Five of the top six anglers caught their bass on an Alabama rig during the ABA Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Alabama North Division 1 season opener, held Feb. 18, 2012, on Lake Guntersville.
Running out of Val-Monte Lakeside Resort near the town of Guntersville, Ala., Eric Forrester of Geraldine, Ala., won the Boater Division with five bass weighing 30.80 pounds. He capped his catch with a 9.63-pounder that set the tournament lunker standard. For the victory, Forrester pocketed the guaranteed $5,000 whenever more than 100 boaters enter a tournament.
“I was fishing staging bass in 12 to 18 feet of water on the river,” Forrester said. “I fished around the dam with an Alabama rig.”
In second for the 104 boaters, Chad Lynch of Trussville, Ala., landed a five-bass tournament limit weighing 27.93 pounds. He went home with a check for $1,821.
“I was throwing an Alabama rig with swim baits around main lake points and river ledges in eight to 10 feet of water,” Lynch said. “I fished anywhere I could find bait. I caught a non-keeper on my first cast of the day, but didn’t get another bite until about 10:30 a.m.”
Mark McCaig took third among the boaters with five bass going 27.50 pounds. The Oxford, Ala., angler returned home with an extra $1,214.
“I also caught my fish on an Alabama rig,” McCaig admitted. “They were really ganged up a couple weeks ago, but today they were much more scattered. A lot of them went shallow. I caught good fish, but had to fish a lot of spots. I was on the main lake and the fish I caught were just about to go shallow.”
Hometown hero Alex D. Davis of Guntersville, Ala. placed fourth among the boaters with five bass at 24.96 pounds. James W. Smith of Owens Cross Roads, Ala., rounded out the top five boaters with five bass going 24.48 pounds.
In the Co-Angler Division, Richard A. Dalrymple made his first ever day fishing with ABA count. The Emerson, Ga., angler won the division with three bass weighing 17.79 pounds for a 5.93-pound average. He anchored his catch with a 7.43-pounder, just shy of the division lunker, to pocket $2,500.
“I picked up my fish on an Alabama rig on the river ledges,” Dalrymple said. “I rigged it with pearl blue swimbaits. I had to slow way down with my presentation. I had my limit about an hour before the end of the tournament.”
In second for the co-anglers, Tyler L. Stewart of Killen, Ala., brought in a three-bass division limit going 17.31 pounds. Making his best finish ever for any ABA event, he pocketed $938. Breaking from the winning formula of the day, he rattled up bass in the shallows.
“We fished in three to seven feet of water,” Stewart said. “I caught my fish on a red Rat-L-Trap. My two biggest fish came off stumps. I was throwing way up on the bank.”
Adam Hickman of Harrison, Tenn., placed third among the co-anglers with a three-bass division limit going 16.82 pounds. He culled twice and earned $625.
“Just like almost everyone else, I caught my fish on an Alabama rig,” Hickman said. “I slowed it way down. When the sun was out in the morning, I threw brighter colors. When it started clouding up in the afternoon, I switched to smoky colors. I fished in about 10 to 12 feet of water.”
Kirk Lafferty of Columbia, Tenn., finished in fourth place with three bass going 16.57 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 7.75-pounder that took the division big bass title. Jakarvis K. Houston of Anniston, Ala., rounded out the top five co-anglers with three bass and 14.94 pounds.
