Monthly Archives: May 2013

Diseases From Tick Bites

Why should boat fishermen worry about ticks?  I got Lyme Disease a few years ago and am almost positive I got it from three ticks I found on me after getting out of the boat at West Point Lake to answer a call of nature!

Human Illnesses Associated With Tick Bites

from The Fishing Wire

Anglers, hikers, anybody who spends time outdoors from now until the snow flies again might want to give this a careful read; ticks are found just about everywhere there’s good fishing, and they can cause some serious problems.

By Jeff L. Makemson, Certified Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries

As the weather warms and you are spending more time outdoors, don’t forget to allow time for a tick check. While some songwriters and comedians make light of ticks, a tick bite should be taken seriously. Ticks are the leading carriers of diseases to humans in the United States, second only to mosquitoes worldwide.

Ticks are small spider-like animals that bite to fasten themselves onto the skin and feed on blood. Ticks hide in low brush to allow them to come in contact with a host. Once they catch a ride on a host they will live in the fur and feathers of many different species of animals. Most tick bites occur during early spring to late summer in areas with many wild animals and birds. The toxins, secretions and organisms transmitted through a tick’s saliva are the sources of the tick-borne diseases. Most ticks do not carry diseases and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems.

It is very important to remove a tick as soon as it is found. This helps decrease the likelihood of contracting diseases from the tick. Care should be used to remove the tick’s head to prevent an infection in the skin where the bite occurred.

The sooner ticks are removed, the less likely they are to transmit disease. Use fine-tipped tweezers to properly remove an attached tick. Grab the tick as close to its mouth as possible. The body of the tick will often be above the skin’s surface, but its head and mouth will likely be buried. Grabbing the tick by its belly can force infected fluids out of its mouth and into the skin. Pull the tick straight out until its mouth lets go of the skin. Put the removed tick in a dry jar or Ziploc bag and save it in the freezer for later identification if symptoms start and medical attention is needed. Wash the area where the tick was attached with warm, soapy water once the tick is removed. Apply an antibiotic ointment to the bite area to help prevent infection.

Many tick-borne diseases cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle aches. Symptoms may begin from one to three weeks after the tick bite. Sometimes a rash or sore appears along with the flu-like symptoms. Common tick-borne diseases include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever and babesiosis.

Lyme disease is an infection spread by the bite of ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Symptoms include fatigue, headache, stiff neck, fever, muscle or joint pain, swelling, and sometimes an expanding red rash. If a rash develops, it may look like a target or bull’s-eye in some people. Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to many other conditions and tests do not always detect the bacteria. It is usually effectively treated with a short course of antibiotics. If not treated properly, it can lead to complications involving the heart, nervous system, joints and skin within weeks, months or even years later.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, also called tick fever, spotted fever, or tick typhus, is a bacterial infection passed to humans by wood ticks and dog ticks. It can lead to life-threatening complications such as shock and kidney failure if not treated promptly. Initial symptoms usually start an average of seven days after the tick bite and include a sudden fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, distinct rash, nausea and vomiting. The rash typically is made up of many tiny, flat, purple or red spots. It usually starts on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, and then spreads to the arms, legs and the rest of the body.

Tularemia, also called deerfly fever or rabbit fever, is a disease that usually occurs in animals, but the disease can be transmitted to humans through an infected tick. Symptoms usually start within 21 days, but average one to 10 days, after the tick bite. Symptoms of tularemia include chills, sudden high fever, headache, an open crater-like sore at the site of the bite, swollen glands near the site of the bite, nausea and vomiting. Prescription medicine is used to treat tularemia.

Ehrlichiosis is an infectious disease that can be passed to humans by ticks. It causes fever, chills, headache, general ill feeling, nausea, vomiting and a purple or red rash. Symptoms usually start from one to 21 days (average of seven days) after the tick bite. Prescription medicine is used to treat ehrlichiosis.

