GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — With the fall feed in full swing, Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Wesley Gore is expecting plenty of fireworks at Lake Guntersville during the final 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops.
“How tough is Guntersville ever really?” the Alabama native said. “It is never a bad place to fish. You will see a lot of people catching 17- to 19-pound bags. I would imagine that will be the check range. November is one of the best times to fish Guntersville, and the number of fish per acre in the lake is unbelievable.”
Tournament days are scheduled for Nov. 11-13. Takeoff is slated for 7 a.m. CT at Guntersville City Harbor and anglers will return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. CT. The full field of anglers will compete the first two days while only the Top 10 at the end of Day 2 will advance to Championship Friday.
The winner will earn the first-place cash prize as well as a spot in the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. The Top 10 anglers in EQ points at the end of this event earn an invite to the 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series roster.
The crown jewel of the Tennessee River, Lake Guntersville is no doubt one of the Top 5 fisheries in the southeast and an absolute bass factory. Not only is there a remarkable number of 4- to 6-pound largemouth, healthy smallmouth and spotted bass can be caught as well, although in a more specific manner and area.
It’s been several years since a B.A.S.S. event has been hosted in the fall at Lake Guntersville. The last one was an Elite Series event won by Frank Talleyin 2020 during the first week of October with a total of 64-3.
Gore believes the weights will be much better in this EQ tournament.
“They have a Black Friday event every year, and some of the biggest weights have come during that tournament. That was with (forward-facing sonar), however. Tucker Smith won one last year with 36 pounds. A lot of big fish will be biting. Fall is really starting in terms of air temperature. They travel in groups a lot this time of year.”
Part of what makes Guntersville special is the abundance and variety of submergent and emergent vegetation. Over the past several years, eelgrass has been the predominant offshore grass, but hydrilla and milfoil can be found as well.
Gore believes some of the vegetation on the south end of the lake will be dying off, but further up the lake the vegetation should be holding steady, allowing anglers to flip, frog and wind a bladed jig and a swim jig.
“A lot of checks will come from up there, but I think it will be won further south,” Gore said.
Bass schooling under bait balls will also come into play. Then there are the bridges and riprap banks that have been historic producers, no matter what time of year it is. Topwater walking baits and buzzbaits will be key players around the lake.
“Guys will be catching them off of bluff ends and channel swing banks, but they will be catching them around shad balls,” Gore said. “I would think someone could win catching ’Scope fish, but without ’Scope obviously. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone throwing a jerkbait or swimbait or even blind casting a minnow at a bait ball. Like how Hank Cherry won our Elite Series tournament earlier this year and how Jamie Hartman was catching them too.”
Someone who wants to go off the wall can run up the river towards the Tennessee line and smash a big bag of smallmouth, but how good that bite is and how consistent it can be is dependent on the current generation.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone caught an 18- to 22-pound bag of smallmouth,” Gore said. “I would think it would be difficult to duplicate, just because the current schedule changes. We haven’t had a bunch of rain, but it rained some this past week and are expected to get more. Someone can catch a big bag of largemouth up there too.
“You’ll see a variety of stuff play out.”
Heading into the series finale, North Carolina’s Kaden Buchmann leads the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops points standings with 244 points. Alabama’s Brody Robison is second with 239 points followed by Louisiana’s Brennan Flick in third with 223 points, Alabama’s Peyton Harris in fourth with 221 points and South Carolina’s Cody Abbott in fifth with 220 points.
Kollin Crawford (219), Trey Schroeder (219), Colby Bryant (216), Noah Winslow (216) and Bailey Gay (213) round out the Top 10. Dalton Head (213), Lucas Lindsay (211) Bryson Osteen (211), Nathan Reynolds (204) and Brooks Anderson (201) are the first five out.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Guntersville presented by Bass Pro Shops will be available all three days on Bassmaster.com from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET followed by the weigh-in at 4 p.m.
Marshall County Tourism and Sports are hosting the tournament.
2026 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Title Sponsor: Nitro Boats
2026 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2026 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2026 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mountain Dew, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Lew’s, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, VMC, Yokohama
