21.Oct.2011 - GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., caught a massive five-bass limit weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces Friday to widen his lead on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Guntersville presented by Mercury. His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 55 pounds, 3 ounces gives him a commanding lead heading into the third day of the tournament. Of all of the pros and co-anglers from across the United States that started the tournament, only the top 20 will fish day three and the top 10 will compete for the title on day four.
“I guess the word’s out on what I’m doing,” Elias said. “I’m throwing an Alabama rig. It’s a new-type rig that some guy from around near Pickwick came up with. It’s just an amazing deal.”
The Alabama rig consists of a hard-bait body that trails four or five wires that have a swivel attached to the end of each wire. Fishermen then tie a variety of baits – swimbaits, grubs or a variety of other artificial baits – to the swivels. The baits fan out and are retrieved and mimic a school of baitfish.
“It’s kind of like a crankbait sometimes,” Elias said. “You can’t always catch them on it unless you’re doing it right.
“I’ve been very fortunate this week,” Elias added. “When I got on that pattern I just stayed on it and found as many places to fish it that I could find. Today I fished the same three places I fished yesterday. I feel like if I don’t get too crowded out there I can catch them.”
Elias said current plays a major factor in his pattern and the presence of current until about 2 p.m. helped him with his catch. He’s fishing his Alabama rig on a 7-foot, 11-inch Pinnacle flipping rod, a Pinnacle reel and 65-pound-test Spiderwire Ultracast FluoroBraid line.
“That rig is very hard to throw,” Elias said. “I can manhandle the fish when they bite it. And man, they just really annihilate it when they get it.
“I’m having one of those tournaments where you just say, ‘Thank you, Lord,’” Elias added. “I’m just going to keep going. I’m going to be chunking and winding for two more days. I’ve thrown that (rig) since about noon Sunday and my 60-year-old butt is worn out.”
Robert Behrle of Hoover, Ala., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40-12.
Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish Saturday on Lake Guntersville are:
3rd: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 39-14
4th: Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-9
5th: Duracell/Gillette pro Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 10 bass, 34-0
6th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-9
7th: Christopher Brasher, Spring, Texas, 10 bass, 33-9
8th: National Guard pro Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 10 bass, 32-14
9th: Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 32-9
10th: Blake Nick, Adger, Ala., 10 bass, 32-1
11th: National Guard pro Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 32-1
12th: Wesley Helton, Calhoun, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-12
13th: Russell Lane, Prattville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-0
14th: Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 29-11
15th: Chevy pro Jay Yelas, Corvallis, Ore., 10 bass, 29-9
16th: Trevor Fitzgerald, Belleview, Fla., 10 bass, 29-8
17th: Snickers Peanut Butter Squared pro Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 10 bass, 29-7
18th: Chevy pro Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., nine bass, 29-5
19th: Christopher Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-15
20th: Kelley Jaye, Dadeville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-12
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top five anglers in the point standings from the four Walmart FLW Tour Open tournaments will qualify. Complete Story
Paul, Wanted to drop you a line and again thank you for the great time Lance and I had. The time spent with you on the electronics was amazing,but the real deal was when we put that knowledge and applied it out on the water on Friday.We guessed our best 5 would of been in the 42 lb range, with both of us catching our personal best fish of our lifes.We had 2 over 10 and 1 around 9 from your lake. We are getting ready to start into the Everstart series this year and your class will definitely help us out.
Just a quick email to let you know how much I enjoyed my trip to Pachuta. As an avid angler I found In-Depth Fishing to be a master's level course in the sport of bass fishing. I learned a great deal and it was fun to apply the lessons while catching lunker bass (see photos). Lake Eddins is an extraordinary fishery!