Poinits Leader Says Fishing ‘tough’ For Choo Choo Division Bfl Final On Guntersville
This year all the Walmart BFL Choo Choo Division tournaments were held on Lake Guntersville which set up perfectly for Johnny Patterson of Grant, Ala., since he can be on the lake in five minutes from his house – and he takes full advantage of that prime location.
This year he has dominated the Choo Choo Division, winning the first tournament of the season in February and the last tournament before this weekend’s two-day final in June, and sandwiching a 5th and 11th place finish in between.
So, it’s no wonder he is champing at the bit to catch some fish this weekend and hold onto his first place ranking for the division. But, he admits, it’s going to be tough.
“I’ve been on the water every weekend for the past four weeks and fishing has been tough, extremely tough. All the reports I am getting from most people is that weights are down,” he said. “But this weekend, with that many guys fishing on a lake as good as Guntersville, somebody will catch them.”
While he thinks the winning weight will be about 43 pounds for the two days, Patterson said the weights will drop off sharply from a few good limits at the top.
Patterson won the June tournament by almost three pounds, fishing a deep-water ledge for five bass that weighed 28 pounds, 14 ounces, but this tournament will probably be won shallow, he said.
“If somebody gets on some deep ledge fish they could dominate the tournament, but the question is, can they do it two days in a row? That fishing is very unpredictable this time of year.”
He said the dominant pattern this weekend probably will be typical September fishing at Guntersville – fishing heavy grass mats, either punching the mats and flipping or throwing a frog on top of the mats.
“Some guys will also catch some fish off the scattered grass, but normally the dominant pattern this time of year is flipping and frogging,” he said.
Conditions are pretty stable for the tournament, he said, with rain in the middle of the week and highs in the 80s with lows in the 60s.
“It has cooled off quite a bit with the water temperature starting to cool down. The bite has been tough, but it’s going to get better and better real soon.”
The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) – Choo Choo Division Final
Sep 28-29, 2013
Lake Guntersville
Goose Pond
