Fantasy Fishing: The Guntersville gauntlet

Written by

Solomon Glenn

Minnesota

The Elite Series is back, and this year is skipping the Florida swing to start the year. The season will kick off on world-famous Lake Guntersville, which has been on fire for several years. The first week in February in Alabama can be unpredictable, as it could be 30 degrees or 65 and sunny. No matter what it is, it will take some serious weight.

In years past, this tournament would have been dominated by FFS, and I believe we would have seen several century belts. Without FFS, I hope to see one, but nonetheless, it will be exciting to watch this tournament go down. I predict two main bites being the player. The first, of course, is the grass. A mild winter so far has kept the grass in really good shape, so there will be plenty of areas for trapping and chattering. The second is the bridges. We have seen the bridges produce a plethora of great finishes and incredible fish catches.

I’m excited to see how the first non-FFS tournament goes down on such a dynamic fishery, and I’m excited to see how the fresh group of talented rookies will fare in their first tournament in the big leagues. It will not surprise me one bit to see a lot of the same young anglers still at the top of the leaderboard. Now, let’s get into some picks!

Bucket A: ANAYA

The EQ Angler of the Year and another young fishing phenom, Fisher Anaya, gets to start his Elite Series career on his home lake. Place the “scoper” tag on him if you’d like. Anaya can flat out catch them and has been in Guntersville his whole life. He will have some tricks up his sleeve to catch some BIG winter Gville bass.

Solid secondary pick: Bucket A is stacked per usual, but I’m having a really hard time picking against the reigning Elite Series Rookie of the Year, Tucker Smith. Smith spends a lot of time on Gville and has been winning at all levels there. He wrapped up 2025 by winning the $500,000 Ultimate Angler Championship without scope and he will be looking to run it back.

Bucket B: FOTHERGILL

The start of the season last year provided two of Easton Fothergill’s toughest tournaments. I see him starting off much stronger. The jitters are gone and he will face cold water conditions that he is very accustomed to. I’m very curious to see what sneaky adjustments he will make. I think we will see a stronger push toward AOY this season from the reigning Classic champ.

Solid secondary pick: Alabama local Wesley Gore is a very good shallow water power fisherman, which will be a huge player in this tournament. Gore also starts seasons hot, so start the season in Alabama and Gore will be dangerous.

Bucket C: PALANIUK

Despite the win on Okeechobee last year, Palaniuk has had a slower couple of seasons. Give this guy a crankbait and a jerkbait on Guntersville, and he will get around the biggest fish in the lake. I think not having scope in play will make Palaniuk a top contender, as he has the perfect amount of experience fishing with and without FFS.

Solid secondary pick: Andrew Loberg moved from California and now resides on the shores of Lake Guntersville. I think this local knowledge will come into play in these cold water conditions.

Bucket D: BROWNING

Did someone say a Chatterbait plays on Guntersville? Well, it does, and the Arkansas native is one of the best bladed jig fishermen around. No FFS could put Gville right in Browning’s wheelhouse as he looks to improve on his slower first season on tour.

Solid secondary pick: Cold water moving baits and cranking scream Stetson Blaylock. This is a little bit of a gut feeling, but Blaylock can throw a trap and crank with the best of them.

Bucket E: HUDSON

Bucket E was the toughest bucket for me to pick. But I’m going to throw a dart and go with another rookie, Caleb Hudson. He’s hot off a win at the last EQ of the year. While I don’t know how much experience he has on Guntersville, he has been lighting up the College Series for quite some time. To make the Elites on the first try of the Opens is definitely a special deal.

Solid secondary pick: I’m going to give our B.A.S.S. Nation winner some love. Nick Trim sets his sights on Guntersville as the biggest tournament of his career so far. He caught some key fish on shallow-moving baits in his win on the Mississippi and has had some good success on the Tennessee River. With no scope, Guntersville turns more into a river situation.