Looks like I will be spending a month or so fishing up there. I have two tournaments coming up on the lake (one 4/29 and another 5/13). I've never been particularly good here. In fact, I'd say that I hate the lake. Not because the lake isn't good, but because I'm not good there.

I recently purchased (2) Helix 9's G2N. I figure I will spend a lot of time idling around staring at them. I have booked a guide trip with a buddy of mine for 4/17. Not sure who it's with as my buddy lined it up.

Any hints, tips, patterns, or baits would be appreciated. I'm hoping the shad spawn will get going and the spinnerbait bite will be going on out on the shallow ledges. I always get a kick out of the "fish the grass" advice...... as if the whole damn lake didn't have grass everywhere!

Thanks,

The fish should be shallow in april and may. As far as baits id probably just flip a kinky beaver or biffle bug all day and throw a buzzbait or frog early

Spend some time in Siebold. Bridges will be good the first tournament but you'll have company. Big swimbaits and crankbaits around the bridges. Spinnerbaits and rat-l-traps in Siebold. I hate the rat-l-traps but I've caught so many big fish on them at guntersville I have to throw one in March and April.

What color you like in the 'Trap this time of year, Brent?

I usually throw a chrome/blue Cordell Super Spot more than a trap. Best tourney I ever had at g-vile was mid-April and I had 27-7 on the Super Spot. I lost a 10+ and 2 more that were 5+ that day too. That's the downside of throwing a trap/spot.

Always put better hooks on a trap before your throw it. .02

The Excalibur x50 & x75 come with premium hooks, that's what I used at Guntersville for a rattle bait.

Throwing a trap on what? Flats? Points? Humps? Just assuming you were ripping it through the grass.

Flats near spawning areas. Use it as a search bait when the sun gets up. Throw a spook above grass early. Lots of kicker fish get picked up line that. Throw plastic if the sun stays out in areas you find fish. Jerk bait if it's cloudy. You can catch all the fis you need in islands.

If your tournaments are 4/29 and 5/13 then you likely could find fish in pre-, spawn and post-spawn. Pick a section of the lake - Alred's (islands), Siebold, Brown's, Honeycomb, wherever, and pick it apart. CT nailed it, too. I might add a floating worm or unweighed fluke for fry-guarders around stumps, too. Lot of possibilities.

Best launch for fishing around Alred's without getting your truck broken into that's not overly crowded on Saturday?

Just south of the bridge on 431 or 69 causeway.

At the Yatch club just before you go over the river?

Across from gville boat mart or behind publix

stop by the tackle trap in boaz, buy a whopper plopper and fish it near spawning flats and grass

I HAVE A 2 DAY TOURNEY HTERE THIS WEEKEND

Had my windows busted out across from boat mart about 3 years ago.

Fished with a guide there on Monday. Typical guide trip for me where you go out and hit all the community spots with baits you're already familiar with. We caught some fish. Best five probably around 14 pounds. Our guy mainly focused on main lake stuff. I don't think they are out there yet. Lake was awesome on the Monday after Easter. Way better than tournament Saturdays......

How familiar is that guide with the lake? I'd be incredibly pissed if my best five only went 14 pounds at this time of the year.

No surprise there. If you want to catch fish call Rex Chambers and set up a June ledge day. Guntersville is tough right now and is running ahead of schedule in regards to spawn and recovering spawners. You should be able to get out right now and run top water over submerged grass. I would throw a bull shad and a spook/gunfish almost exclusively.