Heavy artillery needed
Forty pounds likely not enough for top 10
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – There were mixed reports about the bite heading into the Chevy Open on Lake Guntersville. One group of anglers was catching giant bass with relative ease, while another group struggled just to receive the occasional bite. This trend has turned the first Walmart FLW Tour event of the season into a one-sided affair. Those that caught them on day one still need to catch them today if they have any plans of fishing over the weekend.
Lake Guntersville is perhaps the best and most consistent bass fishery in the entire southeastern region of the United States. Because of that reputation, most assumed 40 pounds would be enough to make the final round of 10 boats. The recent warming trend and overall near-perfect weather have caused most in the field to revise those calculations.
Currently, the cut weight is 21 pounds, 13 ounces, and 15 anglers have caught over 20 pounds. Another 25 or so caught over 18 pounds. Simply put, this is a slugfest, and today is not the day to let up.
“You’re going to need 41 or 42 pounds to make it,” said Castrol pro Mike Surman. “I’m not going to stop until I have 19 (pounds), and I caught 25 yesterday.”
Over the years, the FLW Tour has earned the reputation of bringing bad weather with it wherever it goes. Thankfully, that trend has seemingly ended in 2009.
“When is the last time FLW had two perfect days in a row, especially in February?” asked 10th-place pro Ray Scheide. “The fishing is going to be great again today. I’m not going to stop at any point in the day, because you just can’t overfish these grass bass. The thing about this lake at this time of year, there are more coming up every day.”
Scott Canterbury is in similar position to Surman and Scheide. He, too, understands that the catching must continue in order to make the top-10 cut.
“This is one of the best lakes in the country,” said the 2008 Rookie of the Year. “This whole game is about making cuts, and you never know what you’ll need with the giants that live in this lake.”
Logistics
The two-day, opening-round cut will be made following Friday’s action. The full field competes in the opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Look for the pro cut weight to hover around 40 to 42 pounds, and the co-angler cut weight to settle in around 31 to 33 pounds.
Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:32 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 41 degrees
Expected high temperature: 65 degrees
Water temperature: 46-54 degrees
Wind: ESE at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 48 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly cloudy
Catch a video recap from each day’s action at the Lake Guntersville event with FLW Outdoors On-Demand video. To access the video, click here.