Relapsing fever is an infectious disease that can be passed to humans by ticks. It is most common in the western United States. Symptoms usually start three to 11 days (average of six days) after the tick bite. They may last for several days, go away, and then return several days later. Symptoms include sudden high fever, headache, rapid heart rate, muscle aches, abdominal pain, general feeling of illness, and a rash in up to 50 percent of cases. Prescription medicine is used to treat relapsing fever.

Babesiosis is a rare parasitic disease that can be passed to humans by deer ticks. It may not always cause symptoms. When present, symptoms usually start one to four weeks after the tick bite. Symptoms of babesiosis include a general feeling of illness, decreased appetite, tiredness, fever, chills, recurring sweats and muscle aches. Babesiosis is treated with antibiotic medicines.

When returning home after spending time in areas where ticks may live, always carefully check for ticks on the skin and scalp. A little time spent conducting a tick check may prevent days, weeks or months of illness.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR visit www.outdooralabama.com.

 

May Means Crankbaits On The Tennessee River Chain

Pickwick bass caught on a crank bait in May

Pickwick bass caught on a crank bait in May

May Means Crankbaits On The Tennessee River Chain

By Abe Smith

from The Fishing Wire

Basketball fans have their “March Madness,” but there’s madness in May, too, on the storied reservoirs of the Tennessee River. It’s time for Crankbait Madness.

“By mid-May, bass are done spawning and they come out from the shallows and gang up on offshore structure to recuperate,” notes Jimmy Mason, Bassmaster pro who also guides throughout the Tennessee River system. “And a crankbait is a dynamite tool to locate and catch them. Get a school fired up, and you can catch them cast after cast!”

Timmy Horton used the Tennessee River waters of Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson, Chickamauga and Pickwick as springboards to his Bassmaster Elite Series career.

“In May bass start schooling in the creeks,” echoes Horton. “I like to find them with a crankbait as they start coming out toward the main lake.”

Though largemouth bass predominate on the river system, the Tennessee River impoundments along the Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama borders also produce some of the largest smallmouth bass found anywhere. Pickwick is the most well known and Horton cut his teeth there. He said that at times both species can be caught from the same areas.

“They will be together at times, ” says Horton, “but in May the smallmouth will already be on main lake current breaks. They spawn on main river bars and are already set up on main lake current breaks while largemouth are still migrating out from their protected spawning bays. It’s late May or early June before they get back together on the Tennessee River.”

The key to May crankin’ is to track post-spawn bass on their reverse migration from spawning areas to the main river channel, the primary summer sanctuary on all the Tennessee River impoundments. Mason and Horton intercept retreating bass on cover and primary structural elements like points and humps along that migration route.

Mason draws a map line between spawning areas and the river channel and looks for holding structure along the way. Holding areas off the shallows are generally within eight to 12 foot depths, but he is also looking for structure in the 15- to 18-foot range.

The wild card in this Tennessee River chain poker game is the shad spawn.

“Post-spawn bass fishing is all about the shad,” says Horton.

He looks for areas with rough, rocky or shell bottoms. Shad eat algae off the rocks and shells, and spawn on shallow bars nearby. Most of the shad spawning activity occurs at night or during the wee hours of the morning.

“This is the time of year when you want to be out at daybreak,” Mason said. “When your baits are bringing clouds of shad in with them, you know you are going to get slammed!”

Horton comes to the shad feast with the Bomber Switchback Shad #6 or Fat Free Shad BD6 and moves to the bigger, deeper-running #7 Switchback or BD7F Fat Free Shad as the fish move deeper and more to the main lake. The Square Lip Fat Free Shads come into play if there’s wood cover involved. During the prime early morning hours when he’s covering a lot of water and catching active fish he throws a lipless crankbait.

“In May on Guntersville and Chickamauga the fish are moving throughout the day. You’ll find them shallow early, but once the sun comes up they’ll settle deeper. They’re just following the shad. I throw an Xr50 to locate the fish,” Horton said.

Squarebill crankbaits also factor into Mason’s arsenal.

