2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Guntersville Day 1: Jay Kendrick Leads with 25-12lbs

Gussy #30, Cory Johnston #32, Chris Johnston #82 & Richardson #98

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELESE

Kendrick is dangerous here! (Photo: FLW)

In the realm of professional bass fishing we have grassmasters, ledgemasters and timbermasters. But Jay Kendrick of Grant, Ala., is now carving out his own niche in pro fishing: bridgemaster.
On a cold, dreary day one of the season-opening FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance at Lake Guntersville, Kendrick took an impressive early lead with a limit of bass weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces. Three of his biggest bass came off one of Guntersville’s fabled bridges, which was a surprise to no one.
Kendrick won a Costa FLW Series event in March 2015 fishing the exact same way. Since then, his competitors have had plenty of time to read the coverage and watch footage of his win, but few seem to be able to unlock the bridge mysteries for big bass quite like Kendrick. But that’s the nature of being a “master” of a technique in this sport – other people can see all the pieces of the puzzle, but are not quite sure how to put those pieces together quickly enough in tournament competition.
“I know exactly what I’m looking for around those bridges,” Kendrick says. “I know when I see it on my electronics. I didn’t really even practice on bridges; I just idled them looking for the key ingredients.
“There is a technique to catching those bridge fish that once you figure it out, you can literally go in amongst other boats and make it work,” he adds. “The problem is those other boats get in the way of making the exact presentation needed to trigger a bite.”
TOP 10 BELOW

Thomas Martens Grabs Last Classic Spot!

Marten nets win in blowout fish-off victory.

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Things didn’t go exactly as Thomas Martens had hoped during Saturday’s six-man Bassmaster Classic fish-off on Lake Guntersville.

Last day hero make Classic as individual. (Photo: BASS)

The current he had relied on all week disappeared, and that may have caused him to lose a couple of good fish Saturday morning. He also had to share his best spot with the crowd of recreational fishermen who always flock to Guntersville on the weekends.

But none of it was enough to keep Martens from his biggest accomplishment as a tournament angler.

Martens caught just two fish that weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces during the morning session of the fish-off. But he rebounded with four giants that weighed 22-12 during the afternoon session and claimed the individual title with a combined weight of 28-14.

The victory earned Martens a berth in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, which is scheduled for March 4-6 on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.

Chris Risner and Timothy Eaton Win 2015 Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship.

Six Anglers Now Battle for Classic Spot.

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release 

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Everything went right for Chris Risner and Timothy Eaton during Friday’s second round of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Lake Guntersville.

Even some things they never could have imagined.

The Michigan anglers, who qualified for the event through their home state’s D&R Sports Center Tournament Risner and Eaton finished just Trail, caught five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 13 ounces and claimed the national team championship with a two-day weight of 48-7. Two of their best fish came around mid-morning on one magical cast.

Good bites came on key day. (Photo: BASS)

“Chris had just finished telling me that he needed me to catch an 8-pounder,” Eaton said. “Then on the very next cast, I got a bite and set the hook. I couldn’t believe it. It was 8 pounds of fish, but it was two of them on the same bait — a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder.

“That’s when we started to feel like maybe it was just meant to be. This is our biggest dream come true.”

They finished ahead of the Texas team of Dean Alexander and Thomas Martens (46-10) and the Louisiana pairing of Nickolas LeBrun and Randy Deaver (45-4).

2015 Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Day 2: Fog Prevents Day of Fishing.

Warm December Sidelines Anglers

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release. 

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Dense fog and low visibility brought things to a standstill Thursday for the 394 anglers who were hoping to compete in the second round of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Lake Guntersville.

Hours of heavy fog stalls day 2. (BASS Photo)

Jon Stewart, tournament director for the Team Championship, postponed Thursday’s round when the teams were still sitting at the launch site at 10:30 a.m. waiting out a fog delay more than four hours after the scheduled takeoff time.

B.A.S.S. rules call for competition days to be postponed if the anglers can’t fish at least four hours of a scheduled eight-hour day. Thursday’s weigh-in was scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

“I knew that if it was foggy, it was going to be bad,” Stewart said after announcing the postponement. “It was foggy when we were setting up on Tuesday, and it didn’t lift until after 10:30. I told the anglers at the briefing Tuesday that if it got foggy at all, it would probably be tough.”

2015 Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Day 1: Locals Lead With 27lbs!

