GUNTERSVILLE LAKE
By Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
Impounded 1939
Lake Level: Full Pool / First Week of March
Water Temp: Currently 65 degrees
Just that title is refreshing. Especially since late last winter anglers fishing Guntersville Lake were struggling with nighttime lows in the 20's and mid day highs not even reaching 50 degrees. Spring on Alabama's largest Impoundment Guntersville Lake, is as good as it gets for fishing for largemouth bass in shallow, weedy waters.
MARCH
March will show some changes as the bass begin their annual movement along travel routes heading towards the shallows, to begin their prespawn activities. Anglers that frequent Guntersville Lake know that after years of angling experience fishing this massive lake, that the really Big prespawn bass can suddenly appear shallow in early spring and they can really bunch up in some very predictable places.
At times in March there are many Big Bass in certain prespawn holding spots. They can all be holding in one, very small preferred spot. Places that can be duplicated and found by astute anglers fishing in similar places. By looking lake wide anglers can find fish, often in spots only as big as their boat.
Or these bass can be on the move. If weather conditions call for them cruising the Lakes ledges, drop-offs, roadbeds, main lake points and creek points, visible islands and submerged islands and man made rocks found along rip-rap lined banks.
There are also some spots that are seen and some unseen. Piers and boathouses are seen by all anglers and fished by most. They do hold catchable bass. Hidden, underwater places like submerged ridges, stump rows, rock piles, submerged humps, old creek channels, ditches and other irregular bottom features found along travel routes are fished less.
Lures can be many choices, especially when fishing with lures on bottom. Just remember to fish slow and thoroughly cover all water with bottom bumping lures like worms, lizards, crayfish imitations, jig combos and creature type lures. Even finesse fishing with light tackle outfits and small worms on jig heads can be deadly on Guntersville's often picky, prespawn bass.
APRIL
As these big, female bass (and the smaller male bass) group up, they begin pairing off and then heading towards the shallow spawning grounds, preparing beds in water depths less than 3 feet deep.
These bedding bass and cruising bass can be seen much better (with good water clarity) by anglers wearing polarized sunglasses (See: www.flyingfisherman.com) and by cruising the shallows with a slow moving trolling motor. Standing up and scanning water less 5 feet deep as far as you can see, is best for spotting bass and their beds.
Bedding bass are spooky and they can detect your boat and your presence extremely well. Stealth is important in sneaking up on these very skittish shallow water bass, some bass that have not been in the shallows in weeks.
Cutting off your outboard motor far from where you intend to fish. Drifting in quietly with the wind or using your trolling motor set on low speed. Long casts without allowing your lure to land on your target, l is very important. Always throw your lures far past where you think a bass is laying in wait.
Being very quite and not even making any sudden boat movement are very important towards helping you reach your angling goal...which is catching fish.
With the full moon in late March bass can move up to prepare their beds in early April. They be seen cruising in pairs making beds and actually spawning in upper 60 degree water temps. Its all according to the weather. Cold fronts can stall the spawning activities a few weeks until conditions stabilize and water temps begin to rise close to 70 degrees.
Lures can involve into many choices, lure colors and lure actions and size. Experiment. You may just discover that one lure that works better than any other lure in your tackle box. Bedding bass can be very picky. Often downsizing your lure choice is necessary just to even get them to bite.
MAY
If you fish Guntersville Lake in May its easy to understand why this month is dubbed, "topwater month." By the first week of May Guntersville Lake's recuperating female bass are on the prowl for an easy to catch meal. These are post spawn times and many big bass are fooled into striking shallow running lures and various topwaters.
Laying in water depths less than 5 feet deep most bass are scanning the waters surface for now there are many meals available, some enticingly running across the waters surface...just like your lures! Not only do the bigger female bass get real careless and attack lures they normally would not hit, but also the smaller, bed protecting male bass will attack your offerings as well.
There are many soon to be meals these bass now dine on. Fishing with lures that simulate these meals or lures that look and act like these meals is the best way to get bit. There are also many lure choices when it comes to topwaters - some good and some are not all that productive.
Some lures that always fool a few bass in mid to late spring on top are;
* Buzzbaits - I don't know what these lures are supposed to mimic, perhaps a small duck running across the water's surface or a fleeing shad or a skittering frog. What ever buzzbaits look like, Guntersville Lake bass love em'. Always fish strong Trilene Big Game line and sharpen all buzzbait hooks and add a trailer hook for short striking bass. White or Chartreuse and White are good colors, but try an all black buzzbait for giving pressured bass a different looking buzzbait.
* Frogs and Rats - These lures obviously mimic frogs hopping across the waters surface and small mice that run along the waters edge or across the tops of Guntersville Lakes thick and matted weeds. Fishing with strong monofilament line in the 17-25 pound test category is very important. You sometimes have to horse these big bass out of the thick aquatic weeds such as millfoil and hydrilla. Some anglers prefer braided line and using 6 - 7 foot rods, such as flipping rods. Colors can be many with today's array of frogs and rats. Some anglers use white, chartreuse, brown, black, dark green or often off the wall colors like purple, red, yellow or pink.
* Popping type topwaters and prop-baits - These lures fall in the same category and both are worked similar in the retrieve. For popping type topwaters the old namesake Pop-r is always good. There are many similar versions. For prop baits you just cannot beat the old reliable single prop, Baby Torpedo or The Tiny Torpedoe. The double prop topwater "the crazy shad" is also a good topwater lure. Try shad colors or mix it up. Fire tiger colors, chrome, white, etc., are also good.
* Floating worms, soft jerkbaits, swimming jig combos, Floating lizards, weightless crayfish imitations - All of these lures are weedless and they fall in the same topwater category. They can be maneuvered just under the surface of the water or reeled across the tops of the weeds.
* Floating worms or air injected worms such as Zoom's Trick worm have fooled thousands of Guntersville Lake bass. They seem to work when other lures fail to get a strike. Bright colors may be the reason, because bass seldom see such attactive colors. Pink, white, yellow, limetreuce and other easily seen colors (like red methiolate) will work and they can easily be seen when fishing with polarized sunglasses.
* Soft jerkbaits in white pearl or shad colors are best fished with long casts and slow, erratic stop and go retrieves.
* Jig combos should include a light jig and an oversized trailer like a twin tail grub, pork chunk, plastic chunk trailer or crayfish imitation trailer. These jig combos can be slowly swam in the weeds. They can be fished on heavy line to allow them a slow fall and can be made to ride high in the weeds. On retrieve they can be manipulated to go over, under and among the weeds.
* Floating Lizards, etc., Rigged on a 4/0 to 5/0 hook and rigged weightless, are deadly on Guntersville Lake bass in spring. Fish with a slow retrieve and be ready for a fast striking bass.
* Other plastics - The same goes for crayfish imitations, grubs, creature baits and big oversized worms, all fished weightless on hooks in the 2/0 to 5/0 size. Weedless spoons as well.
Fish Guntersville Lake this Spring for some of the year's, best bass fishing for numbers of bass and some really big bass as well. Or call on Reeds Guide Service for booking a trip to Guntersville Lake (or any Alabama Lake) year round.
* Please Practice Catch and Release this Spring!
Good Fishin'
This report provided by:
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Producer / Host "Fishing Alabama" With Reed Montgomery Radio Show
"6 Years on the Radio / Jan 2005"
Birmingham, Alabama
Call Reeds Guide Service...First! (205) 787-5133
"Over 40 Years Fishing Alabama for Bass and Stripers"
E-mail: ALABASSGYD@aol.com
Website: www.FISHINGALABAMA.com
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