Bass East Post-Tournament Fishing Log

Tournament Trail: FLW Tour
Lake:  Lake Guntersville, Alabama
Dates: February 12-15th 2009
Angler: Jerry Green, Cullman, Alabama

Cullman, Alabama’s Professional FLW Bass Angler Jerry Green managed to deposit $14,000 into his Alabama Bank Account after making a quantum leap on Day-2 of the FLW Tour Series first stop of 2009 season on Lake Guntersville. Green’s 5-bass limit tiped the scales in his favor weighing in at 20lbs 7oz! Green elaborates on his Guntersville Tournament Performance to his Pre-Tournament Predictions for Bass East.

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Q.  Do you feel your practice and preparation for this event went as planned?

A. I sure do! I had a really tough practice, however the last day of practice I really put together the transitional movement of the bass in the area I was concentrating in. My goal was to discover where the bass were moving to, not so much as to where they were staging. My final practice day was definitely a confidence booster, I was able to produce more consistent bites in shallow areas with isolated patches of milfoil 6 inches to 2 feet below the surface.

Q.  Playing the “Monday Morning Quarterback”, what changes if any would you
make after your 17th Place finish?

A. Absolutely none! I know what your thinking I was idling in 46th place at the end of Day#1, but what you don’t know is that I had fifteen keepers in my Ranger Boat that first day! Catching fifteen keepers on Lake Guntersville and not having a 20 lb sack is just about unheard of? On the second day I had 8 keepers and carried 20 lbs 7 oz to the scales. My execution was excellent both days with only one small bass throwing my bait each day.

Q.  You originally predicted covering water with reaction type baits would be the prevalent pattern, and that most bass would be caught on spinnerbaits or lipless crankbaits. Was this true and which style, running depth and colors were most productive?

A. I believe that overall in the tournament this pattern was prevalent, however when it came to the spinnerbait I was unable to get the bass to eat it, and decided to concentrate on utilizing a small modified crankbait with no rattles. I honestly believe the bass were extremely pressured and had seen just to many rattling lipless crankbaits. Besides the FLW Tour event Bassmasters was holding one of their Weekend Series Tournaments on Guntersville at the same time. Although the dominant colors utilized by most anglers was ‘Red’, I chose to throw a Chartreuse Black back crankbait. My water was slightly dingy and I caught all my bass on this color in depths ranging from as shallow as 6 inches to an average of 2-3 feet.

Q. Your forecast of over 20 lbs a day as well as your prediction of needing 42-43 lbs to make the Top-10 hit a bull’s-eye, as 41 lbs 5 oz earned Craig Dowling the final slot in the Top-10! However, many anglers struggled to get a 5-bass limit on both days? What’s your thoughts on this was it the Weather conditions or the flights that may have played a major role in these results at the scales?

A. The weather played a major role in this event. The water had to warm up before the bass actually started biting, and you had to have a lot of confidence in your areas to wait for the bass to turn on. If you didn’t and kept moving then you were missing out on this small window of opportunity. Except for two early bass the first day, all my bites came later in the day. It was a real blessing to have been in a later flight my second day, this gave me an extra hour before making my 45 minute run back to the launch. During this final period I managed to cull out two smaller bass with two nice keepers that really anchored my 20 lb limit.

Q. What final notes will you make in your ‘Fishing Log’ under Lake Guntersville, February 2009 in preparation for the next time you compete there?

A. Not to hesitate to work extremely shallow water in February! The main lake water temperature was 45-47 degrees, while the water temperature in the bays just off the main lake reached 51-52 degrees later in the day. Two key terms sum it up; Extremely Shallow (6 inches) and Warmer water.

Q. What’s next on the Bass Fishing agenda for Jerry Green?

A. I’ll be heading down to Florida’s Lake Okeechobee for the FLW Southeast Stren Series scheduled for February 26-28th. I’ll be targeting pre-spawn and spawning bass at this event.