Event: 2014 Bassmaster Classic, Lake Guntersville
Scenario: Weather always factors into Classic happenings, but perhaps it’s never so impactful as that 2014 event, in which a flat-topped pro from Birmingham would mount the most astounding comeback in Classic history.
“We had one of the coldest winters on record leading up to the Classic,” Howell said. “About two weeks before the Classic, the whole back of Spring Creek (where I won the Classic) was frozen over, with seagulls standing on the ice.”
A challenging practice brought water temperatures of 38 to 43 degrees, while rain and snow/ice melt sent a turbid plume that killed much of the grass and dashed the vegetation-centered game plans. Catching only five fish during the entire practice period left Howell perplexed — until the scenario dramatically shifted.
“A lot of the grassbeds I thought would be good were totally gone from the current and the cold and the mud,” Howell said. “That made us have to drop back and punt.
“As the week progressed, that really played into my hand, because I really didn’t have a game plan. I really didn’t know what I was doing, so I stayed open-minded.”
Classic anglers caught a break when the day before competion saw a dramatic warming trend push air temperatures into the 70s and dump approximately 4 inches of warm rain. As Howell explained, the warm front shuffled the deck and presented him with an unbeatable hand.
“That 70-degree water mixed with the 38- to 43-degree water in the backs of all those runoffs and creeks and started pushing warm, muddy water out,” Howell said. “That was the perfect storm for those fish to start sucking into the backs of these creeks.
“As I saw that play out on the first tournament morning, I started running riprap, bridges and rocky shorelines in the backs of creeks. Every time I’d go under a bridge, it would go from low 40s to mid to upper 50s. It was like two different lakes.”
The decision: Howell spent Days 1 and 2 shallow cranking and turned in limits of 20-3 and 18-3. After placing 13th on Day 1, Howell improved to 11th. Entering the final day of a Bassmaster Classic outside the top 10 usually does not yield a crowning moment — unless you blast a huge Championship Sunday limit.
“I was really was happy I made the cut to fish the last day, but I didn’t really have any expectation of winning because I was 9 pounds behind the leader,” Howell said. “I didn’t expect (anyone in the top 10) to falter, so I just went out the next day and that’s when the miracle happened.”
On Day 3, Howell sacked up 29-2, the event’s second-largest catch (behind second-place finisher Paul Mueller, who caught 32-3 on Day 2) which was enough to push him across the finish line by a pound. The unfolding, Howell said, was nothing short of divine intervention.
“As I ran up the lake, I had that overwhelming urge, which I (believe) was the Lord leading me to run back to Spring Creek — the only place I hadn’t caught any fish,” Howell said. “I had fished all the bridges in that creek and that was where the mega school had finally moved in.”
Howell found 56- to 58-degree water on the bridge’s creek side, while the outer side was 45 degrees. With a mudline forming off the inside riprap, he started on that current area and caught about 22 pounds.
“I started working close, and as the fish moved out deeper, I changed to the Livingston Howeller crankbait in the Guntersville Craw color and ended up catching the rest of the fish and culling out,” Howell said. “They were positioned right off the corner of the bridge riprap. Then, as the sun got up, they moved out to that deeper riprap.
“We didn’t have forward-facing sonar then, so I didn’t know how many fish were there, but they had moved out and started suspending. When I changed to the Howeller, I had the sound (from the bait’s Electronic Baitfish Sounds technology) and the wide wobble to attract those fish.”
Once Howell dialed in the right depth zone, he put on a big bass clinic and brought several dozen quality bass to the boat.
Game changer: Late in the day, when the bridge bite slowed, Howell ran back into Spring Creek to fish what shallow milfoil remained. Throwing a bladed jig, he caught a few and ended up culling a 5-pounder with a 6.
“After that, I returned to the bridge riprap, but I didn’t make any more culls,” Howell said. “But I won by a pound, so that one big cull at the end did it.”
“It was a miracle Cinderella story,” Howell said. “Even if I hadn’t been me, I still would have looked at it as one of the greatest comeback stories in Bassmaster Classic history. I’m just thankful I was the one that got to do it.”
Howell’s win set a B.A.S.S. record for the biggest comeback win. (Jordan Lee would eclipse that mark in 2017 by overcoming a Lake Conroe deficit of 13-14 to win his first of two consecutive Classics. Lee also won the 2018 Classic at Lake Hartwell.)
Takeaway: Making his 12th Classic appearance in 2014, Howell’s previous best finish was a 10th-place effort the year before at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Winning the sport’s most prestigious title was rewarding enough, but doing so in such trust-your-gut fashion proved especially gratifying.
“There were so many memorable things about that Classic, but the first is, you never give up; you never count yourself out in this sport,” Howell said. “There’s no guarantee for anyone, so you have to stay open-minded and believe you can do something great — because anybody can on any given day.
“Being 9 pounds behind on Guntersville and the guys ahead of me were 10 of the best in the world. That win proved anything’s possible in fishing.”
