FOURTH WEEK OF MADNESS OF MARCH 2026

The fourth week of Madness of March on Lake Guntersville felt a lot like the rest of the month. Every time things started getting halfway comfortable, another cold front came right behind it and knocked the lake sideways again.

That has been the real story. It is not that fish are not being caught, because they are. It is not that quality is gone, because there are still some really good fish being put in the boat. It is that this lake has not been allowed to settle for very long before getting hit with another weather change.

Saturday felt like another one of those punches, and the hope now is that it was the last major setback before April gets here and lets things stabilize. The lake is getting pressure and there may be a little sign of that here and there, but the bigger deal still feels weather related more than anything else.

The team has been on fish. The pictures prove that. The catches prove that. What has been missing is that real big female wave that usually has everybody talking nonstop by this point. Last year by now there had already been sevens, eights, and nines showing up in the conversation. This year it just feels like the whole thing has been held in limbo.

That is why there is still a lot of optimism. The fish are in this lake. The size is in this lake. They just have not fully gotten where they are supposed to get yet. If April gives this lake a little stability, things could change in a hurry.

GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

This week was another strong example of why daily time on the water matters. It was not a flashy week. It was not one of those weeks where the whole lake looked easy. It was a week where the team kept adapting, kept getting bites, and kept putting clients on fish while the weather kept trying to reset everything.

There is something to be said for continuing to produce when nothing feels normal. That has been the theme of this entire month, and it showed again this week with multiple captains putting together quality catches in spite of all the stop and go conditions.

CAPT. DEREK REMITZ FINALLY FOUND THE CAMERA BUTTON

It finally happened. Capt. Derek Remitz took pictures.

That may sound funny if you know Derek, because the running joke has always been that the world misses out on a lot of his catches simply because he is not much for photography. He would rather keep his head down, keep fishing, and let the day speak for itself.

But this week there was photo proof, and it backed up what everybody around here already knows. Capt. Derek can flat out put clients on big ones. He does not need a bunch of talk around it. He just keeps producing.

The pictures from this week were a good reminder that when Derek is on the water, there is always a real shot at quality. He may not be chasing attention, but he stays around the kind of fish people book a Lake Guntersville trip to catch.

CAPT. SCOTT JERNIGAN KEPT PUTTING THEM IN THE BOAT

Capt. Scott was not about to let Derek have all the attention this week.

Scott put some absolute good fish in the boat and kept clients on plenty of action throughout the week. That has really been the best way to describe his stretch right now. He keeps finding ways to put people around fish no matter how many times the conditions try to shift.

It has not been one clean pattern that stayed the same every day. It has been more of a stay flexible, read the conditions, and keep adjusting kind of week. Scott did exactly that and kept stacking up fish with clients all week long.

That matters on a lake like Guntersville in late March. Anybody can look good when everything is easy. The guides that stand out are the ones who keep putting together productive trips when the weather keeps changing the script, and Scott has absolutely done that.

CAPT. MYLES MURRAY KEPT THE RODS BENT

Capt. Myles Murray did what he always seems to do. He found ways to keep people getting bites.

He literally kept the rods bent every day this week, and that says a lot when you think about the kind of stop and go weather this lake has had to deal with. Some weeks are about giant fish. Some weeks are about making the most of every trip and keeping clients in the game. Myles was all over that this week.

He has a knack for finding activity even when the lake does not feel settled. That is a big reason why he continues to be such a strong option for anglers who want a productive day on the water no matter what the weather has been doing.

There is a lot of value in a guide who can keep trips fun, keep fish coming over the rail, and keep momentum going during a weird week. Capt. Myles did exactly that again.

CAPT. PHILLIP CRISS KEPT DOING WHAT VETERANS DO

Capt. Phillip Criss had another one of those weeks that reminds people why experience matters.

The veteran always seems to find a way to pull through, and this week was no different. When the weather starts throwing curve balls and the lake feels like it is in between phases, that is when veteran decision making starts showing up in a big way.

