Martens: Guntersville a ‘just miss’ event

I feel like I was one clue short of having a great tournament.

I considered the title "clueless" for this column, but I wasn't clueless; I simply missed the clue. As fishermen,we are always looking for clues to what the fish are doing, where they are and the best way to get bit. I feel like I was one clue short of having a great tournament. 

The thing that bugs me the most is the winners were fishing the way I like to fish most – throwing big swimbaits. There's not much that is more fun than chucking big 6 and 7 inch swimbaits. Catching bass on a big swimbait is addictive. 

The fish were moving into spawning flats and coming from spawning flats, and they weren't staying in the transition areas for very long. Prior to the tournament, they were more abundant in the transition areas. Once the tournament kicked off however, they were on the move which made them tricky. 

I worked a number of different areas including bridges, off-shore structure and a bunch of transitional areas. I fished around Skeet (the eventual winner) and Ike (the leader for three days) on the first day of the event. I think I was just using the wrong presentation. 

I fished a number of different baits including 1/2-ounce and 3/4-ounce spinnerbaits, a shallow running Flap Slapand a variety of crankbaits, and they all caught fish. The problem wasn't catching fish; it was catching the bigger fish. I never did get a big bite the first day — just a limit of 2 1/2- to 3-pounders, and on Guntersville, that's not good enough. During the second day of the event, I was able to at least salvage some points by weighing in a 19-14 bag.

Guntersville is, in my opinion, still one of the best lakes in the country. When you think about it, that's pretty amazing considering the amount of pressure it gets. There are always hundreds of boats on that lake on any given day. Lakes like Clear Lake and Falcon are also incredible, but I am not sure they could hold up to the pounding Lake Guntersville takes on a daily basis. 

The TVA has done a good job of eliminating a lot of the hydrilla on the lake, but that also hurts the fishing. Hydrilla is an uncontrollable invasive plant, and their need to remove it is obvious. But hydrilla is good for fishing. I can't help thinking about what the fishing would be like if they didn't remove the hydrilla. However, if they didn't, you wouldn't be able to get within a hundred yards of the shoreline and that would hurt pleasure boating and waterfront homes and their dock life. 

With the hydrilla gone, milfoil and eel grass has really sprung up around the lake, and that is a positive thing. It's not as good as hydrilla for fishing, but it's still good to have some cover that gives the fry a place to hide so it can grow to be a big Guntersville bass. 

Congratulations to my friend Skeet Reese on the win; that is his second victory on Guntersville. Ihad hoped to get my second win on Guntersville, but instead I'll just have to shoot for a second title on the California Delta.