Guntersville Bassmaster

I had one fish, a 2-05. I didn't get any bites, but my co-angler caught 11 pounds behind me. I know what happened. I'd been catching all my fish by 9:00, and that fog delay crucified me.

I might have made a big mistake today too. The last 2 days I hadn't caught a fish on a jerkbait after about 9:00. The guy I fished with today was leading the co-angler side, and carried his pro partners to his area both days and they had good sacks. So after mine didn't bite after 20-30 minutes, I left and went to his fish. I caught one and he caught two, but we stayed there for almost 4 hours. We were throwing lipless crankbaits, and the fish would knock the fire out of it but wouldn't get hooked. It kept me staying there because I thought they would finally start getting it. I kept changing colors and everything, trying to see what it was. I had eight fish hit and didn't get it, and he probably had the same.

I'm disappointed because I know I was on the right pattern. I just didn't get on the jerkbait deal until the last day of practice, and if I had more time to go looking down in the lower end of the lake, I could've caught them later in the day. Instead of going and practicing on tournament days, I stayed with what I had and tried to peck them out.

I was using the new Mann's jerkbait (shad color). I'd jerk it down and just let it sit. I was probably getting it down 5-7 feet. Sometimes I would let it sit at least 15 seconds. I was making myself count to at least 10 before I moved it, and when I did move it I barely moved it and let it sit for another 5-10 seconds. The water was cold. The grass fish were hitting lipless cranks and spinnerbaits, but most of the jerkbait fish were on a little steeper banks, maybe out in front of the grass. You couldn't get a bite if you kept jerking it back to the boat.

The strike was like a peck on a worm, most of the time.

I guarantee that's how the tournament will be won.

I was using a 6' Quantum PT rod (medium), a Quantum PT 600 reel and 10-pound Berkley Vanish line.

Paul made the Top 12 cut so his day is covered in the main story.

My day wasn't real good. I only caught three for 7 pounds.

I did a little too much running. I went running up this creek, and the water was a lot colder (44 degrees) than it was (in practice). I sort of freaked out. I ran round too much, and didn't catch much. I fished a 'Trap (like he did yesterday, but only had two shorts and three keepers. Actually, it was a Yo-Zuri Rattl'n Vibe in red crawdad, and I fished it with a 7' 6" Lobina Longshot rod, Shimano reel and Yamamoto 16-pound fluorocarbon line.

I fished shallow banks, channel banks, sitting in 8 feet or deeper, and was casting to 2-3 feet. There was a pretty good grassline of dead hydrilla at 2-3 feet.

The fish are moving – standard February stuff, moving, changing. I was fishing main-lake stuff, but this afternoon I started running the backs of pockets and the fish were there. They were getting off the 'Trap. If I had to do it again, I'd throw a jerkbait, which I didn't throw today.

Chunk and wind – that's what I planned, and I knew it would be tight one way or the other. Either I'd get the fish or not get them, and I just didn't get them today. It wasn't my day.

I only caught 16 pounds. I had a pretty rotten day. I broke a trolling motor cable at 8:00 this morning. It just broke, one of those things. It took me a while to change it out, and then something was wrong with the spare, which was my fault. I should have had it checked. But it worked.

I still should have caught them. I lost a 7-8 pounder that I saw and another big one I didn't see, and my partner caught a 7 and a 4 behind me. It was just one of those days.

My partner hooked a 7-8 pounder and asked me to land it for him because he'd never caught one that big. So I laid my rod down to lip his fish (and left it there for a few seconds) and then a fish bit my bait. I jerked way, and the rod went way behind me because I had too much line out. I knew I didn't get a good set, but I caught up with the fish. It was a 7-8 pound fish, and pulled off. That was sickening. But I lipped my partner's fish. Oh well. I got one of them – just the wrong one (laughs).

They caught the snot out of them today -- I'm probably barely on the sheet, if I'm on it. I'm going to fish the same way tomorrow. I can catch 27-28 pounds if everything goes right. You have to have some good luck, and I haven't had any of that yet.

I'm wet and cold and miserable. I had 14-14, which wasn't very good. A lot of 20-pound bags were caught. It wasn't a bad day, but I just didn't catch any big ones today.

