THIRD WEEK OF MADNESS OF MARCH 2026

The third week of Madness of March on Lake Guntersville brought another major cold front, and this one hit hard.

There is no sugarcoating it. It knocked the fish back, changed the mood of the lake, and forced everybody to slow down and grind through it. It was not the kind of week where things just lined up and went right. It was one of those weeks where adjustments mattered, patience mattered, and making the most of the few right opportunities mattered even more.

Even with that, the team still put together some quality catches. That says a lot about where the fish are right now and it says a lot about the guides staying with it through some pretty rough conditions.

The good news is that Lake Guntersville is now starting to settle back down. The water temperature moved this week, and it moved enough to get attention. The lake also went through one of those periods where they about sucked the bottom out of it, and around here everybody knows that can reposition fish in a hurry. That falling water affected things. It did not shut the fish off completely, but it absolutely changed how they wanted to set up and how they wanted to feed.

Now the trend is starting to turn back in the right direction. Water is coming back up. Conditions are stabilizing. The catch rate is beginning to rise with it. Fish are starting to bite better again, and there is a strong feeling that this front may end up acting more like a reset than a setback. If that cold front pulled some of these fish back and grouped them tighter on the right staging places, the next stretch could get very interesting in a hurry.

That is what the entire team is watching right now.

GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

It was a full week across the board with the team staying on fish despite the conditions. Some trips ran into more numbers than others. Some ran into better quality than the numbers showed. That is cold front fishing on Guntersville this time of year.

What stood out most this week was the willingness to stay versatile. That mattered on bass trips, it mattered on crappie trips, and it mattered when families and returning clients decided to tough out the conditions instead of waiting on perfect weather.

CAPT. MYLES MURRAY KEPT HIS MULTI DAY TRIP GOING

Capt. Myles Murray had one of the team’s multi day trips this week with a two day booking. They caught fish and had action, but the size side of it just never fully came together the way everybody wanted.

That is part of fishing through a cold front on Guntersville this time of year. Even so, it was still two good days on the water, a lot of laughs, a lot of fish caught, and another example of making the most out of tough conditions instead of folding up because things were not perfect.

Those are the kinds of trips that still matter. Clients got time on the water, they got bites, and they got the full Madness of March experience during one of the tougher weather swings of the month.

CAPT. SCOTT JERNIGAN STAYED VERSATILE

Capt. Scott Jernigan flat out stayed busy this week and continued pulling double duty for Guntersville Bass Guides. On the bass side, he stayed on a bite and made it work even while conditions kept changing. That kind of versatility has been a major key this week and Scott has been one of the best examples of it.

He also had a phenomenal crappie trip this week. That needs to be said because it was a strong one. When a guide can produce on bass and then turn right around and put together a standout crappie trip during a rough weather week, that says a lot. Capt. Scott has been doing exactly that.

One of the other highlights came with a two boat family trip alongside Capt. Phillip right after the front. It was cold, it was nasty, and it was the kind of day a lot of people would rather stay home. They stayed with it and they caught fish. That is the part that matters.

It was not easy fishing, but it was productive fishing, and it showed again that this team can still make things happen when the weather is working against everybody.

CAPT. PHILLIP CRISS PUT IN DOUBLE TIME

Capt. Phillip Criss also put in double time this week. One of his highlights came with young anglers who toughed out the cold and stayed with it. That trip was part of a two boat family trip with Capt. Scott the day after the front.

It was cold, it was nasty, and it was the kind of day a lot of people would rather stay home. They stayed with it and they caught fish. That is the part that matters. It was not easy fishing, but it was productive fishing.

Phillip has a knack for staying in the game when conditions get a little sideways, and this week fit that perfectly. He kept making the right adjustments and kept clients around the kind of fish they came here hoping to catch.

CAPT. DEREK REMITZ PRODUCED AGAIN

Capt. Derek Remitz had one of those trips that says plenty even without pictures. The running joke is that Derek can have an outstanding day and still not take the first photo. He just is not wired that way.

He does not chase publicity. He just goes out there and produces. That trip was tied into tournament prep for an upcoming event, so it makes perfect sense why there were no pictures floating around from it.

Even without the photo proof, the report from that trip was strong and that is all that really needs to be said.

CAPT. JIM HAD RETURNING CLIENTS FROM ARKANSAS

Capt. Jim also had returning clients in from Arkansas during the heart of that cold front. They caught some really nice fish, but just not enough of them to make it feel like a true blowout kind of day.

A few were lost, and one big one broke the line. That does not happen often on Guntersville Bass Guides trips, but it happened this time. Nobody is saying exactly how big that fish was, but it was the kind of bite that sticks with you. The kind of fish that leaves the whole boat wondering what could have been.