Phillip kept clients around quality and kept putting together the kind of catches that do not need a lot of extra hype around them. They speak for themselves. He has been through enough springs on Guntersville to know that some weeks are about maximizing the right windows instead of waiting on everything to feel perfect.

That was this week in a nutshell, and Capt. Phillip handled it like he always does. Steady, productive, and right in the mix.

CAPT. JIM HAD A WEEK HE WILL NOT FORGET

Capt. Jim had a different kind of week.

His Mercury Pro XS finally gave up after 2,148 hours. That is a lot of time on the water, and it says plenty about how hard that motor worked. For a stretch there, nothing felt normal. It was one of those weeks where he had to work through equipment issues, keep things moving, and just roll with it.

Then the boat came back with a new Mercury from Jaco Marine, and things started off really well. That part brought some life right back into the week. Sometimes a stretch like this is not just about the fish. Sometimes it is about the grind behind the scenes, getting through the unexpected, and getting back rolling without missing a beat.

That is part of the story this week too. Not everything about Madness of March has been weather. Some of it has just been real life on the water, and Capt. Jim definitely got his share of that this week.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SEEING RIGHT NOW

The team is catching fish. There is no doubt about that.

What the team has not really seen yet is that true big female push everybody has been waiting on. There are still nice fish being caught. There are always going to be big ones weighed in when enough people are on the water, especially in events like the Big Bass Splash where everybody is bringing one big fish to the scales. That does not mean the whole wave has happened.

In fact, it still feels like a lot of these fish have not truly staged the way they normally would by this point. The weather has just kept shoving things backward every time the lake starts moving in the right direction. That is why so much of this season has felt just a little off.

But that is also why there is still so much upside sitting in front of us. The fish are here. The size is here. The catches that could happen on one single trip are absolutely here. It does not feel crazy at all to think this lake could still produce days with numerous seven pound fish in one boat once everything lines up.

It just feels like the lake has been in limbo. Every time it starts getting right, it gets pushed back. If April can give it any kind of stability, that could change very quickly.

LOOKING AHEAD TO APRIL

The forecast is already hinting at a little more rain to start the first half of April, which probably means there is still some kind of front trying to hang around. But after that, the bigger thing the team is watching is stability.

Temperatures are looking like they want to level back out. There is a full moon on the horizon. The lake has already shown enough signs to know it wants to move forward. All of that is pointing toward things busting wide open if the weather will finally quit interrupting it.

Anyone watching the Lake Guntersville water temperature can see why stability matters so much right now. The pieces are there. They just have not stayed lined up for very long.

That is why the feeling right now is that the real Madness of March may bleed straight over into April. March brought the chaos. April may bring the payoff. If that happens, the next stretch on Lake Guntersville could be the kind people remember for a long time.

It is all sitting right there. This report is not about pretending the lake is already on fire. It is about saying the team can see exactly what is trying to happen, and if the weather will back off for a minute, April could turn into something special.

BOOKING THE RIGHT TRIP ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE

This is one of those stretches where timing matters more than hype. Anglers trying to hit the next wave are putting themselves in position with the best Lake Guntersville fishing guides who are on the water every day watching these changes happen in real time.

Right now, guided bass fishing trips on Lake Guntersville are about more than just getting out there. They are about fishing with current information, understanding where the lake is in the process, and being ready when that next push finally shows itself in a bigger way.

For anglers trying to line up the right trip during this next window, choosing a top Lake Guntersville fishing guide can make a real difference when the lake is changing fast and timing matters.

A lot of people searching for a Lake Guntersville bass fishing guide this time of year are really trying to do one thing: put themselves around the best possible window instead of showing up after it has already happened.

If anglers are planning ahead, understanding Lake Guntersville fishing rates, looking at guided fishing trip rates, and comparing multi day fishing trips on Lake Guntersville can make a big difference in getting the most out of this spring window. The next couple weeks could be very important on this lake.