Bailey Holds Slim Lead After One Day in Guntersville Event

By John N. Felsher

     John O. Bailey maintains a slim edge after one day of intense competition in the American Bass Anglers Top 150 Solo Series Southeast Division tournament, held April 30, 2021, at Lake Guntersville.
    The Resaca, Ga. angler found a tournament daily limit of five bass to put 18.90 pounds on the board on the first day of the second of three events in the inaugural Southeast Division season. The anglers launched out of Goose Pond Marina in Scottsboro, Ala. to fish the sprawling 75-mile-long impoundment on the Tennessee River.
    “The day started cloudy and overcast,” commented Floyd Vaughn, ABA tournament director. “The anglers caught some fish early. At about noon, the sun broke free and made the rest of the day warm. When the sun came out, the fish started biting better, the anglers said. With the water temperature at about 70 to 72 degrees, we should have a real slugfest on the final day.”
Bailey anchored is Day 1 catch with a 4.65-pound kicker to take the lead over 106 other competitors. Not surprisingly, the owner of Producer Swimbaits (producerswimbaits.com) caught most of his fish on his own lures.
    “Probably about 90 percent of my fish on the first day came on swimbaits,” Bailey confirmed. “I also caught some bass on topwater baits. I had a limit by 9 a.m. and started culling about 30 minutes later. I could have easily weighed in my bass at noon because I left some fish for the final day.”
    Less than three ounces behind Bailey, Tim P. Wheelon from Bell Buckle, Tenn. holds second. He also caught a five-bass limit with his sack going 18.77 pounds. He capped his catch with a 5.30-pounder, the fourth largest bass and one of only six fish exceeding five pounds brought to the scales on the first day of the tournament.
    “I had a limit of bass within 45 minutes,” Wheelon detailed. “I just fished a lot of places where I’ve always caught big fish. I caught some on a frog and some on a Senko. I fished jigs around the rocks and the other baits around grass. I caught a lot of keepers, but never did get another big bite.”
    Hotly chasing both leading anglers, Billy J. Hughey from Dalton, Ga., holds third place. His five-bass bag weighed 18.60 pounds with a 4.38-pound kicker. Going into the second day, Hughey sits less than five ounces out of first place. 
Local angler Benjie W. Allen of hosting Scottsboro, Ala., occupies the fourth slot on the roster. On Day 1, he landed five keepers for 17.29 pounds. He also caught most of his fish early in the morning and left them biting.
    “I had a good early morning bite, but I caught fish all day long,” Allen revealed. “The size wasn’t improving, so I decided to save some for the final day. I’m hoping to sit there on the last day and hammer them. Maybe I’ll get some bigger fish. When I left, I started running a bunch of spots I know on the lake and culled up throughout the day. I threw a hodgepodge of lures, whatever I could use to get them to bite.”
    Rounding out the top five anglers, Jesse L. Rigsby of Old Hickory, Tenn. brought in a limit for 16.83 pounds. He also caught good fish early. After a lull, he put more keepers in the boat later in the day.
    “I caught fish first thing in the morning,” Rigsby recalled. “I had four fish with one good bass by 7 a.m. The other three were solid keepers. I didn’t catch my fifth fish until noon. When the sun came out, that helped me and they started biting again. When the wind died down, the bite died down. When the wind kicked back up, they started biting again. I was concentrating on grass and rocks.”
Jesse Wise of Erwin, N.C., holds sixth place after Day 1 with five bass going 15.70 pounds, followed by fellow Tar Heel, Mike Corbishley of Raleigh, N.C. Corbishley holds seventh place with a five-bass bag and 15.51 pounds. 
    Another Resaca, Ga. angler, Russell A. Bryant sits in eighth place with a five-bass daily limit going 15.48 pounds, including one 3.56-pounder. Billy Brindle of Calhoun, Ga. holds the ninth position with a limit weighing 15.35 pounds.
    Wrapping up the Top 10 after the first day, Dale M. Tomazin from Gainesville, Ga. brought in a five-bass limit for 15.26 pounds. He greatly helped his standings with a 5.69-pound lunker, the third largest bass caught so far in the tournament.
    Russell W. Hazelto of Enterprise, Ala. leads the race to win the $1,000 big-bass check with a 6.08-pounder. In a superb bass reservoir well known for producing double-digit largemouth, one cast at any time hitting any spot on Lake Guntersville could make a huge difference in the final tournament standings.
    The action concludes on May 1 with the weigh-in beginning at 3 p.m. The public is invited to watch.
    Meanwhile, anglers fishing the Southwest Division conclude their season at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Okla. at the same time. The Oklahoma event also runs April 30 to May 1, 2021. 
After fishing Lake Guntersville, the Southeast Division anglers will finish the divisional season as well as the entire inaugural year for the ABA Top 150 Solo Series on June 25-26. That finale will take place at Lake Chickamauga. Anglers will run out of the Dayton City Ramp on Lakeshore Drive in Dayton, Tenn. 
    Up to 150 anglers can compete in any Top 150 Solo Series tournament. If 150 solo anglers participate, the winner will take home a guaranteed $20,000 in cash. If fewer competitors register for an event, the top 20 percent of the field will each earn a portion of the prize money, based upon the number of entries. In addition, the winner of each divisional tournament, plus the two division Anglers of the Year will qualify to fish the 2022 Ray Scott Championship.

    For more information about American Bass Anglers visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406. For more information on the ABA Top 150 Solo Series, see www.americanbassanglers.com/Top150.

    American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, Triton Boats, Mercury Motors, Motor Guide, Berkley, Abu Garcia, T-H Marine, Power Pole, Garmin, Monster Energy, Lucas Oil, Engel Coolers, OPTIMA Batteries, REKS Sunglasses, and HotelPlanner.com.

Day one Top 25: