Welcher Leads Elite Series Tournament On Lake Guntersville

September 30, 2020
B.A.S.S. News - Archived

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Kyle Welcher is technically an “in-state angler” during this week’s Bassmaster Elite tournament at Lake Guntersville. But since the rookie from Opelika, Ala., lives four hours away from the famed Tennessee River fishery, he had very little experience on Lake Guntersville before the official practice period began Sunday — and he thinks that might have been a good thing. With no preconceived notions, Welcher took a fresh approach to the 69,000-acre lake and put together a five-bass limit that weighed 19 pounds, 5 ounces to take the opening-round lead.

“I’ve fished here almost none, and the times I had been here I was fishing from the back of the boat,” Welcher said. “It’s probably good I’m not from here, because if I had all the history of catching 25 pounds a day on roadbeds down south, I would have probably been doing that.”

Welcher’s experience lies mostly on Chattahoochee River fisheries like West Point Lake, Lake Eufaula and Bartlett’s Ferry. But for what he did Wednesday, he said a river is river, no matter the location.

He didn’t give specific details of the pattern he’s fishing. But he said it’s basically the same one that worked for him earlier this year on Florida’s St. Johns River — and one that will work most places across the country when conditions are right.

“I’m really just running a certain unique deal that the river does,” he said. “So, every time I see it on the map, I’ll just stop and fish whatever cover is there — whether it’s a dock or grass or whatever.”

The type of cover that’s present is helping him decide which bait to use.

“Of the five I weighed in, I caught them on three different baits,” he said. “I’ve got probably 11 or 12 rods on the deck, and I threw every single one of them today. If I need to skip under something, I’ll pick up a jig. If I need to flip into something, I’ll punch.

“It really is not about baits or the cover. It’s about what the current is doing, or at least it is for me.”

Welcher’s bag was anchored by one of Guntersville’s trademark big largemouth that weighed almost 7 pounds. He said he can’t count on catching a bass like that every day, but he has confidence in the pattern he’s running.

“This worked for me in practice, but that’s about all I had working,” he said. “This is something I feel is a pretty high-percentage technique.”

Welcher’s catch gave him a slim lead over Texas pro Randy Sullivan who placed second with 18-8.

Unlike Welcher, who seemed to have a good plan dialed in from the start of practice, Sullivan said he didn’t figure anything out until Tuesday afternoon. But he milked his one pattern for all it was worth Wednesday and was actually able to spend some time looking around during the latter part of the day after catching a good limit early.

“I was panicking on the last day of practice because I didn’t know exactly what I needed to do,” Sullivan said. “But I figured out something a little bit special, and it worked today.”

Sullivan said the cooler weather that moved into the region Monday night — with lows in the high 40s — worked in his favor. With that weather expected to endure, he said he could be in a good position for the remainder of the week.

“I think the cooler weather is the ticket to everything I’m doing,” he said. “I think my stuff is just gonna reload and get better. I laid off of them pretty early today and actually found some more areas that I think could be really good.”

Missouri pro Chad Morgenthaler placed third with 17-10, and he wasn’t the least bit shy about discussing the type of cover he’s throwing.

“Sunshine, bass and grass make Chad a happy boy,” he said, laughing.

The type of grass and what makes each patch good was a little more complicated, however.

“It’s a whole mix, and that’s the key,” he said. “There’s everything here right now. You’ve got a lot of hydrilla, coontail, eelgrass and some other stuff that I don’t even know what the heck it is.

“About the time I think they’re only in one or a mix of two, they throw me a curveball. But it’s all good.”

On a day when keepers were hard to come by for much of the field, Morgenthaler said he caught probably 15 bass and lost three or four more. He believed the bright sunshine was key.

“If it gets cloudy on me, I might be in trouble,” he said. “But for right now, I’m fishing like I would in Florida and feeling right at home.”

Several big bass were brought to the scales, but Texas pro Chris Zaldain took the lead in the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with an 8-6 largemouth.

The tournament resumes Thursday with takeoff at 6:30 a.m. CT from Goose Pond Colony Resort Marina and weigh-in back at Goose Pond at 2:30 p.m. After Thursday’s round, only the Top 40 remaining anglers will advance to Friday’s semifinals.

