Peavyhouse hangs on for Guntersville win
With a three-day total of 73 pounds, 13 ounces, Isaac Peavyhouse earned his first Toyota Series win on Lake Guntersville. Photo by Jody White. Angler: Isaac Peavyhouse.
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Blasting off on Championship Friday with a lead of more than 4 pounds over his nearest pursuer, Isaac Peavyhouse could taste his first Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats win. When he returned to Goose Pond eight hours later, he was convinced he’d let it slip away.
Peavyhouse had sacked up 28 pounds, 6 ounces of Lake Guntersville largemouth on Day 1, which had him in second place, then moved into the lead with 24-8 on Day 2. On Day 3, he once again topped the 20-pound mark, but with the legendary lake kicking out heavy bags like usual in the Central Division season finale, he didn’t think it would be enough. He got even more nervous when Hayden O’Barr placed a 28-8 megabag on the scales.
“Coming in, with the weight I had, I thought I gave it away, honestly,” Peavyhouse said.
Turns out, Peavyhouse’s final-day limit of 20-15 was enough to edge O’Barr by 15 ounces. His three-day total of 73-13 earned him $40,000, while O’Barr had to settle for his third runner-up finish in a Toyota Series event in the past three months.
Magic spot produces one more time
A resident of Jamestown, Tennessee, Peavyhouse has tasted most of his tournament success on nearby Dale Hollow Lake and other highland reservoirs in the area. He’d only competed on Guntersville a few times prior to this event, and never during the postspawn.
Knowing the reputation of the lake’s river channel ledges, Peavyhouse figured fishing offshore would be the way to win, so he committed to idling during practice and searching for schools. He had no trouble locating them, but when he started running those spots on Day 1, he found competitors already sitting on just about all of them.
“All three days of practice, I idled the whole time,” he said. “I had about 30 schools marked, but apparently 28 of them were community holes, because you couldn’t never get on them.”
Peavyhouse eventually found a school that he had to himself. That spot turned out to be all he needed to top a field full of Tennessee River experts, as he caught all 15 of his keepers there.
“It was a really sneaky spot,” he said. “It was just a little drain on a flat, and the fish were in about 20 foot on the edge of the grass. I was side-scanning a spot that I’ve caught them here in February on a jerkbait and just saw the school on my side scan. In practice, I made one cast in there, caught a 5-pounder and left. I didn’t know it was that good, but it panned out.”
On Day 1, Peavyhouse caught about 25 pounds right away from the school before trying to run new water and eventually returning to cull a couple more times. He found the bite a bit tougher on Day 2, but he still managed a strong limit.
Friday, the lake threw him a curveball. A floating eelgrass mat had settled over the spot, making it impossible for Peavyhouse to get his bait down to the fish. He left and tried to fish elsewhere but didn’t catch a keeper. Finally, he returned and found the mat had moved just enough for him to make the proper presentation.
“I finally got one cast down to them – because that eelgrass would bow it up – and first cast I got down to them, I caught a 5 1/4, and second cast I got a 4.40,” Peavyhouse said. “And then it blew back in there, and I never could get it back to them again.”
Peavyhouse caught those two fish on a Strike King 10XD crankbait, his most productive lure all week. He then used a Yank-Um Custom Tackle structure jig and a jighead minnow to fish around the eelgrass and fill out the rest of his limit. He threw all his baits on Yank-Um Custom Tackle rods.
The win was the first for Peavyhouse outside of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League and by far the most lucrative of his young career.
“It’s awesome, man,” Peavyhouse said. “I’ve won two BFLs and placed high in a bunch of Toyotas and some other tournaments, but I’ve never had a bigger win like this. So, it’s a blessing.”
Top 10 pros:
- Isaac Peavyhouse – 73-13 (15) – $40,000
- Hayden O’Barr – 72-14 (15) – $16,500
- Matteo Turano – 70-14 (15) – $12,250
- Cal Lane – 70-13 (15) – $10,000
- Carter Nutt – 68-14 (15) – $9,000
- Caz Anderson – 68-10 (15) – $8,000
- Broderick Luckey – 67-13 (15) – $7,000
- Clint Knight – 67-12 (15) – $6,000
- Banks Shaw – 67-0 (15) – $5,000
- Preston Kolisek – 66-14 (15) – $4,000
Shaw nips Nutt brothers for AOY
Despite the dominance of Dylan Nutt, who won both of the first two Central Division events of the season on Pickwick and Chickamauga, the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race remained in doubt entering the finale. With Nutt finishing 26th and barely missing out on Day 3 at Guntersville, it turned into a showdown between himself and two of his teammates at the University of North Alabama: his twin brother, Carter Nutt, and Banks Shaw.
Shaw’s ninth-place finish ultimately earned him the crown and $5,000 payday that comes with it. Combined with finishes of fourth on Pickwick and eighth on Chickamauga, he wound up 4 points ahead of Carter, who finished fifth on Guntersville, and 7 points clear of Dylan. Peavyhouse moved up to fourth.
Shaw will hope that’s not the last AOY check he cashes from Fishing Clash. The 21-year-old continued his breakout season by winning last week’s Tackle Warehouse Invitationals stop on Pickwick and moving into the points lead on that circuit.
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year Central Division Top 10:
- Banks Shaw – 762 points – $21,250
- Carter Nutt – 758 points – $20,866
- Dylan Nutt – 755 points – $78,226
- Isaac Peavyhouse – 751 points – $46,138
- Caz Anderson – 731 points – $13,207
- Matteo Turano – 729 points – $17,174
- Dillon Falardeau – 717 points – $14,943
- Nicholas Dumke – 717 points – $7,895
- Bailey Gay – 715 points – $8,169
- Fisher Anaya – 714 points – $9,724