunkin' anglers love, but lures like shallow diving crankbaits, swim baits, lipless lures, Scrounger lures, chatter baits and spinnerbaits just glide right through the now skinny and thin weeds.
That is, only if you keep them moving.
It was cool in the morning of day two, about 41 degrees. But midday day highs of low 70's made up for that. Water temps had dropped. From the day before of low 60's to 50 degrees. Cold, stained water awaited us.
It was very slow to start out. But by 10 a.m. we had fooled a few 4-5 pounders, a 6 pounder and some smaller males in the 1-2 pound class.
Not bad, when compared to the day before on Lay Lake. So they decided to return on Day Three of this 3 day guided trip, to Guntersville lake. And for Carrie, she's glad she did!
TRIP # 2 - DAY THREE
We started out a great day, fooling some 3-4 pounders, and another 7 pounder, and then it got slow at midday. So we made a move to warmer waters.
Just after a short lunch break (while we kept on casting between bites) Carrie tied on one of my hand painted lures, a Strike King 1/2 ounce lipless lures. Time was drawing near, for quitting time was only two hours away. The last day of a three day trip.
Well, at 2 p.m. she hooked into the bass of lifetime. A battle took place in two feet of water, that seemend to end real soon. The huge bass just suddenly gave up and just rolled up beside the boat. When we all got a really good luck at it, we discovered it was huge!
Turns out to be the biggest bass we have seen all year. It weighed 11 pounds! We took pictures and let the bass go to lay her eggs and live and fight for her freedom another day.
Carrie was speechless. Later she wrote me an e-mail and exclaimend,
"We have fished all over the world for over 40 years, hiring guides in the U.S and fishing world wide for a variety of fish, in various fishing situations, under all kinds of tough conditions.
But we have never seen a fishing guide so determinend to beat some very tough conditions, to see to it that we had a wonderfull vacation, as you did for us Reed. In addition, I caught the biggest bass of my life! Thank You so much!"
I Thank You Carrie, I appreciate that!
So since early this year, I have seen countless 4-5 pounders, a few 6 pounders, a couple of 7's, an 8 pounder, 3 - nine pounders, a ten pounder and now we can add an 11 pounder to this springtime "big bass list" on Guntersville lake. Like said, "Can it get any better?" Yes, it can.
These Big Bass are just the icing on the cake. In April, May, and June, it gets even better with hungry, aggresive post spawn bass hitting topwater lures!
Will the next trophy bass be yours?
I have days open each month reserve yours today!
So always call on Reeds Guide Service...first! Why? For Big Bass! Thats why we all come to Alabama's Guntersville Lake!
"Reeds Guide Service, Guntersville Lake's (and all of Alabama's) Oldest, Professional "Bass Fishing Only" Guide Service for Over 40 Years Guiding on all Alabama Lakes for Bass and Stipers"
Thanks and Good Fishin'
Reed Montgomery, Owner of Reeds Guide Service
E-mail: alabassgyd@aol.com
Website www.fishingalabama.com
