SO GOOD THEY'VE HELD 127 TOURNAMENTS

It's one of the best bass lakes in the country and Major League Fishing's MLF5 Pro Circuit is set to fish Guntersville, Alabama May 12-15, for the fourth event of the 2022 season. The four-day event will mark the fifth time the Pro Circuit has competed on Lake Guntersville, some of the most challenging and exciting bass fishing in the country. Over the past 22 years, MLF has held 127 tournaments on Guntersville, making it fourth on the MLF list of most-visited fisheries. When the Pro Circuit last visited in 2017, Arkansas pro Mark Rose weighed 79- 11 to take home the top award Tennessee MLF pro David Walker holds the MLF record for highest one-day total on G'ville at 29- 3 ounces back in 2009.

Local Pro Circuit angler Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, is a full-time guide on Lake Guntersville and said the bass were spawning everywhere on the Lake the last week in April, and spawn and postspawn tactics and possibly a shad-spawn bite could all come into play during the tournament. With temperatures projected to be in the 90s during the event, some fish will move offshore as well. These situations will have anglers frogging and flipping grass in the shallow water, as well as throwing wacky rigs, bladed jigs, spinnerbaits, swimjigs and topwater baits. Crankbaits will be used to mimic shad during the shad spawn. If they go deep, big crankbaits, football-head jigs, and big spoons could enter the mix. Davis expects it to take 17½ to 18 pounds per day to make it into the Top 10 final one-day shootout.

As part of the event, on Weds. May 11 (9 a.m. to Noon), MLF in partnership with Berkley Labs will participate in a Habitat Restoration Project at the Duck River Reservoir building 85 @MossBackHabitat structures to place at various locations in the reservoir.

Located in north Alabama between Bridgeport and Guntersville. Guntersville is Alabama's largest lake covering 67,900 acres and stretching 75 miles from Nickajack Dam to Guntersville Dam. averaging 15 ft in depth, the habitat includes milfoil and hydrilla beds from which big bass explode on topwater baits. The Lake is a premier angling destination hosting a tournament almost every weekend, from local clubs to national trails. The TVA manages the entire 949 miles

of shoreline which occupies a narrow valley between steep sloping, forested ridges. Most noted nationally for bass, Lake Guntersville is home to quality angling for a variety of fish. A 15-inch minimum length limit applies only to largemouth and smallmouth bass. The record was a monster weighing 16- 8 oz.