“Immediately after the bass spawn, you have the shad spawn period, and bass gorge themselves on the spawning shad,” says Mason. “On Guntersville, they key on the grass edges. On Pickwick, they are on grass edges and gravel bars. During that period I throw a squarebill crankbait a lot. I use the XCalibur XCS 100 and XCS 200, and if they’re deeper I go to the square bill Fat Free Shads.”

His color selection is a shad palette of Foxy Shad, Foxy Lady, More Chartreuse, Blueback Chartreuse, Dance Citrus Shad and Dance Tennessee Shad.

“Those colors cover 95 percent of my cranking in May,” says Mason.

Walleyes In Shallow Water for Minnesota’s Opening Day

Walleye caught on Minnesota Opening Day

Walleye caught on Minnesota Opening Day

Walleye Opener – Minnesota ‘Eyes in Shallow Water

By Nathan Shore

from The Fishing Wire

When winter fails to take its exit cue, the underwater world slows down. Migrations are postponed and late winter patterns linger, creating spectacular opportunities for the walleye-season opener.

Jumbo walleyes like these can be caught in very shallow water in early spring.
Mike Christensen has been guiding walleye fishermen on opening day in Minnesota for 17 years, and says there should be some great shallow water walleye fishing on tap as soon as the season opens May 11.

“When cold weather lingers, walleyes stay shallow and we often target them at night,” Christensen says. “Actually, we fish at night when the season opens every year. For one thing, the season opens at midnight, so we fish in the dark because we can. But we spend more time fishing off docks and wading at night in a late spring because walleyes stay shallow as long as the water stays cool. When it starts to warm up, we stop catching them from docks at night and we have to probe deeper.”

This year, Christensen predicts walleyes will linger in the shallows well after the season opener.

“Walleyes are shallow early every year, and I target clear water,” he said. “Stained bodies of water are less productive at night. In cool-water periods-spring especially-walleyes are up in that shallow water because that’s where the baitfish stay until the water warms up. We had a late ice-out year, so walleyes will stay in the shallows for an extended period of time well after the opener this year.”

Christensen employs a simple system at night, using livebait under lighted slip floats. In colder water, bobber techniques provide walleyes with plenty of time to look things over. The movement of living bait becomes the final trigger. Christensen and his clients primarily use leeches in spring, but spottail shiners and crawlers also come into the equation.

Fishing after dark is a lot easier with a lighted bobber like this one.
“I always pinch the tail off a crawler to add more scent to the water. We hook them wacky style when the float is sitting in place for long periods, but we often hook crawlers through the nose on breezy nights when the float is drifting. We try to thread it on so it won’t spin.”

Christensen’s night rig starts with 6-pound mono or copolymer line. He first puts a Thill Premium Bobber Stop from 2 to 4 feet up the line, then slides on a bead, then the float. He uses a jig or hook and crimps on a #0 or #1 Soft Shot 18 inches above it.

“No swivel, no leader,” he said. “When the fish are up in 2 feet of water, it’s easier and quicker to adjust without swivels in the way or leaders to shorten.”

Christensen said he prefers the Lindy Brite floats because of the brass grommets at each end. The brass keeps the line from wearing a grove in the stem, which can affect the way it slides on the line.

“At night, that’s a big deal because you can’t see it happening. If that bait isn’t getting close to bottom in a cold spring, your chances of hooking up get pretty slim,” he said.

The terminal end of the rig is either a size #4 octopus hook or a 1/32-ounce jig. In calm nights he prefers a glow-red Lindy Frosty jig tipped with leeches, and in windy conditions he’s found that a 1/32-ounce Lindy Jig is more effective. He uses the bare hooks when walleyes are very picky.

A sensitive float puts the bait at just the right depth and tips off anglers at the slightest take.
Christensen uses 7 ½- to 8 ½-foot, medium-power spinning rods with extra fast tips. They provide more casting distance, hold lines higher out of the waves, and provide a better hookset.

“You’ve got to lift that float back up out of the water on the hook set,” Christensen said. “The added length also means extra play, making every walleye a little more fun to catch.”

A long rod also fits his active fish style. The extra length is more efficient at making the pops and twitches he continually employs to attract active walleyes.