 2020 2020 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville 9/30-10/3
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1 

 

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Kyle Welcher           Opelika, AL              5  19-05  100
  Day 1: 5   19-05   
2.  Randy Sullivan         Breckenridge, TX         5  18-08   99
  Day 1: 5   18-08   
3.  Chad Morgenthaler      Reeds Spring, MO         5  17-10   98
  Day 1: 5   17-10   
4.  John Cox               Debary, FL               4  17-03   97
  Day 1: 4   17-03   
5.  David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN            5  17-01   96
  Day 1: 5   17-01   
6.  Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC            5  17-00   95
  Day 1: 5   17-00   
7.  Austin Felix           Eden Prairie, MN         5  16-06   94
  Day 1: 5   16-06   
8.  Scott Canterbury       Odenville, AL            5  16-00   93
  Day 1: 5   16-00   
8.  Seth Feider            New Market, MN           5  16-00   93
  Day 1: 5   16-00   
10. Garrett Paquette       Canton, MI               5  15-13   91
  Day 1: 5   15-13   
11. Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK             5  15-11   90
  Day 1: 5   15-11   
12. Bob Downey             Hudson, WI               5  15-04   89
  Day 1: 5   15-04   
13. Brandon Card           Salisbury, NC            5  14-15   88
  Day 1: 5   14-15   
14. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC           5  14-12   87
  Day 1: 5   14-12   
15. Chris Zaldain          Fort Worth, TX           4  14-10   86   $1,000.00
  Day 1: 4   14-10   
16. Chris Groh             Spring Grove, IL         5  14-09   85
  Day 1: 5   14-09   
16. Kyle Monti             Okeechobee, FL           5  14-09   85
  Day 1: 5   14-09   
18. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland TN AUSTRALIA  5  14-06   83
  Day 1: 5   14-06   
18. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC          5  14-06   83
  Day 1: 5   14-06   
20. Cory Johnston          Cavan CANADA             5  14-05   81
  Day 1: 5   14-05   
21. Wes Logan              Springville, AL          5  14-04   80
  Day 1: 5   14-04   
22. Frank Talley           Temple, TX               5  14-03   79
  Day 1: 5   14-03   
23. Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR               5  14-00   78
  Day 1: 5   14-00   
23. Drew Cook              Cairo, GA                5  14-00   78
  Day 1: 5   14-00   
25. Jeff Gustafson         Keewatin Ontario CANADA  5  13-15   76
  Day 1: 5   13-15   
25. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS         5  13-15   76
  Day 1: 5   13-15   
27. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN            5  13-09   74
  Day 1: 5   13-09   
28. Hunter Shryock         Newcomerstown, OH        5  12-15   73
  Day 1: 5   12-15   
29. Destin DeMarion        Grove City, PA           5  12-14   72
  Day 1: 5   12-14   
29. Mike Huff              Corbin, KY               5  12-14   72
  Day 1: 5   12-14   
31. Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC           5  12-11   70
  Day 1: 5   12-11   
31. Lee Livesay            Longview, TX             5  12-11   70
  Day 1: 5   12-11   
33. Cody Hollen            Beaverton, OR            3  12-09   68
  Day 1: 3   12-09   
34. Jay Yelas              Lincoln City, OR         5  12-07   67
  Day 1: 5   12-07   
35. Clent Davis            Montevallo, AL           5  12-06   66
  Day 1: 5   12-06   
36. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO         5  12-05   65
  Day 1: 5   12-05   
37. Chris Johnston         Peterborough Ontario CA  5  12-04   64
  Day 1: 5   12-04   
38. Bill Weidler           Helena, AL               5  11-15   63
  Day 1: 5   11-15   
39. Micah Frazier          Newnan, GA               5  11-09   62
  Day 1: 5   11-09   
40. Ed Loughran III        Richmond, VA             3  11-09   61
  Day 1: 3   11-09   
41. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA             5  11-07   60
  Day 1: 5   11-07   
42. Clark Wendlandt        Leander, TX              5  11-06   59
  Day 1: 5   11-06   
43. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL               3  11-05   58
  Day 1: 3   11-05   
44. Taku Ito               Chiba JAPAN              5  11-04   57
