Elite

Final Gunterville practice day with Easton Fothergill

Follow along with Easton Fothergill as he takes on the last day of practice for the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville!

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Photography by
Solomon Glenn
Minnesota
Captions by
Solomon Glenn
Minnesota
Fothergill is the first to the ramp this morning. He certainly knows how valuable it is to maximise his time on the water.
As you’ve probably seen, it’s been cold, and even in Alabama, we are seeing ice form on Lake Guntersville. The Minnesota native is unfazed saying, “It really hasn’t been that bad all week; the first day was just super windy.”
It may be a little chilly, but the sunrise is beautiful.
Time to get energized and get out on the water.
Fothergill’s energy drink of choice today is a Bloom, which is a healthier energy drink. “With the amount of Reigns I drank last year, I probably took 10 years off my life,” Fothergill jokes.
There’s still a layer of frost on the deck of the Skeeter as we make a brisk run to an area Fothergill wants to check out.
Being properly geared up is the key to being efficient and effective in cold conditions.
Fothergill stops on a shallow grass point. He is targeting clumps and holes using Humminbird MEGA 360 on his Humminbird Apex 16.
A change for Fothergill this year is these 10-foot Power Pole Blades. In the shallow water, these are key for helping him position the boat around the targets.
Fothergill picks up a lipless crankbait.
You’ve probably heard it before, but you can never have enough rods ready to go.
Fothergill spots another target in the grass and quickly drops the poles.
He straps an extra cooler to the driver’s seat for more cooler storage and easy access snacks.
You can’t tell it here, but Fothergill loads up on a “big one.” It only stays hooked up for a moment before it pulls off.
In practice, do you really lose big fish? I think that’s called a solid shake off.
Fothergill would like to keep the fish pinned, so he immediately puts on some fresh Ryugi treble hooks.
These Toit split ring pliers make quick work of the job.
Just like that, he’s back in action.
I asked him if it felt weird fishing without scope after fishing with it for several years. “It’s less weird than I thought it would be. I fished without it a bunch over the winter to get used to not looking at it.”
A quick check in with Jay Przekurat as he passes by. No fish for him so far, either.
There is still a decent bit of ice hanging around the shorelines.
Off to find greener pastures.
A neat little addition to the rig is this magnetic plate. It’s very handy for holding tools, baits, or anything else metal.
Fothergill looks for every detail. One way he does this is by running Lakemaster, Navionics, and C-Map all at the same time. The NBT box allows him to accomplish this.
The 250 Yamaha SHO effortlessly scoots his Skeeter FXR across the glassy waters.
Over the offseason, Fothergill has spent a good bit of time pre-practicing for here, Lake Martin, and the Classic. He even took a trip to the Tombigbee for a couple of days.
No dice here.
On to the next.
The Elite pros are not the only ones chasing the bite on Guntersville.
It’s breakfast time! Nothing beats a good Snickers bar in the morning.
Food on the go.
New pocket to check. Fothergill follows a ditch in a shallow pocket looking for grass clumps.
All those birds can’t be a bad sign for life in the area.
Fothergill then checks behind one of Gunterville’s infamous bridges.
That’s a no-go. The whole pocket still has a sheet of ice. Even if it melts, it’s still going to be the coldest water temp around.
Eelgrass. One of the grasses that play a huge part in keeping the water clear and fertile, and provides lots of cover for bass.
Fothergill finds some offshore structure in about 8-10 feet of water. Looking at his 360, Fothergill says, “There’s some bass fish here.”
How does it always happen that the baits you want are on the Bottom? Fothergill looks for his Neko worm bag. “These should not be on the bottom.”
He rigs his Strike King worm on a shaky head and pitches at the target.
They do not want to nibble today.
Back on the hunt.
Fothergill is looking for sweet spots on the grass flats, namely areas that have hydrilla or milfoil mixed in with the eelgrass. A really good clump of grass can sometimes hold a number of fish.
Fothergill is looking both in pockets and on the main river for areas that could hold a large population of bass.
Here is a look at some of the grass on his Lowrance HDS12.
Yes, that is all ice on the shoreline.
Fothergill continues to use his Power Poles, which keep the boat positioned inline with his target grass clumps.
Two of Fothergill’s main sponsors are Lew’s and Strike King.
The quality of the grass on Guntersville greatly varies from area to area. Some areas still have green, healthy grass, while others that have grass other times of the year are completely bare.
Always on the move, Fothergill likes to cover lots of water in practice.
Fothergill ensured that the one rubber glove strategy today was only because he couldn’t find the other.
While still chilly, the morning is actually quite nice.
A quick check-in from Kyle Patrick.
“Are they random for you, too?” Patrick Asks.
Here is a shot of a nice little grass clump.
While you can only barely make it out, there is a beautiful grass clump just under the surface. It looks to have a nice mixture of grasses, the perfect recipe for big bass.
You never know what you are going to see on Lake Guntersville
It truly is a gorgeous lake.
More ice is hanging on every tree limb.
While it also looks awesome, this is not just a cool windshield extension. This is a Starlink, which allows Fothergill to simultaneously view all the different maps we mentioned earlier. He will also be able to use it to do some live streaming if he chooses.
A full lineup of Lew’s rods and reels lay nicely on the fresh Skeeter deck.
More birds, they seem to be really out and about today.
Time for a quick bait change.
Fothergill is getting some bites, but it feels like they are “pushing it.” The bass want it but are not fully committing to eat the lipless crankbait.
On to the next.
A quick check in with fellow Elite Wesley Gore.
Gore has caught 7 or 8 keepers this morning.
Fothergill isn’t too keen on the areas he’s been checking and is going to relocate to a different section of the lake.
Thanks so much for having us along this morning, Easton! Even though it wasn’t a great practice morning, he was able to eliminate a good bit of unproductive water. Many times, tougher practices lead to amazing tournaments.
Good luck for the rest of the day!

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