Even so, the quality was there. That tells the story of this week pretty well. The fish were not fully turned loose, but they were still there to be caught if anglers stayed patient and made the most of the right windows.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SEEING RIGHT NOW

The best word for what is happening on Lake Guntersville right now is pause.

The fish are still feeding. They are still catchable. There are still quality bites happening. But it feels like the lake is holding its breath a little bit. It feels like things are building toward the next real push instead of already being there.

That is actually an exciting place to be. There is a full moon coming very soon, and with the weather finally beginning to look better, there is a growing belief that a mass movement of bass heading shallow is not far off.

Timing is everything with this deal. It may happen in a quick wave. It may happen in stages. But when it starts rolling, it has the potential to make people forget about the handful of difficult days this spring in a hurry.

And to be clear, there really have not been that many tough days overall. The company has stayed on the water hard this month, and when a guide service is putting up the kind of March volume this team has put up, there is a lot of real time information coming in every single day from across the lake.

That kind of water time matters. It shows patterns sooner. It shows slowdowns sooner. It shows recoveries sooner. And right now, what it is showing is that the next major window is getting close.

BASSMASTER CLASSIC MOMENT

One of the coolest moments from this past week came off the water during the Bassmaster Classic. The Guntersville Bass Guides decal got to make the ride into the arena on the boat of Tucker Smith during his first Classic appearance, and that was something we were truly honored to be part of.

Tucker is an astounding young angler with a ton of talent, and we truly believe he has a very bright future in this sport. He has already accomplished a lot at a young age, and we cannot thank him enough for allowing us to be part of his Bassmaster Classic journey. It meant a lot to see our logo riding alongside him on such a big stage.

We are proud of Tucker, proud of what he is building, and proud that Guntersville Bass Guides got to share in a moment like that. If you want to check out his brand and gear, visit Tucker Smith Fishing.

COLD FRONT BAIT BREAKDOWN

This week forced the team to slow down and fish with a lot more discipline than people usually want to this time of year.

One bait that kept showing up in the conversation was the jerkbait. The jerkbait was not a fast bait this week. It was not a bait you just wound around and let the fish tell you how aggressive they were. It had to be slowed down.

There were times when it was almost painful how slow it had to be worked. A light twitch. Then a long pause. Then another subtle movement. Then another pause that felt like it lasted forever. It was one of those deals where it almost felt like nothing was happening, like watching paint dry, but if an angler stayed with it long enough, one would finally commit.

That was the biggest key with the jerkbait. Patience. Not overworking it. Not forcing the action. Just letting it sit in front of fish long enough to make one decide. The problem early in the week was the wind. It was hard to even get in the right places to throw it the way it needed to be thrown. But when the guides were able to get in protected enough water and keep that bait working the way it needed to, it got bites.

The other bait that helped bail the team out during the toughest part of the front was the Alabama rig. It was not on fire by any means, but it absolutely helped save the day at times.

The Alabama rig was more of a commitment bait this week. Repetitive casting, covering likely areas, continuing to put it in front of the right fish, and waiting on one to finally react. It was not a deal where they were just loading up on it every few casts. It was more of a grind. Keep making the same cast. Keep showing it to fish. Keep rolling it through the right zones. Eventually one would decide to commit.

That was the theme with both baits really. Neither one was a magic wand this week. Both were tools that worked when the guides slowed down, stayed disciplined, and accepted that this cold front had these fish in a more stubborn mood than normal.

LOOKING AHEAD

The forecast ahead is finally starting to look like what everybody has been waiting on.

That matters because the lake has already shown signs of wanting to move forward. The cold front interrupted that. The falling water interrupted that. But it did not erase it. Now that things are settling, the sense is that Lake Guntersville is getting back on track.

This is the kind of moment in the season where things can change quickly. One good warming trend can move a lot of fish. One stable weather window can make the bite look completely different. One moon phase can push the whole thing forward in a hurry.

That is why there is a lot of confidence in what is coming next. The team has already seen enough this week to know the fish are not gone and the opportunity is not gone. If anything, there is a real chance the best part is still in front of us.

This recent reset may be exactly what was needed to tighten things up and make the next run even stronger. And if that happens, the next report may read a whole lot different than this one.

BOOKING THE RIGHT TRIP ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE

As the next phase of the Madness of March continues to build, this is the window where timing starts to matter more than anything else. Anglers looking to capitalize on these conditions are not just getting on the water, they are putting themselves in position with the best Lake Guntersville fishing guides who are on the lake every single day tracking these changes in real time.

This time of year is exactly when guided bass fishing trips on Lake Guntersville separate average days from the kind of days people remember. With fish repositioning, staging, and preparing to move shallow, having current information and daily experience makes a difference in how consistent the results can be.

For anglers planning ahead, understanding Lake Guntersville fishing rates, trip options, and how multi day trips are structured can help maximize time on the water during one of the most important stretches of the season. This is not just about booking a trip, it is about getting the timing right with the right guide.