  Day 1: 5   11-04   
45. Brett Preuett          Monroe, LA               5  11-03   56
  Day 1: 5   11-03   
46. Caleb Kuphall          Mukwonago, WI            5  10-14   55
  Day 1: 5   10-14   
47. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC               4  10-14   54
  Day 1: 4   10-14   
48. Buddy Gross            Chickamauga, GA          5  10-13   53
  Day 1: 5   10-13   
48. Bryan Schmitt          Deale, MD                5  10-13   53
  Day 1: 5   10-13   
50. Koby Kreiger           Alva, FL                 4  10-07   51
  Day 1: 4   10-07   
51. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  5  10-03   50
  Day 1: 5   10-03   
52. Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL          5  10-02   49
  Day 1: 5   10-02   
53. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL              4  10-02   48
  Day 1: 4   10-02   
54. Dale Hightower         Mannford, OK             5  10-01   47
  Day 1: 5   10-01   
55. Gary Clouse            Winchester, TN           3  09-14   46
  Day 1: 3   09-14   
56. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          4  09-11   45
  Day 1: 4   09-11   
57. Jason Williamson       Wagener, SC              2  09-06   44
  Day 1: 2   09-06   
58. Shane Lineberger       Lincolnton, NC           4  09-01   43
  Day 1: 4   09-01   
58. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA           4  09-01   43
  Day 1: 4   09-01   
60. David Fritts           Lexington, NC            4  09-00   41
  Day 1: 4   09-00   
60. Shane LeHew            Catawba, NC              4  09-00   41
  Day 1: 4   09-00   
62. Jamie Hartman          Newport, NY              4  08-10   39
  Day 1: 4   08-10   
62. Brad Whatley           Bivins, TX               4  08-10   39
  Day 1: 4   08-10   
64. Randy Pierson          Oakdale, CA              3  08-09   37
  Day 1: 3   08-09   
65. Brandon Palaniuk       Rathdrum, ID             4  08-07   36
  Day 1: 4   08-07   
65. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ               4  08-07   36
  Day 1: 4   08-07   
67. Jesse Tacoronte        Kissimmee, FL            3  08-07   34
  Day 1: 3   08-07   
68. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL             4  08-06   33
  Day 1: 4   08-06   
69. Derek Hudnall          Denham Springs, LA       4  08-02   32
  Day 1: 4   08-02   
70. Gerald Swindle         Guntersville, AL         4  08-00   31
  Day 1: 4   08-00   
71. Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT            3  07-15   30
  Day 1: 3   07-15   
72. Rob Digh               Denver, NC               2  07-08   29
  Day 1: 2   07-08   
73. Jake Whitaker          Fairview, NC             4  07-06   28
  Day 1: 4   07-06   
74. Robbie Latuso          Gonzales, LA             2  06-00   27
  Day 1: 2   06-00   
75. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN         3  05-15   26
  Day 1: 3   05-15   
76. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX              3  05-14   25
  Day 1: 3   05-14   
77. Harvey Horne           Bella Vista, AR          2  04-12   24
  Day 1: 2   04-12   
78. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX           2  04-08   23
  Day 1: 2   04-08   
79. Quentin Cappo          Prairieville, LA         2  03-03   22
  Day 1: 2   03-03   
80. Greg DiPalma           Millville, NJ            1  03-03   21
  Day 1: 1   03-03   
81. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN           1  03-00   20
  Day 1: 1   03-00   
82. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA                1  02-08   19
  Day 1: 1   02-08   
83. Tyler Carriere         Youngsville, LA          1  02-05   18
  Day 1: 1   02-05   
84. Drew Benton            Blakely, GA              1  01-15   17
  Day 1: 1   01-15   
85. Chad Pipkens           Dewitt, MI               0  00-00    0
  Day 1: 0   00-00   
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS 
Day
 1   Chris Zaldain            Fort Worth, TX      08-06      $1,000.00

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Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1        46       346       934-13
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          46       346       934-13