I fished the lower end of Guntersville today.  It was rainy and balmy.  Air temperature was 55 at launch and reached 68 during the day.  Water temperature was in the mid 50's just perfect for pre spawn.  We did have some fog, I couldn't run much in the first hour, which could be a factor, we have had fog delays in each of our first two stops this season.

I had twelve bites today, all on reaction lures.  Four of those bites were in the three pound range, the others were small.  Fish have to be 15" here to be keepers.  The bites were spread out over a wide range, I didn't fish any area hard, which makes feel like if I slow down a little during the tournament, I might be able to get more of the quality fish.

I will fish the upper part of the lake on Tuesday, and then come back to the mid lake region on our last day of pre fish.  I am encouraged by today, I think I can expand on what I have found.  The weather isn't supposed to get too bad this week.

I didn't get as many bites today, and the ones I got were kind of isolated, meaning I couldn't duplicate the pattern.  I ran up river, and caught three nice ones, a seven and a couple of threes all on reaction lures.

I believe that I will stick to the mid and lower ends of the lake, the water is clearer there, and looks better to me.

I had two bites today, but it was tough, most guys complaining that they can't get bit.  I will start in the back of a creek that I found on day one and just crank it out.  I don't feel tied to any one thing, so I will be able to fish a lot tomorrow on intuition. It will be important to me to get a feeling for what is going on and then just to follow what instincts tell me.

It rained last night after being really stable for two days.  This morning we have stable weather again, my best fishing came that first day of pre fish when it was raining, so I would prefer a little bit of rain.

Went to angler focus meeting last night, really is a nice fellowship, everyone has their stories, keeps me grounded, you realize there is more to life than fishing.  I am not too disappointed with today, although I thought a limit would weigh more.  My fish were all 15" keepers, all two pound fish.  I caught 16 fish today, eight were keepers, I culled once.

I have a decision to make today, (I am driving to the launch right now,) I never did get to fish that water where I caught the seven pounder on Tuesday, it was too far North, and the fish I am catching are in the Southern End.  I can fish "chicken" and go for the numbers down South, or I can run up North and try to hit a home run.  Fishing chicken means staying in the game as far as points are concern, but going for the big one could turn out to be a big deal for me.  I guess I better decide pretty soon.  I did go and flip some docks in the afternoon, the sun was out, and those fish were where they were supposed to be, one of those keepers helped me, as I culled out a smaller one.

Last night was the coldest night we have had, and the wind blew a little bit, so I don't know how that will affect the fish.  The thought of that seven pounder haunts me, not going up there to fish for a bigger fish will bother me to no end.  Of course, missing out on catching a limit, will bother me to no end as well.  That is of course, unless I catch them good where ever I finally decide to go, and then of course I won't have to wonder.

Well, I took the gamble today, I wasn't going to fish chicken, I was going up North after the big bites.  When I got up North I realized that the water had fallen.  I was fishing the tip of an island and the water had fallen so much that the tip was now exposed and the part I needed to fish was in water that was too shallow.  I backed out and tried to get the fish to bite, but I didn't get a think in two hours.  I then ran back South to fish the water I fished on day one, I caught two keepers and my partner did as well.

I really looked at the fallen water level and my instinct was to go and flip the docks, which is exactly how Zell Rowland did so well on the last two days of the tournament.  I just have not been able to free my mind enough to fish what I feel.  I know that sounds kind of strange but I feel a lot of pressure to catch numbers to stay in the points race, and taking a chance like that just really plays with my head.  I am so impressed with what Zell did.  He was able to give up on a pattern that was producing good weights and move to another that won him the tournament.  I can do that kind of thing on my home waters, but I just can't break away and do it out here on tour yet.  I even keyed onto the pine supported docks during practice, they looked so much better than the other docks.

I fished the same docks in practice that Zell Rowland won the tournament on, and I mean I spent an hour dissecting those same docks he caught his fish on.  It just shows me that when the water falls like it did, that the fish moved to the docks, because those fish were not there during practice.