Lake Guntersville

[Bleeding Red]

Heading down in the morning. Anyone been down there the past 2 weeks?

We make our trip during the first week of April each year. I think this year the weather is a couple weeks ahead of schedule and I am expecting to fish in alot more hydrilla and manfoil than we normally do.

I am not looking for fishing spots, we know where to fish. Just curious if the weeds are out farther than normal with warmer than normal temps.

Thanks

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

i wish i was with ya buddy, frogs are killer this time of year , and prop baits topwater.

[kantuckyII]

Wondering how you're doing? I know someone that's down there and has been about a week now but i just saw your post. They've not being doing very good (as of Thursday...that might have changed by now though)

[Bleeding Red]

Wondering how you're doing? I know someone that's down there and has been about a week now but i just saw your post. They've not being doing very good (as of Thursday...that might have changed by now though)

It was tough fishing the first couple of days. The milfoil never died over the winter due to the warm weather and the spawning flats were nearly unfishable. On top of that, the weather has most of the fish on a summer pattern already.

Day one I fished from 2-dark and only caught 12 bass. No big ones.

Day 2 I fished from 8am till dark. 8 bass. For a minute I thought I was fishing the Ohio River...

Day 3 started really slow as we left the shallows of Goosepond and Jackson Park and trailered the boat south to deeper and cooler waters. That didnt pay off. That afternoon we trailered the boat back to Goosepond and started fishing new grass beds and ledges in 9-13 fow. We got on them. I caught one that was 7.2lbs and several over 4.

Day 4 we fished half a day before driving home and we fished the new grass beds. Fished 3 hours or so and I caught close to 20 with my best being right at 4lbs.

It was much tougher than usual because of the warm winter and last year's grass staying in the lake and taking over this spring. Spring fish patterns are nearly over but they can be caught if you fish them like you would in the summer heat.

[kantuckyII]

That's a bummer, the locals will be blaming all them Kentuckians on it though.

Personally? I ain't keen on fishing that milfoil. I don't mind it when it's scarce and fishing the edges but don't care about the rest. The year before last, I was there in November and was pulling a crank bait slowly with rod sweeps over the top of the milfoil that had died down a few feet and was doing decent that way

[Bleeding Red]

That's a bummer, the locals will be blaming all them Kentuckians on it though.

Personally? I ain't keen on fishing that milfoil. I don't mind it when it's scarce and fishing the edges but don't care about the rest. The year before last, I was there in November and was pulling a crank bait slowly with rod sweeps over the top of the milfoil that had died down a few feet and was doing decent that way

Normally the milfoil isnt that tall or thick off the banks in early April. Just a product of the warm winter.

The milfoil and hydrilla down there can be really tough to fish once it gets growing in the shallows and taking over. We just started fishing new grass beds in a little deeper water and ledges and had good success once we changed our fishing strategy to the summer pattern they are already in.

Ive been thinking of giving Guntersville a try this fall. Always heard its a good topwater bit and would like to get on them in schools on a crankbait bite.

Next up on the list is 3-4 trips to St Clair for smallies starting in 3 weeks!

[kantuckyII]

Well, I was down there in mid-November (I think it was Mid, might have been early) and while the weather was beautiful, the fishing was kinda tough. I don't know if I got there too early, or too late. Now, a lot of the locals love to fish the lake in the middle of the summer, in the heat of the day tossing to the edges of those millfoil beds with frogs. They say it's the most exciting bass fishing you can do because they blow up on the lure so hard. I don't know, I'm just not much of a weed fisherman. Guess that's why i hated Florida so badly too?

I've been down there in early April a couple of times. A few years back, I was there a wee bit later and fished and didn't have any success at all in the creek that Jackson County Park is on. I packed up and headed to the ramp that is 2 ramps from Goosepond and had a heck of a good time.

[Bleeding Red]

I trailered my boat 25 miles south one day just to check it out and the water temp was 8 degrees colder than it was at Jackson Park or Goosepond. You dont have to go far on that lake and it seems like you are on a completely different lake altogether.

I have heard the frog bite in the summer and early fall is fast and furious! I would like to go down there in the fall when the bass are schooling back up and give the crankbait or A rig bit a try.

[kantuckyII]

When I was down there, I couldn't believe how many people I talked to who lived there and had fished, say at Goosepond but hadn't even been to Mud Creek. Can you imagine having a lake that good where you never feel compelled to drive to the other end of it to fish at times?

[Bleeding Red]

When I was down there, I couldn't believe how many people I talked to who lived there and had fished, say at Goosepond but hadn't even been to Mud Creek. Can you imagine having a lake that good where you never feel compelled to drive to the other end of it to fish at times?

Its so big that one boat ramp to the next can be completely different fishing styles.

