Gautney Cranks Up The Lead
Guntersville catches fire for day one
The opening round of the Rayovac FLW Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Guntersville threatened to set the scales on fire – at least figuratively. Ironic, since the event, presented by Mercury, was preceded by a practice period that left many anglers complaining. The complaints are over. On day one, Cameron Gautney of Muscle Shoals, Ala., led the way with 33 pounds, 8 ounces. All told, 230 boaters and their co-angler partners combined to bring an even 4,090 pounds of bass to the weigh-in.
Gautney, a guide on the lake, caught more than 59 pounds in combination with his co-angler, Antoni Bicy, who’s third in those standings.
“Together we probably caught 55 bass,” says Gautney. “I threw back at least two more 24-pound limits. It was unbelievable.”
Gautney is tossing a deep-diving crankbait in 16- to 18-feet of water and targeting prespawn bass.
“In general I’m cranking deep staging areas. I’m cranking the first spot they are going to before they go to spawn. For most of my spots, there is just about one cast you have to make or you won’t get bit, and I have about three or four places like that where I can make one cast.”
On a lake that is famous for day-one heroes stumbling, Gautney is confident that he can back up his strong start.
“I’m not at all concerned about running out of fish. I haven’t even gotten to touch what I call my “culling spots” yet,” he says. “They don’t have the same numbers of fish, but I think they will have some even better bites on them. I’m trying to conserve them.
“I’m graphing my fish on most of my spots with my Lowrance,” adds Gautney. “That let me find them in practice and really stay off them. I have two areas about 15 miles apart with a couple of spots on each of them.
“My strength is fishing offshore, and that’s what I’m going to stick to. I don’t want to have to fish up shallow.”
With Gautney as confident as you can be on a lake with so many big fish and such a stacked field, you can bet we’ll be following closely tomorrow. If his spots hold up, he has the chance to make this into more than just one amazing day of fishing.
Top 10 Pros
1. Cameron Gautney – 33-8 (5)
2. Joe Hall – 28-1 (5)
3. Keystone Light pro Casey Martin – 26-12 (5)
4. Drew Benton – 26-4 (5)
5. Jay Kendrick – 25-6 (5)
6. Marco Valdez – 25-4 (5)
7. Rob Digh – 24-14 (5)
8. Mark Daniels Jr. – 24-7 (5)
9. McCoy Borja – 24-2 (5)
10. Paul Malone – 23-7 (5)
Click here for the full results.
Rubbo Rocks 31-15, Takes Co-angler Lead
Fishing behind veteran pro Todd Auten, co-angler Thomas Rubbo of Lexington, Ky., smoked 31 pounds, 15 ounces for the day one lead.
Rubbo had seven bites on the day, and his entire weight by 9:30 in the morning.
“I wasn’t surprised that we got the bites that we got, but I was shocked by the quality,” says Rubbo. “This is my first time on Guntersville, and this is a pretty nice icebreaker.”
Top 10 Co-anglers
1. Thomas Rubbo – 31-15 (5)
2. Wayne Boyd – 27-15 (5)
3. Antoni Bicy – 26-0 (5)
4. Casey O’Donnell – 25-4 (5)
5. James Brooks – 20-12 (5)
6. Michael Wiles – 18-13 (5)
7. Michel Purvis – 17-7 (5)
8. Timothy Watkins – 16-12 (5)
9. Mike McDaniel – 16-3 (5)
10. Alphonso Taylor – 15-12 (5)
Big Bass
Pro: Simon Borja – 8-7
Co-angler: Perry Oakley – 8-8