Canadian Team of Chong and Brownridge Sitting in 6th Place.

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — After a two-day pre-tournament practice period that saw most of the 197-boat field from around the country struggle, it only makes sense that two local teams shot to the top of the leaderboard during Wednesday’s opening round of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Lake Guntersville.

Fishing "history" yields lead for local sticks on Day 1 at Lake Guntersville. (Photo: BASS)

Billy Sharp and Kevin Stubblefield, who qualified for the event through the Alabama Bass Trail, brought five fish to the scales that weighed 27 pounds, 6 ounces and claimed the Day 1 lead. Stubblefield is from right here in Guntersville, while Sharp lives in Albertville, less than 30 minutes from the lake.
“We grew up here, and we’ve been fishing here since we were just kids,” said Stubblefield, who teamed with Sharp to win the Alabama Bass Trail championship on nearby Lake Wheeler in October. “We were fishing history today, places we’ve fished before. We stayed off of them in practice, and the fish were on some of them today.”
Practice was tough for Sharp and Stubblefield just like it was for most of a field that includes anglers from as far away as Maine, Delaware, New Jersey, California and Canada. But when competition began, the leaders were aided by built-in knowledge of the lake and conditions that are slowly improving.
“We had kind of a hard time in practice,” Sharp said. “But the water is clearing up, and I think that’s helping us some.”

Skeet Reese Wins 2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake Guntersville with 92-11lbs

Skeet and Bryon Claim 1 &2 with Swimbait. 

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – When Skeet Reese arrived in Alabama last week for the Diet Mountain Mtn Dew Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, he had a solid plan in place for how he wanted to fish.

His plan didn’t work.

So instead, he just followed the lead of his friend and roommate on the tour, Byron Velvick.

Swimbaits and friends won G-ville. (Photo: BASS)

Velvick told Reese about the 7-inch Basstrix Swimbait – the largest version of a 15-year-old soft plastic bait that has seen a recent resurgence in popularity – and Reese used it to win with a four-day catch of 92 pounds, 11 ounces. He entered the final round in second place, more than 2 pounds behind Michael Iaconelli, but vaulted himself to the $100,000 victory with a Sunday catch of 25-5.

His buddy, Velvick, placed second with 88-1.

“You just couldn’t have scripted this any better,” said Reese, a California native who now has eight victories in B.A.S.S. events, including two on Guntersville. “I had a really tough practice. I was going out with the anticipation of catching 13 to 14 pounds a day — unless maybe I could find a big bite and come in with 16 to 17. But Byron turned me on to a bait, and it evolved into something special, a win.”

2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake Guntersville Day 2: Ike Takes 5 Pound Lead Going into Weekend!

Consistency a difficult feat as bass move shallow.

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – After rocketing into the lead with 28 pounds, 2 ounces on the first day of the Diet Mtn Dew Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, Michael Iaconelli went back out during Friday’s second round with intentions of fishing the same way.

Ike lands a shallow brute!
(Photo: Steve Bowman BASS)

But after a while, things just didn’t feel right. So he followed his instincts, made a quick adjustment and put together another fantastic catch of 24-15 to widen his lead in the event with a two-day total of 53-1.

The remainder of the top five anglers on the leaderboard saw some drastic changes on a day that was delayed one hour by thunderstorms. David Walker (48-6) moved into second, followed by Carl Jocumsen (46-8), Byron Velvick (45-3) and Brent Ehrler (43-13). With the lake itself undergoing changes, even more shifting could happen atop the leaderboard Saturday.

“On Thursday, I thought I knew exactly what was happening,” Iaconelli said. “After today, I believe there’s a lot more fish moving up to spawn than I thought and a lot more fish coming out for the post-spawn than I thought. There are a lot of fish on the move.”

Iaconelli, who never said which lures he was using Thursday, said he switched to a crankbait when things got slow Friday. That’s when he caught two of his largest fish of the day.

“The first cast on a crankbait, I caught one that weighed almost 8 pounds,” Iaconelli said. “The next one on a crankbait was a 6-pounder. That was a key decision, because without those two fish, I probably would have only weighed in about 16 or 17 pounds.”

