Fantasy: Martens and Remitz are best picks

At least 12 pros have won on Guntersville before, and at least one of those winners is in each bucket.

It must have been humbling for all of those Fantasy Fishing players on the Sabine. I mean, all of that preparation and hours of research, having a clear picture going into the event and then just falling flat on their face. Hope you fared better than me — and, by the numbers, 7,100 of you did, including some buddies with current bragging rights.

There is a long way to go this season and lots of water with little or no history, so there are some shots in the dark coming up.

Guntersville is not one of those events, though. At least 12 of these guys have won a Tour-level event on this body of water. A couple have done it more than once, albeit 20 years ago. In fact, each bucket has at least one of those past winners in it.

It is still too early to hit the panic button, but it will be fun to see if a guy can bounce back or continue to miss the target. I will be watching the percentages as we get closer to see if I should try and make up some ground already. These will be tough picks for Guntersville as many anglers’ history seems to be up and down the leaderboard over the years.

Here are my picks, combined, as always, with those of my kids, Maggie and Sam.

Bucket A

Did you know Greg Hackney has finished in the Top 10 in eight of the last 10 events he has fished? It would be hard to pick against him the way he is rolling. Aaron Martens and Chris Lane have won here before. Justin Lucas’ address is Guntersville for crying out loud. What to do?

Picking: Martens on this one, but I reserve the right to change. His last three Top 10s have all come in March or April.

Gut says: Todd Faircloth is always safe, or Hackney who is still rolling.

Maggie says Martens as well, and Sam thinks, “pow!,” Chris Lane strikes again.

Bucket B

Mike Iaconelli has a great history on Guntersville, but so do a bunch of guys in this bucket. Of Ike’s Top 10s, most come in summer or fall. Tommy Biffle, Gerald Swindle and Terry Scroggins have a great history here, too, but they have not fared as well recently.

Picking: Derek Remitz. He has some good finishes and has fared well there the last few times he has fished it, and I think he is due for a Top 10. This pick combines my gut and head, so we will see where that gets me.

Gut says: Mark Menendez, Casey Ashley and Biffle.

Maggie is going “Ike” and Sam says JVD for the vic-tor-y.

Bucket C

This bucket is stacked in my opinion. I could make an argument for Kevin VanDam, Randall Tharp, Ott DeFoe, Skeet Reese and Morizo “Big Mama” Shimizu.

Picking: Randall Tharp. Based on his knowledge of the lake and a broke line and motor trouble likely costing him the Classic last year, I will go with the “Honey Badger.” There are cobras to be had. Big bass will top 10 pounds and there should be some giant bags at this event.

Gut says: Take Keith Combs, but I just cannot pick him over Tharp or KVD unless their percentages are taking up 90 percent of the bucket, at which point I may switch to Combs.

Maggie says Skeet Reese and Sam says take all the Van Dams except Jean Claude, so it is KVD for him.

Bucket D

There are about several Top 10 finishers from this group. This appears on the surface to be a bucket where lots of ground could be made up or lost with a winner or a high finish and a big bag or big bass. Of the Top 10s I mentioned, though, only one has happened in the last several years, and that’s Matt Reed’s 10th-place finish in 2009.

Picking: Brent Ehrler.

Gut says: Rick Clunn or Jason Christie are good, safe picks.

Maggie wants Kelly Jordon, and Sam says Ehrler.

Bucket E

I think it is just a matter of time before one of these lakes sets up great for a veteran angler like Zell Rowland, Rick Clunn, Paul Elias or a similarly experienced angler. If that is the case, Zell has 2 victories on Guntersville on his résumé, but none have happened in recent years. I hope it does happen again soon, but this is not the event I would bet on it.

Picking: Edwin Evers. If he zigs instead of his zag at the Classic last year, I think he wins.

Gut says: David Walker will be a factor.

Maggie is taking former B.A.S.S. Nation champion Paul Mueller, and Sam is taking another past B.A.S.S. Nation champion in Brandon Palaniuk.

Scoreboard at my house: Dad, 932; Sam, 891; Maggie, 749. I am barely holding on against these two. I did catch Maggie researching picks on her own, so I expect a bounceback effort from her. Sam just started rattling off the who’s who of Elite Series anglers before I told him to look at the buckets.

I am excited for the Lake Havasu and the Sacramento River events. Gut picks should win out over any research for those two events. Hope you are all having as much fun with this as I am.