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As the sun crested the ridges that surround Lake Guntersville and illuminated this iconic fishery on day two of competition for B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One of the Bass Pro Tour, Mark Daniels Jr. was preparing to try and duplicate what he described as an excellent start to his eighth season on the Bass Pro Tour.

“Man, what more can you ask for to start the season,” MDJ offered. “I’m inside the top ten, I’m fishing a pattern that I’m super comfortable with and confident in. I put myself in a good position right out of the gate, which is all I could ask for. If I was giving it a letter grade, I’d give it an A-minus.”

The California native who now calls Alabama home caught over 80-lbs of bass yesterday, which found MDJ sitting firmly inside the top ten in seventh place. He hung twenty-nine scoreable bass on the Bubba Scales, all while battling frigid temperatures and a brutal north wind that even the most die-hard angler would deem as lousy fishing conditions.

MDJ and the rest of the Bass Pro Tour roster proved that even uncharacteristically cold weather can’t cool down the hot fishing on Lake Guntersville. The caliber of anglers competing in this stacked 51-person field deserve much of the credit, but so does this body of water. The consistency in which this fishery churns out quality bass, regardless of fishing pressure or conditions, is truly incredible.

Guntersville is not only showing out in terms of catch rates. We’re seeing a myriad of techniques, presentations, and baits being used to mine dozens of chunky largemouth from the grass lines and offshore haunts that the TVA chain of lakes is known for.  While several anglers are using their one FFS period to bolster their weight total, there are others who didn’t rely on the technology at all enroute to a heavyweight day on the water.

“I didn’t weigh-in a single scoreable bass yesterday using LiveScope,” Daniels Jr. admitted. “Y’all know I love to use FFS and I still turned mine on during the third period, but every one of the 29 scoreables I caught came fishing a hard reaction bait. Not looking at a screen. It certainly helps, but you don’t need ‘Scope to smash them in the wintertime.

“Today my main goal is to make the top 25 cut but really, I am hoping to catch about seven keepers in the first period to lock up the cut and then spend the next two periods practicing for the weekend. That’s the number one and number two goals.”

That’s one of the things unique to the Bass Pro Tour’s format – tournament strategy and gamesmanship begins on day one for these anglers, and it turns into a form of on-the-water chess by day two. Only the chess pieces in this game have tails and like to move on their own, throwing a wrinkle into even the best game plans.

MDJ spent last night thinking through different scenarios and mapped out what he believed it would take for him to advance to Saturday and ultimately, to win this event, down to the specific number of scoreable bass. The strategy baked into BPT events due to the ruleset and the presence of the Scoretracker is particular to this format and something that naturally brings out the best from this star-studded field of anglers.

Another factor exclusive to the Bass Pro Tour in 2026 is how spread-out anglers are due to being able to trailer and launch from different boat ramps in this event to combat the dangerously cold weather. This, on top of what is already a smaller field of 51-pro anglers, has allowed BPT competitors to fish extremely free during Stage One.

“I’ve been getting a nice 30-minute drive in my cozy Tundra each morning instead of a freezing boat ride up the lake,” Daniels Jr. said with a smile. “I love that our league allows us to trailer in inclement weather but more than just safety and comfort, it really spreads us out. I literally saw one competitor boat yesterday. For that to happen on Guntersville is crazy, man. Usually, we’re out here fighting a floatilla of competitors and local boats alike.”

Overall, MDJ is liking what he is seeing to start of the 2026 season. The Team Toyota pro looks to continue the momentum he ended his 2025 campaign with and ideally give himself an opportunity to claim his first BPT trophy on the shores of this famous fishery by Sunday afternoon.