Choo Choo season starts at Lake Guntersville
January 7, 2026 • Jody White • Phoenix Bass Fishing League
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Choo Choo Division gets the year rolling Jan. 24, on Lake Guntersville. A fan favorite, Big G is one of the best lakes in the country, and the new forward-facing sonar restrictions for 2026 will make sure that anglers get a chance to see all it has to offer.
What to expect
Winter on the Tennessee River brings big bass, and this event will showcase the great offshore bite and great grass bite that Guntersville offers.
“This early in the year, it will be dominated by LiveScope,” said Alabama pro Blake Hall. “There will be checks out of the grass, lipless baits, ChatterBaits, that sort of thing. But, I think it will be won ‘Scoping. As long as the water doesn’t rise a ton or get super muddy, three hours should be plenty for some of those guys.”
Of course, once a boater has used their three hours, they’d better get in the grass.
“The grass bite is good, it’s always good, but you can’t catch enough weight typically to beat the ‘Scopers,” Hall said. “You can catch low to mid 20s, but to get in the high 20s, it takes a special day in the grass. The fish are bigger, those offshore, floating fish, they’re just bigger.”
In the first BFL of the year at Sam Rayburn, most of the top finishers weighed fish caught while they were using their forward-facing sonar and also when the screens were turned off. In this event, that may very well prove to be the case, or someone could blitz to the win in a short span of effective sonar use.
Baits to bring
Guntersville in the winter is not too hard to plan for. A jerkbait, minnow and umbrella rig should check the boxes for floating fish. In the grass, a vibrating jig, a lipless crankbait and perhaps a shallow-running crankbait will do the trick.
What will it take?
As far as the fishing, expect it to be a lot of fun as things ramp up toward the prime of February and March.
“You never know there, it could take 32, but I would say 28 will be pretty solid,” Hall said. “There haven’t been many tournaments to go off of, but for the Top 10, there will be at least 10 bags over 20 pounds.”