2014 Classic Post Game with Kevin Hawk.

Find out how local knowledge helped win this Classic

By Luigi De Rose

Pre-Classic Interview Part 1

Pre-Classic Interview Part 2

Photo: Darren Jacobsen BASS

Well, it has been a week since BASS crowned Randy Howell as its new king. A lot has been penned on Randy’s intuition and the baits he and others used to best the bass at Lake Guntersville. IBASSIN is taking an unique approach to our post-game coverage. We contacted Kevin Hawk, 2010 FLW Cup Champ, Elite angler and Lake Guntersville guide for his perspective on the outcome of the 2014 Classic. We wanted him to reflect on his pre-Classic interviews with the events that occurred throughout the three day event.

We connected with Kevin while he was in Ohio preparing of a future seminar.

IBASSIN:

Thanks for taking the time to do post Classic commentary. One thing I was impressed with was how accurate you were on picking the areas that a majority of anglers fished in the Classic. You stated that Seibold and Alred’s were the place to be. 

Hawk:

The lower end is traditionally a great place to fish for bigger bass. The mentality is to win the Classic. This desire to win makes it so different than other tournaments. Anglers really focus on big bass and Guntersville is full of giants, so Classic anglers need to focus on winning more than just catching bass. It is a winner takes all tournament, so anglers really go for it.

Remember, most of the field has fished Guntersville before so they are aware of the more productive locations.  Many probably did well in practice and knew that big fish lived in the Seibold and Alred’s areas.

IBASSIN:

Tharp, Evers and Mueller didn’t stick to the lower section. They all produced larger bags than most of the field. Are you surprised?

2014 Bassmaster Classic: Randy Howell Wins with Dramatic Final Weigh-in!

Howell comes from back in the pack to win by a pound!

By Cara D. Clark

Bass Press Release

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Every angler dreams of catching bass after giant bass like Randy Howell did on Sunday.

Howell began hauling in Lake Guntersville lunkers minutes into the final round of the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro. He lost track of how many culls he was able to make, but at one point he was trading 4- and 5-pounders for even larger bass.

When Howell brought his bag to the scales, his five bass weighed 29 pounds, 2 ounces, with the largest going 7-3. The banner day beefed up his total to 67 pounds, 8 ounces.

“I don’t even know if I’m going to win, but it doesn’t matter,” Howell said before all the 25 finalists came to the scales. “It was the best day I’ve ever had in 21 years of professional bass fishing, a day of a lifetime.”

But his day did get better: He became the world champion, the 2014 Bassmaster Classic champ.

“I’ve had this dream so many times, and it’s happening now. I can’t believe I won the Bassmaster Classic. I don’t win tournaments very often,” said Howell as he was announced the winner.

Howell is a two-time Bassmaster event winner, including a 2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate event that earned him his 2014 Classic qualification.

Sunday’s victory — Howell’s first after 11 other tries as a Classic competitor — was worth $300,000 and the most coveted trophy in the sport. From Springville, Ala., Howell became only the second angler to win the Classic in his home state.

Randy had a "feeling" to switch locations and win on
final day of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.
(Photos: BASS)

Howell edged out B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier Paul Mueller of Naugatuck, Conn., by 1 pound. Mueller, who on Day 2 set a new one-day Classic weight record at 32-3, totaled 66-8 for second place.

Third place was claimed by second-day leader Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., with 65-11. Fourth was Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., with 63-6, including the day’s largest bass, an 8-4. First-day leader Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., finished in fifth place at 62-12.

Howell repeatedly used the words “perfect” and “effortless” to describe his day on Lake Guntersville.

“I caught my first one on my second or third cast,” he said. “I caught one almost every cast or two and had a limit in the first 10 or 15 minutes. It was quick. It would have been quicker if I hadn’t had to stop and retie every time because of the rocks.”

The rocks were the riprap up against a causeway bridge on Spring Creek. That early flurry included releasing eight 4-pounders.

Howell spent most of his time on the riprap. He moved only once, going farther back into the creek to a grassy area. The move yielded a 6-pounder and allowed him to cull a 4-pounder. He then motored back to the riprap. His largest was a 7-3. It was his fourth bass of the day and the one that told him he’d made the right decision to go to Spring Creek.

Emotions took over as Randy had to wait as
every Super Six anglers tried to knock him out of first.

His Classic lure arsenal included a Livingston Lures model being developed within the Pro Series. Not yet available to the public, it’s a medium diver in a crawfish color. He also used a Rapala DT6 crankbait in the “demon” crawfish color and a Yamamoto bladed jig.

“I went out this morning believing I could win,” the champ said. “That’s the weirdest thing. Typically, I would never be in 11th place and 9 pounds back and think I had a chance to win. But for some reason I had the feeling I could win on Spring Creek — that something big would happen there.”

