Ultimate Angler Championship proves Lake Guntersville is best for bass fishing

SCOTTSBORO — The top bass anglers in the nation converged on Lake Guntersville last weekend to showcase what is arguably the best bass fishing lake in the nation.

After three days of competition, without dissent, the anglers who competed in the Ultimate Angler Championship agreed that Lake Guntersville is the best.

The unique tournament that was three years in the making brought together tournament anglers from a variety of leagues and organizations to test their skills during the fall bite at Guntersville.

Unified Pros, the anglers’ charity arm, joined with Alabama legislators and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) to hold the namesake tournament with a total prize purse of $1.3 million and a whopping $500,000 going to the winner, which happened to be Alabama’s own Tucker Smith.

Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship said ADCNR was approached about providing assistance to hold the big fishing event with Unified Pros that crossed all fishing circuit lines. The goal was to join with ADCNR, the city of Scottsboro, Jackson County Economic Development and the State Legislature to put Guntersville in the bass fishing spotlight.

With guidance from State Sen. Steve Livingston, the Legislature appropriated $1.6 million for the event to be held at Goose Pond Resort on the outskirts of Scottsboro. The pros had to be a member of Unified Pros and then attain certain tournament success in their respective divisions to qualify for the Ultimate Angler Championship.

“From what I heard at the weigh-ins, these fishermen love to compete against each other,” Blankenship said. “Those in the major circuits can only fish against those in that organization, like BASS, FLW, Major League Fishing, Tackle Warehouse and others. To see how they stacked up against that one or that one, I think they just thrived on that competition.

“They’ve been very happy with the format with two days of fishing and then cutting it down to the top 50 for the final round. And seeing 52 pounds leading after two days, now that shows the quality of fishing on Guntersville. You put the best pros in the world out there, and they’re going to catch fish, big fish.

“This really highlighted the bass fishing in Alabama, which is why we wanted to do it. We want to bring people to the state to enjoy our great fishing and natural resources and boost tourism.”

ADCNR’s State Parks, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and Outdoor Alabama had booths at the associated Ultimate Expo to give attendees plenty of information and shopping opportunities before the weigh-ins started each afternoon.

During the event, more than 400 third- and fourth-grade students from the local area attended the expo on the first two days to learn about conservation, stewardship and law enforcement from ADCNR staff.

“This worked out really well by having all of our people for State Parks to show what we have in Alabama from a state parks viewpoint,” Blankenship said. “We had our ‘Go Fish! Alabama’ folks from our Fisheries Section. We had our Conservation Enforcement Officers here to highlight all the great hunting we have in the state.

“To be able to showcase all Alabama has to offer in the outdoors has been really good.”

Blankenship said while the focus last week was on Lake Guntersville, a 69,000-acre impoundment on the Tennessee River, Alabama has an abundance of great fishing opportunities all around the state.

He pointed out the great fishing at Lake Eufaula, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, the Coosa, Tallapoosa and Alabama river systems, the Alabama Power lakes, the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers.

“We’re just blessed with fishing opportunities,” he said. “I sure am glad we were able to highlight that at an event like this. And with the conversations I’ve had with the pros, they’re just overwhelmed by how great the fishing is on Lake Guntersville, with all the grass they can fish, how big it is and the diversity of techniques they can use to catch fish. I’ve also enjoyed the camaraderie of the fishermen. It’s a unique group. They’re really happy for each other.

“They’re just glad to have this opportunity to fish for the richest prize in bass fishing at $500,000. That’s a big motivator. That gets them here and gets them pumped. That’s really something that could change their careers, change their lives. They’re competing against all the pros from all the different circuits and getting crowned The Ultimate Angler, which is the name of this. It’s a big deal, and I’m glad to have it in Alabama.”

The Ultimate Angler Champion is originally from Birmingham, but the 24-year-old Smith has called Guntersville home for the past year.

Since he was a student at Briarwood Christian School, he’s become accustomed to holding the winner’s trophy. He teamed up with Grayson Morris to win the Bassmaster High School Championship twice and then teamed with Hayden Marbut to win it a third time.

At Auburn University, Smith and Marbut won the Bassmaster College National Championship. Fishing as a pro for the past two years, Smith qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series and won the Elite event this year at Lake Fork, Texas, which propelled him to the Rookie of the Year title.

Smith admitted his local knowledge helped him land 25 pounds, 2 ounces on opening day, followed by a whopping 27-pound, 11-ounce bag on the second day for about a 6-pound lead heading into the finale. That second bag caused him to realize he had a legitimate shot at the title.

However, he said he definitely felt the pressure during the final round.

“I was nervous all day,” Smith said after Saturday’s final round started late after a 1½ hour fog delay. “It was one of the most stressful days I’ve ever had because I had four fish at about eight pounds at 12:30. I ran about 25 miles back up to a place across from the weigh-in. I was able to cull and catch my limit. It was unbelievable. It’s such a blessing. It’s a God thing.

“I spend a lot of time on this lake. I’ve been preparing for a big tournament on this lake. I’ve spent so much time out here when I’m not traveling for tournaments. I’m looking for new areas, sneaky places to fish. That just worked out this week. I hit a couple of areas that nobody was fishing and ended up catching those giant bags on Day 1 and Day 2.”

Smith’s final round limit weighed 18 pounds, 9 ounces for a total weight of 71-6. Jacob Wall, originally from Oregon but now lives in Alabama, placed second at 64-10, followed by veteran Alabama angler Randy Howell, at 61-4. Wall received a check for $130,000 and Howell took home $80,000.

Smith said his main bait for the Ultimate Angler Championship was a ¾-ounce tungsten Picasso football jig with a Yamamoto Yamacraw trailer in green pumpkin.

“That’s my go-to,” he said. “I was fishing the edges of the grass. I was fishing shellbanks and rocks, any hard spot next to the grass where those fish can pull out and chill out and move back into the grass at night.

“Being on my home lake this week and having fun, that’s what I did this week. I fished hard and did it without Livescope (forward-facing sonar). A lot of people have been saying the young fishermen can’t catch anything without Livescope. I think I proved that us young guys can catch them without Livescope.”

Danny Groves, Unified Pros and Ultimate Angler Championship president, hopes this huge tournament will become an annual event at Lake Guntersville.

Other than attracting competitors from all circuits, the tournament also had unique rules that prohibited the use of forward-facing sonar. Anglers were also allowed to use nets to land fish.

“We would love to stay right here in Scottsboro and Lake Guntersville,” Groves said. “We’ve had great support from the City of Scottsboro, Jackson County and Tourism, the State of Alabama and the Department of Conservation. We’d love to stay right here. Hopefully we can get the funding to do it again next year.”

Livingston (R-Scottsboro), whose district includes DeKalb, Jackson and Madison counties, said he was excited about having visitors attend the event and tournament anglers test their skills to see what a great place Lake Guntersville is.

“Guntersville has great bass fishing, and it’s been that way for a number of years,” he said. “The concept is like the Masters of golf. I think there’s a future for this event here and will likely continue.”