Best Bass Lakes of 2012: Lake Guntersville

Lake Guntersville is a powerhouse where B.A.S.S. tournament winners usually have to land more than 100 pounds to win.

This north Alabama lake is a perennial powerhouse. Just about every time B.A.S.S. has an event on the nearly 70,000-acre impoundment, the winner has to land more than 100 pounds. In 2010, Skeet Reese won with 100 pounds, 13 ounces.

Last October, though, the lake was in the limelight for launching the legend of The Alabama Rig, as Elite Series pro Paul Elias won an FLW event with the bait harness by catching 102 pounds, 8 ounces, during the four-day derby. It’s possible that had that event been held on any other lake, The Alabama Rig would still be a little-known apparatus.

Although bass derbies on this lake are won with largemouth, it has a population of spotted and smallmouth bass as well, offering anglers an entertaining variety of species to target.