With the Bassmaster Classic upon us (February 21-23 on Lake Guntersville, AL), it is time to examine the patterns that I believe the 56 competitors will use to show case their talents. The worlds best fisherman will find the lake in some cold winter patterns that will have them pick from what I believe will be four choices of baits in order to be successful.

The first will be the long casting rattle bait, with the big fish already getting their bodies in motion for the spawn no pre spawn bait is more effective than a rattle bait. It is a bait that can be worked in more ways than most can imagine; from dropping it to speed reeling and all in-between a rattle bait covers ground and catches fish. It takes a bass and attacks their natural instinct to react to odd movement; and no bait does it better than a rattle bait.

Not all fish are caught by reaction baits as many bass are extremely lethargic from the cold and winter like weather, and no bait better attracts a lethargic fish better than a jerk bait. “The key to jerk bait fishing is determining the cadence of jerks and pauses,” hence taking a bait that suspends and rocks making sometimes musical like cadence moves to attract a bite. It is the movement from the bait in depths of 5 to 8 ft. that catch big fish by pulling them up from depths many times of 20 plus feet. The orchestrated bait, is as life like as any bait and attracts big bites.

Many of the competitors will be looking to the bottom for the big bites by pulling a slow moving football head jig over deep structure. There are many fisherman that believe that your big bites come from fish roaming about the bottom looking for easy prey. The big bass position themselves to feed on corners and structure sitting on the bottom facing into the current and dragging a football head jig is a slow presentation that can produce big sacks of pre spawn fish.

Lastly over the past 10 years the square bill crank bait has proved to rival the rattle bait for the reaction bites. A square bill can be worked through cover, bounce off stumps and be ripped out of the grass causing reaction bites that rival any bait on the market. These elite anglers are the best in the world at creating reaction bites and the square bill crank bait is the perfect fish catching bait to do it with! 

Learn more about Lake Guntersville at: www.fishassist.com/fishing-locations/lake-guntersville.php

To Fish With Captain Mike Gerry visit: www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com