Professional angler Charlie Weyer took this bass from the waters of Guntersville Lake. Photo by Anthony Campbell.

No matter what part of the Cotton State you find yourself in, chances are good that you’re close to a bass hotspot. The state has an abundance of rivers, ponds, creeks and lakes, and anything larger than a mud hole in this part of the country typically has bass in it.

March and April are the peak months statewide for catching both big bass and numbers of bass. Then fishing can get tough in the hot months before there is a secondary peak in October and November.

Regardless of which of these periods you fish this year, here are five places to try your luck with bass in 2005.

LAKE GUNTERSVILLE

This 69,000-acre impoundment in the northeastern corner of the state turned heads last spring when the Bassmaster Tour came to town in late February. Arkansas pro George Cochran caught 99 pounds, 10 ounces over four days, falling just 6 ounces shy of breaking 100 pounds. The feat earned him the $100,000 grand prize.

But heavy stringers are nothing new at Guntersville. In fact, that’s what the lake is known for. Alex Wheeler and Donnie Hudson of Remlap made newspaper headlines across the state in March of 2002 when the team boated a largemouth that went 14.03 pounds, setting a new record for the largest bass ever caught in a tournament in Alabama. The pair caught a total of four bass that weighed 32 pounds in that tournament.

There’s a 15-inch minimum size limit at Guntersville, and most bass that length approach 2 pounds.

The lake has several thousand acres of milfoil and hydrilla that are prime cover for both bass and baitfish. Some mats get so thick that there is no way to get a lure through them. Underneath, the fish have everything they need to thrive.

The middle portion of the lake is considered by many to be the best area to fish. It includes North Sauty, South Sauty, Seibold, Town and Short creeks.

In addition to the grass, there are shallow spawning flats that are often filled with stumps, ditches, creek channels, underwater humps and islands that hold fish.

Top baits in early spring include spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits and soft-plastic finesse worms, according to guide Doug Campbell.

“Jerkbaits won all the money in the early tournaments here last year,” Campbell said. “The hottest colors are chartreuse, shad, and pearl with a green back. That’s what Cochran won the Bassmaster with.”

Senkos are also excellent early-spring baits. Places to target the bass are humps, grasslines, points and flats with stumps and hard bottoms.

Another longtime Guntersville fishing guide, Tee Kitchens relies primarily on three baits to catch pre-spawn and spawning bass in March and April — Rat-L-Traps, chartreuse-and-white spinnerbaits, and watermelon-color finesse worms.

“The main thing I fish with this time of year is a Rat-L-Trap,” Kitchens said. “It has two purposes. On your first cast with it, you let it sink all the way to the bottom and you rip it back up.”

Grass sticks in the treble hooks of the lure. The vegetation is submerged this time of year, so you have to find it to fish it.

“You’re looking for some good green grass,” Kitchen explained. “The bass will be in that stuff.”

Once you locate the grass, start fishing the Rat-L-Trap across the top of it with a pretty quick retrieve. You can also use spinnerbaits and worms in the same areas.

“You keep working those grassy areas, usually in 9 feet of water or less, and pretty soon you should find some bass,” the guide noted.

Kitchens likes a red Rat-L-Trap, especially when the water is stained, but said it does not hurt to change colors every now and then.

Another factor in catching the fish is the spawn, and Kitchens said water temperature plays a critical role in when the fish bed.

“When it gets up to 62 to 64 and stays there consistently, they’ll start to turn on,” he emphasized.