Man, what a trip! Just got back last night from Guntersville, AL after spending the entire week there. Spent 4 days prefishing for the tournament, which was Saturday. 210 teams showed up to throw only SPRO frogs! On the second day of practice, we found the fish that could win us this tournament. According to Randy Howell (who pulled into this certain grass mat on Saturday with us), we had found a pretty special area that not many knew about yet. On Wednesday, I had a 6, 7 and a 9 out of this one mat. The rest of the week we left it alone. We spent Thursday and Friday eliminating water, that way we could focus on our main area Saturday without any second thoughts. Come Saturday, the fish were still there. BUT, if you've ever fished the mats of Guntersville, you know how frustrating it can be to try and put bigger fish in the boat. This is another story of the one(s) that got away. We definitely got the right bites, with two fish in the 7+ class coming off. We ended the day with 3 fish for about 9 pounds...it took 22 to win. 9 + 7 + 7 = 23.... We were so close to going to Bama and giving those Bama boys a Texas sized whoopin'! Randy Howell witnessed me losing the biggest one, to which he said "OH MAN! It got off!" He felt my pain, and also said the fish could've been a 10, but like us didn't get a good look at it. It was an awesome week, that's for sure. Next time, I will have YOUR number Guntersville!

Sounds like a great trip!

Nice pics. Looks like you had an awesome time!

Did you upgrade your tackle in those thick mats? Anything different that what you typically use here in TX?

Did you make any tweeks to your frogs? Rattles shorter legs etc

I used a Dobyns Savvy 766 Flip, which is a 7'6" heavy with a LOT of backbone. In Texas, my frogging is more open water or around flooded brush that requires a more accurate cast, in which I use a Dobyns Champion 735c. A 7'3" heavy with good tip to work the frog with, and enough backbone to handle getting the fish to the boat quickly. I always use 65 pound braid, which worked fine in the mats. I never broke a fish off, they just weren't eating the frog well enough to stick them good.

As far as tweaks go, I added some worm rattles so the fish could locate the frog better through the mat. I also cut the legs pretty short because of a lot of short strikes. Once I cut the legs, the fish were getting the frog a little better.

There's a lot less technique to fishing a frog across a mat than walking a frog in open water, but it sure is a LOT harder to put good fish in the boat. It's almost a 50/50 fish landed to fish lost ratio. It's addicting though, those strikes are vicious! I can't wait to get back out there again.

I also forgot to mention that the night before the tournament, a thunderstorm came through which rose the lake 4-6" overnight. It flooded the grass and caused it to not be so matted most of the day Saturday, which definitely made the bite tougher in my opinion. They slowly dropped the lake throughout the day, and when it finally got "scummy" on top of the mat, the fish started biting. Over half the field zeroed. It was a tough day according to Guntersville standards. Only one bag over 20, and only 13 pounds to get a check.

Sounds like a great trip I love frogging but my hookup ratio is so bad and heartbreaking that I don't like to even try fishing it in a tournament

Try opening up your hooks a little, it has helped my hookup ratio immensely in open water applications.

man guess ill head that way next year looks sweet!

I've tried all the tricks, still lucky to catch 50%

Looks like a whole bunch of awesomeness... I'm really enjoying that micro magic

Guntersville is a special kind of happiness!

Spent a week there a couple of years ago and will definatly go back Everytime I get a chance

If we had grass like that in a Texas lake it would be sprayed tomorrow!

Caddo, Hawkins, and Gilmer all come to mind. Not been sprayed yet.

Looks like a lot of fun