January 2027 — Eagle Awareness Weekends & MLF Bass Pro Tour on Guntersville

Eagle Awareness Weekends at Lake Guntersville State Park

Lake Guntersville State Park has hosted Eagle Awareness programs for over 40 years, making it one of the longest-running eagle education events in the southeastern United States. The programs typically run across three consecutive weekends in January, drawing families, birders, and nature enthusiasts from across the region to learn about the bald eagles that winter along the Tennessee River corridor.

Guided eagle safari bus tours depart from the State Park lodge and travel along the lake and river to known nesting areas. Park naturalists point out active nests, soaring adults, and juvenile birds from the heated bus. The tours cover prime viewing areas along the main channel and back into creek arms where nesting pairs stake out tall loblolly pines and hardwoods near the shoreline.

Indoor presentations at the lodge feature live raptor demonstrations with non-releasable birds of prey, including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and great horned owls. Educational programs cover eagle biology, nesting behavior, and the remarkable recovery of the bald eagle population in Alabama. Lake Guntersville supports one of the highest concentrations of wintering bald eagles in the state, with dozens of active nests documented along the reservoir.

Eagle Viewing from the Guntersville Getaway Dock

Guests at Guntersville Getaway enjoy front-row eagle viewing directly from the private dock and covered patio. Bald eagles are regularly spotted soaring over the lake, diving for fish near the shoreline, and perching in the tall hardwoods along the waterfront. January mornings often bring sightings of eagles cruising low over the water at dawn. Binoculars or a spotting scope on the patio railing make it easy to observe nesting pairs tending their massive stick nests in the treetops across the cove.

MLF Bass Pro Tour Returns to Lake Guntersville

The Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour has historically kicked off its season on Lake Guntersville, bringing 80 of the top professional anglers in the world to compete on the 69,000-acre reservoir for Stage 1. The MLF SCORETRACKER format means fish are caught, weighed, and released throughout the day with live scoring, making it one of the most exciting professional tournaments to follow in real time.

Guntersville has produced some of the biggest winning weights in MLF history, with winter patterns typically revolving around deep grass edges, channel swings, and bridge pilings. The tournament draws significant attention to the lake and showcases Guntersville as one of the premier bass fisheries in the country.

Local motels and vacation rentals fill up during tournament week, so booking early is essential. Guntersville Getaway puts you on the water with a private dock and boathouse, giving you a front-row seat to watch the pros compete while you fish the same waters they do.

Winter Bass Fishing on Lake Guntersville

January is the coldest month on Lake Guntersville with water temperatures running 42 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Largemouth bass hold on main lake points, channel swing banks, and deep grass edges in 12 to 20 feet of water. The cold concentrates fish in predictable locations, and patient anglers who target these staging areas are rewarded with quality bites.

The afternoon warm-up period from 1 to 3 PM often triggers the best window of activity when surface temperatures bump up a degree or two. Focus on the sunny sides of points and channel banks where bass absorb the warmth of the winter sun.

Winter Bass Techniques

• Football jigs (1/2 to 3/4 oz) dragged on main lake points and channel swings in 12 to 20 feet
• Blade baits ripped and dropped along bluff walls, bridge pilings, and rocky banks
• Underspins slow-rolled on main lake points and over deep grass edges
• Jerkbaits on a slow cadence over remaining deep grass in 10 to 15 feet
• Ned rigs on rocky transitions and secondary points for finesse presentations

Deep Winter Crappie

Winter crappie fishing remains strong in deep creek channels at 15 to 40 feet. Brown Creek, Short Creek, North Sauty Creek, and the Siebold Creek channel on the south end hold concentrations of fish through January. Vertical jigging with small hair jigs, tubes, and minnows on tight-line rigs is the standard approach. Crappie stack up in predictable spots along channel ledges and near brush piles, making them efficient to target with modern electronics.