Guntersville BBT Setting Up Perfect

 By Pete Robbins 

 

The biggest question each year when the Big Bass Tour heads to Alabama’s famed Lake Guntersville in the fall is what it will take to win the overall big fish prize. In a decade of autumn events, it has never taken less than 7.37 pounds, but occasionally some of those famed Big G giants snake into the mix. In 2022, there was a 9.39, followed by an 8.52. Similarly, in 2015 there was a 9.42 followed by an 8.27. 

 

Accordingly, if you were one of the multiple proud anglers who captured a fish over 7 pounds in those tournaments, maximizing your payback depended heavily on when you weighed that fish in. Choose the wrong hour and it costs you money. 

 

While the choice of tactic may be critical – although it’s possible to bounce from one to another over the course of a tournament – strategy and timing are even more essential. 

Local expert Lonnie Cochran said that 30 pound limits are showing up pretty consistently, so it will surely take a 6-pounder or greater to win most hours. For those anglers who want to cash in with a fish of that size – or even one of the lake’s thousands of 4- and 5-pounders, it’s essential to pay attention to the live leaderboard. If your distant spot is firing up, making the long run for a small check may not always be worth the effort. 

 

“The lake is really healthy and the fish are biting now,” he explained. “We went from a drought to 3 ½ inches of rain. The lake has come up and the fish are following the water back. They’re pulling a lot of current. I’m not sure how long that will last, but those big schools of fish that were out in the river are moving into the creek mouths and ditches just off the river. And we’re starting the fall transition at the same time. It’s kind of a perfect storm.” 

 

He believes that a number of tactics and presentations will come into play, and that the whole lake has the potential to give up the grand prize winning fish. 

 

For many anglers, their happiest moments are putting heavy rods and braid in their hands, and at Guntersville that remains a key way to land a tournament-winning bass. The technique that everyone loves to fish in the fall is a hollow body frog, and it’s the way to tempt a giant out of the grass. Cover miles of salad looking for the right bite, and don’t farm it when she explodes on your bait, and this is the most exciting way to win a new boat. It’s not consistent, though, so if you’re not on a loaded stretch of grass (all to yourself) it’s a high risk, high reward strategy. Cochran’s favorite is the Berkley Swamp Lord (the regular version, not the popping model) in a color called MF Bluegill, which resembles baitfish rather than frogs. 

 

It may not be as sexy as the frog, and it may take a little more work, but anglers who put a punching rod in their hand with a big weight and braid are also in line to find a giant or two. Cochran has no doubt what bait and color he’d use if this was his chosen tactic – a Berkley Pit Boss in Skeet’s Green Money. 

 

In more scattered grass sling a Golden Shiner Slobberknocker with a 3.8” Champ Swimmer. It’s a numbers-gatherer and occasionally a tournament winner. 

 

Another option may be shaking a minnow with forward facing sonar but there’s a wrinkle to it. It may be consistent, and help you target specific fish, but he said that “if you get around the right school you don’t need forward facing sonar to do it. You can just throw in there blind.” His preferred bait is the Berkley Powerbait Drip Minnow or Drip Swimmer in any sort of shad color, and for even a Guntersville veteran like Cochran, the technological advancements have opened his eyes to how to fish even traditional styles. “A lot of times even big fish are on really small bait.” 

 

An even better tactic is a castable umbrella rig, which will continue to get stronger as the weather gets cooler. He rigs them up with Berkley Powerbait The Champ Swimmers on Fusion 19 jigheads. The problem with this technique, such as it is, is that you’ll have to wade through tons of keepers, often two or three at a time. For Cochran, it doesn’t produce as many five- or six-pound fish as some other more traditional options, although of course it can on occasion lead to a true Guntersville giant. 

 

But remember, in this one fish format, what you do at the weigh in means more than what you do on the water. Right fish, wrong time is a bad combination. 

Meanwhile, a savvy competitor who’s not on the biggest fish can mop up multiple hourly checks by maximizing his or her timing. Stay close and stay connected to the live leaderboard to make the right decisions.