A Lake Guntersville Guide’s Perspective on the 2014 Bassmaster Classic
John E. Phillips 02.18.14
Phillip Criss is a guide on Lake Guntersville, Alabama where the 2014 Bassmaster Classic is being held February 21 to 23. He fishes the lake every week of the year, sometimes as often as five or six days each week.
Bass and crappie fishermen know Phillip Criss of Scottsboro, Alabama, as one of the top guides in the Southeast. When OutdoorHub asked Criss how he thought the 2014 Classic would be won, he answered, “I believe the Classic will be won using one of two lures, either a swimbait or a jig.”
Criss said if he was fishing in the Classic, he’d fish the riprap on the Brown’s Creek Causeway. “Since I’ve been guiding up here, the biggest catches of bass have been caught on the inside bank of the Brown’s Creek Causeway, at this time of the year,” Criss explains. “Bass tend to move vertically up and down rock structure in February, because the sun heats up the rocks. Some of the warmest water in the lake will be where the sun is heating up the rocks, and the rocks transfer that heat into the water. The water on the Causeway drops off about 20 feet deep. So, the bass can move up and down on these Causeway rocks, depending on the depth where they find the warmest water.”
Many anglers consider the Alabama rig (an umbrella-type device with five swimbaits in a cluster) the hottest lure on the lake since its invention. However, anglers can’t fish multiple-lure rigs like the Alabama during the 2014 Classic.
According to Criss, “I believe a big swimbait on a 3/4-ounce jig head will win the tournament.” The hottest color swimbait on Guntersville Lake has been royal shad, a consistent producer ever since the swimbait has been introduced. But most fishermen are convinced that any color that resembles a shad will be a bass-catching swimbait during the Classic. Anglers will probably be fishing the swimbait fairly fast to try and get a reaction strike from the bass in the warmer water.
“If the weather is really cold, hopping a jig down the riprap at Brown’s Creek also will be a deadly bass-catching tactic,” Criss reports. “The bass, the shad, and the crawfish all will be holding on those rocks. If the bass don’t want a fast moving bait like a large swimbait, they’ll probably eat a smaller slow moving bait like the jig. I’m convinced that in the 2014 Classic, at least one of the contestants fishing those rocks should at least be in the top 10, if he doesn’t win the Classic.”
Watch a video with 2014 Bassmaster Classic contender David Kilgore on the one bait he’s betting will be successful during the tournament in the video below:
Register to win one of 10 copies to be given away of John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBook, How to Win a Bass Tournament: Personal Lessons from 8 Pro Bass Fishermen. Click here (will open a new email in your default email software) to submit your choice for who will win the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Those who answer correctly will have their names put together and a random drawing made for the winners.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
