Shallow or deep?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In this reporting gig asking the “how was practice” question to the pros sets up the interviewer for a wide range of responses. Some true, some not so true. That is to be expected, after all, this is the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk. 

Rather than face any sandbagging I thought a more specific question would garner a thought-provoking response. 

First, the setup. Lake Guntersville is setting up to be a prespawn event. Early predictions are for the strike zone to be shallow—some say 10 feet or less. Yet Guntersville—all 69,000 acres of it on the Tennessee River—has textbook prespawn cover from end to end. There is deep, midrange and shallow, too, all rolled up in one package. 

Main river flats connecting to meandering creek channels leading to spawning flats. Many of them covered with hydrilla that is used by the bass for concealment for ambushing baitfish, and as staging areas leading to spawning sites. It could all be in play.  

The creek channels could be hot, but what about those in-between areas? Those migratory staging routes between the main river ledges leading to the creeks? That could put shallow and deep water in the game.  

What depth range will most of the bass be caught from this week? Will the strike zone be narrow or wide? Here are some answers from the pros. 

Brock Mosley 

“There are fish everywhere and I’ve had bites from one foot to 35 feet. Most of those, though, have been in 6- to 8-feet of water. They are coming to spawn, and there is only one direction for them to come. So, shallow for sure.” 

Hank Cherry

“The shallow zone will definitely be best. I don’t think anyone has found that perfect zone yet. The reason why is the weather is changing, there is more rain coming in. We’ve also had two warm days in a row. That’s all going to pull them up. Here’s the thing. The guy that can find them the farthest away from the current will win it. The water is super cold and the shallows are going to warm. So, whoever finds that magic spot where the water can really warm and pull the fish up with it will win. That might be in 2 feet of water.” 

Chris Zaldain

“It’s going to go down in mid- to shallow-range. I spent a lot of time out deep and it’s not happening there. You need to put yourself in position to where the fish are going. Looking at the calendar, the weather and what’s been going on with the water, it all tells me on paper that it might lean more toward shallow. I would say 4- to 6-feet is a very good staging depth zone, and maybe 4 feet or less is prespawn and the spawning zone.”

Ray Hanselman Jr. 

“The best strike zone will be the last thick grass before it transitions to clear water. That means a bottom in 3- to 5-feet with 2 feet of grass on top. I say all that because that is their last comfort zone, or staging area. A lot of them will spawn on the edge where the grass is”

Hunter Shryock

Given that it’s Lake Guntersville there are a lot of different ways to catch them. Shallow water could be a relative term.There could be some fish caught shallow but near the river channel. So, it’s not specific to being back in a creek. I just hope it’s shallow because that’s where I plan to be.”

Jake Whitaker

“It’s going to be a shallow deal, like in the 3- to 5-foot range. I think this weather coming in might help the shallow bite, not to say it wasn’t already good in pre-practice. There will be more water in the system. It’s been a foot and a half low, not quite full pool but close. But anytime you have rising water coming in it’ll push the fish shallow. And we’ve got it coming in.”  

Bill Lowen

“The warm rain and the amount of water coming in leads me to believe it will be won in shallow water. What I’ve noticed is those conditions have already pushed the fish off some places where they normally would be in prespawn.” 

Patrick Walters

I’m going to go with midrange. It’s prespawn and the fish want to move up, but they aren’t going to be too shallow. That isbecause they are still bringing the water downI’m going to say 4-7 feet of water.

Stetson Blaylock

If I only had one choice then I would say midrangeI know a lot of fish live super shallow here, but they are going to fluctuate the water a foot or two either way. To me, all that hurts the super shallow bite. Something midrange would be more dependable over three days.”