Classic Preview at Guntersville EverStart?

When I look at the tremendous bags brought to the scales for the past few days during the EverStart Series event on Lake Guntersville, it's tough to not look ahead at least a little to another tournament that will be held on the same trophy bass factory in a little less than a year. The 2014 Bassmaster Classic clearly has the potential to be a Classic for the record books.

The top five finishers in the EverStart (a three-day event) posted bigger weights than the Bassmaster Classic record for the era of five fish limits, and James McMullen's winning weight of 86 pounds, 7 ounces would top the Classic record (69-11) by more than 15 pounds! McMullen's fish averaged 5 3/4 pounds, and his daily catches averaged more than 28 pounds.

I'll acknowledge that umbrella rigs, which won't be permitted in the Classic, were prevalent among top finishers (including McMullen) in the EverStart. Still, the season was almost a perfect match, weather conditions were horrible at Guntersville this weekend, and tournaments like the one that just finished make it pretty obvious that Guntersville is absolutely loaded with monster largemouths. And for me, it's hard to imagine that all those 25- to 30-pound bags that crossed the stage aren't at least a hint of what we can expect at next year's Bassmaster Classic.

Guntersville is also a highly familiar destination for so many bass pros. BASS has been to Guntersville many times over the years, and it seems the Classic field is always heavy with Alabama anglers. Plus, it's safe to assume that top local sticks are going to be gunning extra hard in Opens (like Jason Christie did this year) for the chance to fish a Guntersville Classic.

It's awfully early, I know. Still, I'm excited already.

To find a wealth of great information about Guntersville, plus other top Alabama lakes, visit the Alabama Bass Trail.

Florida Tournaments Don't Disappoint

James Overstreet photo; courtesy of B.A.S.S.

No big surprise at the Harris Chain. Chris Lane notched his third B.A.S.S. win at the first B.A.S.S. Southern Open of the season yesterday. All three wins have come in Florida, where Lane grew up fishing. The only angler to bring 20-plus pounds to the scales all three days, Lane saved his best for last, weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces on day three. Lane used a Lucky Strike RC2, which is a square-billed crankbait, to find groups of fish and then slowed down and worked those areas with various soft-plastic baits.

Meanwhile, farther south, at Lake Okeechobee, Florida pro Brandon Medlock won the FLW EverStart Series Southeast event on Okeechobee for the second year in a row. The biggest surprise at the Big O, which has been yielding great catches this year, was the lack of big bags (only one over 20 pounds) on the first day of the tournament. However, Medlock blew that away on Day 2, when he wowed the crowd with a massive catch of 35 pounds, 7 ounces, which was anchored by a 10-8. Medlock, who used a big, specialized jig made by his father in this year's and last year's win, will be fishing the FLW Tour event on the same body of water in a few weeks, so that should be fun to watch.

Next up is the PAA team tournament at Toho. I'll be traveling to Florida to attend the final day weigh-in and then to sample the Florida fishing for a few days. I'll also post news about the event as I learn it so check back often.