After two complete fishing days, with one postponed in between, the top three teams split into six individuals, and battled it out Saturday on Lake Guntersville for the final Bassmaster Classic spot.
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Nickolas LeBrun and Randy Deaver weighed the biggest bag of the event on Day 2 with over 28 pounds, so we decided to follow these anglers as they began the first session of competition.
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Soon after arriving, LeBrun hooked up.
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The Louisiana angler gets this fish to ski across the water until it reaches the boat.
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LeBrun knows he is going to need some better size, but it's a start.
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This is actually keeper number two for LeBrun, both of which were on the small side. Immediately both anglers notice the currently is significantly less than on Friday when they bagged their giant weight.
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Deaver tunes his electronics and makes sure everything is situated. Electronics are key, especially when fishing off-shore like these anglers were.
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Deaver makes a cast with a swimbait. These two anglers caught a lot of fish on a football jig throughout the event, but a swimbait played a role as well.
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LeBrun also heaves out a cast as both anglers get situated on their spot.
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LeBrun hooks up, and it looks like a big one from how he was fighting it.
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Oh yea, it's a big one. LeBrun and Deaver fished a pinch-point trough where the current swept through. The fish positioned in different areas each day making slight adjustments necessary.
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Some days they were in the 14-foot region, while other times they were in 20 feet or so.
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LeBrun reaches for the big fish.
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LeBrun locks his hand on the giants bottom lip as he begins to hoist him into the boat.
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That's keeper number three ... and it's the right size. What a toad.
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LeBrun knows how big of a fish catch that was ... a game changer per se.
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He puts it on the big side for now. Culling that thing would be difficult considering the tough Saturday bite on Guntersville.
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Deaver gets a bass to sniff his jig, but he swings and misses. Hook sets are free, after all.
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They keep chunking and winding in the Honeycomb area of Lake Guntersville.
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Both anglers said they hoped that their teammate made it, which shows an immense amount of respect between both guys.
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We leave those two and find Tim Eaton who is half of the Team Championship winning duo from Michigan.
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Nothing but short fish so far this morning for Eaton.
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He probed the shallow grass point with a wide-wobbling squarebill crankbait.
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They believe this spot was also current based. When the TVA was ripping current, the fish positioned in a ditch right near the grassy point.
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After no action with Eaton, we left and headed to the Browns Creek bridge, which has been a major player this week. We found a big bass that had choked on a small freshwater drum.
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Our camera boat driver, Scott Dobbins, saved this bass from imminent death. For now, anyway.
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No wonder big swimbaits work so well on Lake Guntersville. Big bait equals big fish, and some with eyes bigger than their mouths.
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We hung around the team from Texas, Dean Alexander and Thomas Martens.
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Martens hooked up for a second, but the fish came unbuttoned
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He isn't sure why that happened, but it doesn't make his situation any better because he is sitting on zero at the moment.
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His partner Dean Alexander was fishing just on the other side of the bridge.
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Alexander did a lot of damage this week with a Carolina-rig and a swimbait.
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Alexander decides to make a change and he heads to find some active fish, so we leave as well.
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We find the other angler from the winning team, Chris Risner.
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Risner was delayed about 15 minutes this morning because he needed to show proof of updated insurance, but after he got on the water he put two fish in the boat quickly. He relied on a crankbait for much of the week.
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He decides he has had enough of this spot, and heads out to find more fish.
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We ease closer to the takeoff ramp where we find Randy Deaver, who left his starting spot to his partner LeBrun.
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Deaver fished the rock wall in Town Creek as the time for session one was winding down.
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Deaver had company on every possible place on the rock wall and bridge.
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He hooks up with his first keeper of the day.
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It's putting up quite a fight after Deaver thumped it with a jig.
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Deaver swings the keeper in the boat, and he is on the board.
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With Guntersville being stingy this morning, every little bit of weight helps.
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After the session one weigh-in, Nickolas LeBrun was the leader with 12 pounds, 14 ounces, so we followed him to start session two.
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The day was split into two "sessions." The first session was from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. They came in and weighed their fish and was able to see how they stacked up and could regroup for the rest of the day. Then they headed out at 11 a.m. and fished until 3 p.m. when the final champion would be crowned.
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LeBrun started in North Sauty creek to start session two.
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He figured he was more in survival mode because he had a lead. He went to an area that he figured he could get a limit from and protect his lead.
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LeBrun hooked up with his first keeper of the second session.
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He punched some dying grass mats to hook up with his keeper, something he did back before Thanksgiving when he came here for pre-practice.
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LeBrun swings aboard number one.
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The Louisiana angler stuck with something that he felt comfortable doing and adjusted throughout the day.
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He stayed poised and made some great decisions even during some dry spells.
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LeBrun shifts his attention to the other side of the bridge where some dying grass gathered along the rip-rap.
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And he hooked up again. He knew he could catch a limit, but he wasn't sure if this pattern could produce a giant, or just two- or three-pounders.
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He gets the largemouth to the surface.
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And brings it aboard.
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He punched with a 1-ounce weight, a punch skirt and a small craw on the business end.
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He threw back this non-keeper as it was just shy of the necessary 15 inch-minimum.
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Sitting on one keeper, LeBrun kept his eyes fixed on the targets ahead and stayed calm.
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Here is some of the thick stuff that he was flipping.
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LeBrun decides to make a move to another part of North Sauty where there was similar grass.
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He drops his presentation in the first patch he sees...
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And hooks up quickly.
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Not knowing what other anglers were catching, every fish had equal importance.
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He swings aboard this fish, and continues adjusting as this bass was caught on another bait entirely.
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He picked up a vibrating jig with a swimbait trailer to catch that fish.
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But it wasn't long enough so it goes back into Guntersville to grow.
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Another fisherman makes a move as LeBrun and this blue heron cross paths.
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About 15 minutes later, the Louisiana angler hooks up.
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This one seems to be long enough at the moment, but it's too soon to tell.
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LeBrun eyes it up to see.
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Relief as it keeps. Another one in the box for Nick.
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Solid fish. If he can catch a limit of those he may very well survive and punch a ticket to the Bassmaster Classic.
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LeBrun flips the next patch of grass and gets bit.
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He swings aboard another keeper and gets back to fishing very quickly.
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And he bows up his fishing rod again on another fish.
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This one struggles to get free, but LeBrun keeps it buttoned up and brings it to the boat.
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He swings this one in and now he has a limit.
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He fist pumps because he knows a limit will be important, but LeBrun finishes second as Thomas Martens
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In the end, Thomas Martens from Texas brought in an impressive afternoon catch. His total for the second session was 22-12.
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In March of 2016, Martens will cross the Bassmaster Classic stage and represent B.A.S.S.'s sanctioned team trail.
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