I picked one 500-yard bank went up and down it until I caught five fish. I ended up catching seven keepers. When we went out this morning, I worried about catching one because it was so cold. I had 3 inches of snow on my boat cover so I was worried, but they bit. They were active today.

Tomorrow I'll go to another bank way up the river. If I can catch a limit, I might get good points. But I don't really have any places to catch any big ones.

(Paul quit around noon EST today.) It's raining and fixing to snow – it's nice (laughs). I went back to the room.

I wish the tournament started today. I think I could have killed them today. I think I got on something pretty solid, and unless something surprises me, I don't think a lot of people will be doing it.

I think they've stabilized the water. They dropped the hell out of it all week, but I think it's down as far as they're going to drop it. It just started raining at about 11:00 and it's supposed to rain all night, mixing with snow. They're calling for mixed rain and snow tomorrow, and showers in the afternoon.

It's raining and cold here. I spent about half day out there. I went way upriver to a couple of backwater creeks and had 6-7 bites flipping and throwing spinnerbaits, but nothing big. Just 2-3 pound fish, not enough to win this tournament.

Tomorrow I think I'll stick to my original area and original patterns, and just fish them real hard. I have a variety of baits – Rat-L-Traps, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs (laughs) – and I'll fish them real thoroughly. I'll stay in some areas and hope some big ones are in there.

I caught a lot of fish today, but I didn't have enough weight. I had about 13, maybe 14 pounds, and I don't think that will be anything in this one.

I fished some different water today. The wind got up so bad that I couldn't fish like I needed to for the big ones. I found an insurance spot in case the wind blows, but If I have to fish those fish, I'll have to find a couple of kickers to have a good sack.

What I do tomorrow depends on what the wind is going to do. It's supposed to blow pretty hard, and if it does, I'll probably try to find protected areas in case it does that Thursday too.

I haven't talked to a lot of people, but it seems pretty easy to catch them. Things could change, but I don't think it will be much different than what most of the local weigh-ins have been. It will take 18 pounds a day to even think about making the 12 cut.

It went well early again. I caught a limit pretty early, and then I decided to run to another part of the lake. I totally left the area where I've been catching them and I didn't do well at all. I caught a couple more shorts, but no more keepers. I basically eliminated that part of the lake.

Tomorrow I'll try to expand (his pattern) in the other direction. I know they're catching big ones, and today my biggest was 2 1/2 pounds so I have to figure out a way to catch the bigger ones tomorrow. Anytime you're on a lake like this, success and failure are 2 minutes apart. You could be near them and then right on them real quick.

I think this will be a pattern tournament, but within an area. Guys who have the right 30-yard stretch will whack them, and guys just out of that stretch will have it tough. It always ends up being that way in these grass events.

It should be a pretty fun tournament. I just hope I get on the right batch.

A lot of fish will be caught. I caught about a 10-pounder, but pretty much everybody I've talked to said they caught the hell out of them. It's going to be a toad-fest. You'll have to have a kicker fish with four pretty good ones to stay in it.

It's balmy, and we were supposed to get a lot of rain, but now it sounds like the rain will stay below us, at least most of it. I think the high the first day of the tournament will be in the high 40s, but then it will get better every day.

I like this lake, but because of my position in the standings, I'll just have to fish for big ones. I could mess up and not catch a limit, but I caught that 10-pounder the way I need to fish.

I'm not catching the heck out of them. I had 6-7 bites today and a couple of 5-pounders, so overall it was a good day. But I'm not anything real strong.

Tomorrow I'll run to more areas. Today I just pretty much put the trolling motor down and fished, so tomorrow I'll see a little more of the lake. I have a couple little patterns going, but they're not consistent. It seems to be better in the morning, maybe because they're drawing water, and then it gets a little tougher later in the day.

I fished a Megabucks here and caught a 10-pounder. I've always liked this lake. It has a lot of big fish, and I know some monster stringers will be caught. It doesn't matter what the water temperature is here. They seem to bite all the time. It's just a matter of getting on the right pod of fish.