2014 Bassmaster Classic Coverage: How to Fish Lake Guntersville Now! PART 2

An in-depth analysis of Lake Guntersville and fishing the Classic
By Luigi De Rose

Kevin has been guiding on Guntersville for the
past 3 years. (Photos: BASS/Kevin Hunt)

With the Bassmaster Classic a day away, we wanted to know more about fishing Lake Guntersville in late February. Elite Angler and 2010 FLW CUP CHAMP Kevin Hawk shares his knowledge of his home lake.  

IBASSIN:

There is a saying, “You cannot win the Classic on the first day but you can lose it.”  Can the Classic be lost on the first day?

Hawk: It is really hard to catch up here. If you have a 10 to 15lb limit, you’re not going to go out and catch a 40lb limit the next day to catch up to the leaders. You need to be consistent all three days and have a really good bag one of those days. A really good day on Guntersville would be a 30lb day backed up with mid-twenty catches. 

I think 70 to 75lbs of bass will win the Classic this year.

IBASSIN:

Guntersville being so large, will anglers have a lot of crowding from other contestants?

Hawk:

There might be multiple guys fishing the same areas but it would be much different if the bass were way in the backs of creeks or dead–end coves. The bass should be in the middle or the outside areas of the creeks.  These areas are much larger so fisherman will have more room to fish. The top leaders will do their damage in a short time. They will hit the right cover at the correct time and catch several of them in a hurry. The trick is to hit the right window of opportunity. 

IBASSIN:

Who are your Top 3 picks for this Classic?

Hawk:

My Top 3 picks are:

1^st Jordan Lee. He is young guy and a friend who knows Guntersville very well. He is a tremendous angler.

2^nd Aaron Martens. He is such a strong angler.

3^rd. Dean Rojas. Dean is another very strong angler. 

IBASSIN:

Thanks for giving IBASSIN your perspective on fishing Guntersville. 

Hawk:

You’re welcome.

2014 Bassmaster Classic Coverage: How to Fish Lake Guntersville Now!

An in-depth interview with Elite angler and FLW CUP Champ Kevin Hawk on fishing the Classic Waters.

By Luigi De Rose

IBASSIN wanted to give greater understanding on how the pros will fish Lake Guntersville, the host of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. This famed reservoir on the Tennessee River has a long history with BASS. Numerous events have been held on Guntersville, even Rick Clunn’s first Classic win in 1976. Almost all past tournaments occurred in late spring or autumn not the frigid late winter period greeting the Classic contestants this year.  With 69 000 acres of fishable waters and 71 miles long it is clearly Alabama’s largest water body.  There are no shortage of choices for the Classic anglers.

Photo: Jim Leary/ Kevin Hawk.

We contacted BASS Elite angler and 2010 FLW Cup Champ Kevin Hawk for his knowledge and insight on this week’s Classic. A resident of Guntersville, Kevin has guided on the lake for 3 years and provides great perspective.

IBASSIN:

What are the traditional patterns for Guntersville at this time of year?

Hawk:

Moving baits are the key. Lipless crankbaits and slowly worked jerkbaits are best. It is all weather dependent. Many are familiar with all the grass that canopies in the summer on this lake. This time of year, it is still a factor but the weeds have died off.  Anglers will be looking for grass, even brown grass, in the 4 to 7 foot depth range.  Single swimbaits might produce very well but the water needs to warm up. Jigs will also account for fish but moving baits will be the way to go.

Classic Champ Cliff Pace Lucky to be Alive from Tree Stand Accident

Cliff Pace's Hunting Accident Prevents Defending Classic Title 

Gary Tramontina/B.A.S.S.

Cliff Pace, the 2013 Classic champion, won’t be fishing in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic because of a deer stand accident that happened Friday Jan. 27.

Pace broke his left leg in two places while bow hunting for deer near his home in Petal, Miss.

“I was actually done with my hunt and climbing down from the stand when the accident happened,” said Pace. “It was a cold day, even here in southern Mississippi, and I had cotton gloves on. Part-way down my hand slipped out of the glove, and that’s when I fell.”

Pace tried to push away from the tree so he wouldn’t land on his back or head. He was successful on that front, landing on his feet. But his left foot landed in a hole and jarred his leg enough to break it in two places, once above the knee and once below it. And in the process, he also tore the ACL in his left knee.