2 years ago I got tired of catching them at Jackson Park (hard to imagine I know) and we decided to run up to Mud Creek.It didnt look too far away on my Lowrance GPS. The main river was white capping. Ran 55-60 mph for what seemed like 45 minutes. Held my breath the last 5 miles as the red and green buoys were hard to see because of the white caps. Finally made it to Mud Creek, went back through the slender opening and within 1/2 mile of following the buoys there were no more bouys to be found. 4 fow. So we fished a couple of spawning flats, caught minimal fish and motored straight back to Jackson Park:) Figured it cost me $25 in gas and 2 hours fishing time (catching time) to see Mud Creek. Never went back.

[kantuckyII]

You know..there's a ramp there? :>)

I took my brother-in-law there back in the late-80's. He never bassed fished before and wanted to try it. He was always a long time catfisherman. We went right under the highway and were tossing to the rip rap on the upstream side of it and he had a crank bait tied on. Never forget seeing his face as one of those hawgs about ripped the rod out of his hand..then, turned and ran full bore to the boat and under it. Before he pull his line under the boat so he could lift his rod...BAM! that thing still is swimming with that plug in it's mouth today as far as I know :>)

Mud Creek get's mighty crowded these days. You can tear your boat up there real quick if you're not careful (as you can on most of Guntersville)

[Bleeding Red]

Guntersville is dangerous. When the red and green bouys end, I come off plane and slow way down to idle speeds. Same can be said for KY Lake/Barkley. Those are great bass lakes but you can get into a really expensive fishing trip by replacing your lower unit (or worse) if you run your big motor where you arent supposed to!

That is what I like about Lake St Clair. Get out of the channel and onto the main lake and run hard with no worries

[Bleeding Red]

Also, I have been thinking: Think of the lake we would have if the state decided to dam up the Scioto River and let it back flow all of that flat ground from 104 in West Portsmouth over to the big banks near Portsmouth, parallel with US 23. They could do that from the mouth of the Scioto River all the way to Waverly. I bet in 5-10 years the fishing would be great and we wouldnt have to go out of town for a decent size lake to fish. It would be a small version of Guntersville, KY Lake, Picwick, etc!

Too bad the state doesnt have enough money to buy up all that farm land (that floods most years anyway) to put in a decent body of water for southern Ohio.

[kantuckyII]

A lake like that would bring a lot of money into the area. Whether it would ever be a good fishery or not would be debatable

[BigBlueNation]

Also, I have been thinking: Think of the lake we would have if the state decided to dam up the Scioto River and let it back flow all of that flat ground from 104 in West Portsmouth over to the big banks near Portsmouth, parallel with US 23. They could do that from the mouth of the Scioto River all the way to Waverly. I bet in 5-10 years the fishing would be great and we wouldnt have to go out of town for a decent size lake to fish. It would be a small version of Guntersville, KY Lake, Picwick, etc!

Too bad the state doesnt have enough money to buy up all that farm land (that floods most years anyway) to put in a decent body of water for southern Ohio.

That's a great idea but we are to far south for the state to spend any money on. They have several thousands of acres in shawnee forrest that is know closed that they could built a lake on. One area is the Lampblack area which is right by the lodge if your not familiar with the area. They could build the lake with the money they would get from the timber if they had enough of a water source to supply it. But the powers up north could care less about southern ohio. Good luck Bleeding Red on the St.Clair trip everyone i talk to say that place is awesome.

[Bleeding Red]

Also, I have been thinking: Think of the lake we would have if the state decided to dam up the Scioto River and let it back flow all of that flat ground from 104 in West Portsmouth over to the big banks near Portsmouth, parallel with US 23. They could do that from the mouth of the Scioto River all the way to Waverly. I bet in 5-10 years the fishing would be great and we wouldnt have to go out of town for a decent size lake to fish. It would be a small version of Guntersville, KY Lake, Picwick, etc!

Too bad the state doesnt have enough money to buy up all that farm land (that floods most years anyway) to put in a decent body of water for southern Ohio.

That's a great idea but we are to far south for the state to spend any money on. They have several thousands of acres in shawnee forrest that is know closed that they could built a lake on. One area is the Lampblack area which is right by the lodge if your not familiar with the area. They could build the lake with the money they would get from the timber if they had enough of a water source to supply it. But the powers up north could care less about southern ohio. Good luck Bleeding Red on the St.Clair trip everyone i talk to say that place is awesome.

Thanks. I just got back from my second trip so far this year to St Clair. Both trips were good, not quite as good as years past. Its definitely worth the 5.5 hour drive. I had the best 3 hour stretch of catching fish this past weekend that Ive ever had up there, so that will keep me coming back :122245