Wired2Fish on Location - Guntersville

3/23/2010 10:23:09 PM

Day Two Report: Learning that the fish are staging and not moving shallow yet

Today we decided to venture out from our beaten path. The first day we battled a crazy cold front with blowing sleet, snow and rain. We struggled to keep warm and dry but the fishing was unbelievable. While the fishing could not be classified as fast and furious, the quality was good. We had several 3- to 7-pound bass. Our best five weighed 26 pounds. The fish were relating to channel banks and most of our quality came on football jigs.

The weather changed drastically today. Mid-morning the clouds finally started to melt away, and the sun broke through. The wind started fairly strong, died for a few hours and then picked back up late in the afternoon. We spent a good portion of our day running different parts of the lake to see if the fish were moving shallow yet or if they were out deep still.

We moved around a lot more today. We found the fish willing on one channel swing bank on the main lake. There was some grass mixed in with some rocks and stumps. The ledge bank went from 5 feet to 15 feet quickly. The fish were biting funny. We missed more than we caught on jigs. They just wouldn't pick up on the jig. But we did manage a couple keepers including a 4-pounder.

From there we moved into a shallow spawning bay. We fished rip rap, docks, big grass flats, laydowns, steeper banks, flatter banks and everything in between. We didn't get a single bite. From there we moved to another similar cove on the opposite side of the river. Same result. As we worked out of the bay we hit two small non-keepers heading out of the bay on the outside points.

We left that area and fished a big shallow flat full of stumps. Again not a single bite.

At this point we've thrown jerkbaits, jigs, lipless crankbaits, swimbaits and spinnerbaits without much luck.

We worked back to the area where we caught fish the previous day. The area had a lot more boat pressure today, and we couldn't get back on the small area where we hit a 5-, a 6- and a 7-pounder. But the fish were still biting. We managed another keeper and a couple short fish. We shared the area with some friends that traveled with us. One of the reasons we ventured out more today. They fished the area and managed three keepers. So we're piecing together where the bass are.

Today was a high pressure system after the cold front. The bass bit very funny. Some would pick up on a jig, swim 10 feet with it and never have it when you set the hook. It's like they had it by the trailer. The bites were few but the fishing should improve on Wednesday with the high pressure subsiding and the sunny warming temps making the shallows more attractive.

The main lake had 57-degree water while most of the pockets had 54-degree water. So our search continues tomorrow. We feel like we can yank on the fish again on our first-day stretch, but we're trying to piece together more of the puzzle. There are obviously fish biting in more areas, so we'll report back tomorrow with more updates.

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