Guntersville: Day 1 - Bassmaster

Randall Tharp started his day on the main lake, chunking and winding like many of the anglers.

Tharp and Timmy Horton started on the same point.

Some anglers like Aaron Martens headed straight to a bridge, hoping to get a big bite.

Martens didn’t stay long, though.

Keith Combs stayed longer.

Causeways are a big part of the Guntersville experience.

Fletcher Shryock casts to a point.

And hooks up.

The fish would be his second keeper.

And Shryock would keep chunking and winding.

As would Aaron Martens who had to slap grass off his hooks.

Randy Howell would run by.

And during the commotion, Martens would catch his first keeper.

Not far from them, James Niggemeyer would get fast start by catching two big fish.

He spent his morning cruising the bank, occasionally squirting Dawn so he could see through the pollen for bedding fish.

Across the bay, Ott Defoe fishes by lake houses.

By mid morning, the wind had started picking up.

Forcing Mark Menendez to move into areas off the main lake.

Timmy Horton would already be there.

As would Kevin Short on a day that started tougher than the average Guntersville event.

Zell Rowland started his morning throwing a topwater bait.

Randy Allen had a little traffic in the area he was fishing.

Brandon Palaniuk was smiling because he said he had just put a good one in the livewell.

Palaniuk kept firing away, trying to repeat his luck.

Spectators get a close look at the way Palaniuk was fishingâ¦

â¦while he patiently worked his way around a bridge.

Greg Vinson makes a castâ¦

â¦then swings and misses.

Vinson instantly fires another cast to the same location.

Carl Jocumsen speeds past Vinson.

Right behind Jocumsen was Cliff Crochetâ¦

â¦in a hurry to reach his next fishing spot.

Brent Ehrler is hooked up with a good one.

Ehrler moves to the driverâs seat to land the fishâ¦

â¦then pulls it aboard.

Ehrler moves to the front of the boat to his trolling motor while removing the hooks from the fish.

Everybodyâs happy to see this kind of fish come into the boat.

Time to put this one in the livewellâ¦

â¦then make a nice cull.

Russ Lane speeds past Brent Ehrlerâ¦

â¦then Ehrler makes a move.

Alton Jones has the reputation of being one of the best sight fishermen in the Elite Series. And heâs got his eye on something.

It only took a couple casts and his vision paid offâ¦

â¦and he swings the fish into his boat.

Jones gives his Day 1 Marshal a moment to take a photo.

Jordan Lee shields his eyes from the sun while trying to see a fish on a bed.

He spots a fish and was hooked up on the first cast.

He fights the fish around the bowâ¦

â¦then into the boat.

This is Jordan Leeâs first year on the Elite Series, but he has a ton of experience fishing Lake Guntersville.

One last look at Leeâs fishâ¦

â¦then he eases it back into the water to grow.

Lee makes a move to look for bigger fish.

Bobby Lane was standing on his trolling motor bracket looking at a fish on a bed.

After a bait change he was hooked up.

Lane fights the fish to the side of the boatâ¦

â¦then quickly snatches it from the water.

Lane holds the fish up for us to have a good look at itâ¦

â¦then moves to the back of the boat to the livewell.

Then he was back to work and looking for the next one.

Chad Pipken makes a cast along a shallow point.

Seth Feider takes a real close look at a fish on a bed.

John Murray was bed fishing, too. He was using the old trick of spraying dish washing detergent on the water to displace pollen floating on top of the surface.

Murray tried multiple baits to coax the fish he was looking at into biting, but eventually gave up and moved on.

Cliff Pace was culling midway through the morning.

Mike McClelland is coming off a second-place finish in the first Elite Series event held on the Sabine River.

With every gust of wind clouds of pollen flew from the trees surrounding the lake.

Jonathon VanDam makes a move.

Mike McClelland didnât stay in the area long either.

Brandon Palaniuk swings a fish into the boat just as the bait flies from the fishesâ mouth.

Luckily the fish fell safely into the boatâ¦

â¦allowing Palaniuk to make a nice cull.

Carl Jocumsen gives a thumbs up indicating he was having a good day.

Jocumsen was hooked up on the second cast he made after dropping the trolling motor.

He begins to pull the fish into the boatâ¦

â¦reaches to grip itâ¦

â¦then immediately releases the fish.

Jocumsen fires another cast while standingâ¦

â¦then the next from his knees.