Some Keys to Finding Big Fish on Guntersville
Every year I try to explain to my readers the little special things you need to do to find a trophy bass on Guntersville. I thought this year I would give it to you in a little different way.
Let's first talk about lure size; I am a believer that big bates catch big fish so if your looking for a trophy fish use your biggest baits, like 1 oz. spinner baits or a full size Zara Spook during the top water season or 1 oz. rattle baits. Fish a 10 inch or bigger worm; I promise you the size of your fish will go up, the numbers may go down but that is not what your fishing for.Next slow your retrieve, most big fish with the exception of the pre spawn like a slower presentation so slow roll a spinner bait, make long pauses in your top water baits. Still use a deflection off wood or grass or humps but give them time to recover and react to your bait. Big fish like to examine their food and sometimes they will approach a couple of times before eating so if your moving it slow enough they can take time to eat it. Make long casts as part of the big fish being a bit subtler they will follow sometimes longer than a small fish so a long retrieve gives them time to react.
Lastly the big fish I believe do everything first, they spawn first, they go to the ledges first, they go deep first; so be ahead of the pattern. We will be going through many transition stages over the next several weeks, be ahead of each pattern by fishing the big fish where the pattern should take them and use big bates. An example of this is; the big fish are coming off the bed now, they should head to the ledges or be in a transition stage ahead of many fish still bedding. Getting there first could land you a trophy bass.