Finding walleyes at night can be as easy as finding the warmest water-especially around the opener when weather patterns are colder than normal. He says that during a cold, late spring walleyes will be feeding so shallow he can hear them broaching the surface to feed. The warmest water will have the most baitfish, and big ‘eyes won’t be far away.

“This year I’m sure we’ll be targeting shallow reefs a lot at night, but anywhere you find sand-to-rock transitions, you’ll find walleyes on the opener,” he said.

Walleyes can be spooky at night, especially in shallow water, so Christensen glides in with the wind behind him, shuts off the engine, and coasts to his anchoring point. Spooking fish leads to a boring night. Tying too many knots with complicated rigs will dampen enthusiasm just as quick. Simple systems are far more enjoyable in the dark, when walleyes linger in shallow water for weeks.

Crappie Heaven – Secret Crappie Fishing Hole

Shooting jigs under docks for crappie

Shooting jigs under docks for crappie

Jim Pope tells us about a secret crappie fishing hole that sounds fantastic.

CRAPPIE HEAVEN
Jim Pope

Crappie fishing is something that this fisherman never spent much time doing. Sure there have been times when a school of slabs were accidentally located while fishing for smallmouth with grubs. When that happens, it is hard not to try to put a few of the tasty critters in the livewell. There are some, however, who dedicate themselves to catching crappie. A cousin of mine is such a fisherman.

My cousin lives about twenty miles west of Nashville, and he has a fish camp near Kentucky Lake in the New Johnsonville area. That is as close as I can take you to his place, because his fishing area is classified. He gave me a little hard capsule to keep on my person at all times and made me promise to bite into it if someone tried to torture me into telling them about this spot.

In late October of 1997, I was fortunate to be able to get in a fishing trip with my crappie fishing cousin and another cousin who had come down from Wisconsin (there is another story related to Wisconsin fishing. When we got to his camp, the first thing on our list was to make sure that the batteries were charged to capacity. When we opened the garage doors, I was surprised to see three boats housed there. There was a fairly new 17′ aluminum bass boat with a 60 hp motor, a 12′ john boat with a 9.9, and a 14′ john boat painted and rigged for duck hunting. After I spent several minutes complimenting the bass boat, my cousin informed me that he usually fished out of the 12′ rig. The bass rig was really nice, and I wondered why he would make such a choice. that would be revealed the next day.

The following morning, we casually drank coffee and had breakfast. There seemed to be no rush in getting to the water. A massive cold front had just passed through, the temperature was about 40 degrees, and a northeast wind was blowing at twenty or so. I was in no hurry, because the warmth of the trailer and the coffee felt good. In all honesty, I had many unspoken negative thoughts about the day.

We were at the water’s edge around 9:00 that morning. A gravel/dirt ramp was available to launch the boat, and my first thought was that it would take a four wheel drive vehicle to master that task after all of the rain which had fallen in the past two days. As it turned out, the ramp was very solid, and launching the boat was accomplished with ease.

Most of my fishing is done on large lakes and rivers. The body of water on which were about to embark was slightly different. It appeared to be more of a swamp than it did a lake. My cousin told me that the average depth was about three feet. Actually, is probably much less than that, because there are acres upon acres of water less than a foot deep.

This lake is near, but not connected to Kentucky Lake. The only time they join is when the spring rains raise the river level sufficient enough to overflow into this body of water. The lake consist of several thousand acres of shallow flats with twisting creek channels fingering their way throughout. It is absolute filled with big buck bushes, most of which are in less than a foot of water. That is where the 12′ john boat comes in handy. The bushes we would target on this day were the ones which were located on the edges of the creek channels. Understand that the water in the creek channels is, at most, only three feet deep. Next to these channels, the buck bushes were in 15 to 20 inches of water.

My cousin assured us that the crappie would be nosed up to or inside of the buck bushes on this cold windy day. He also said that we probably would not catch many fish, but the ones we would catch would be good ones. I wondered how he knew that, so I asked. His answer could have been related to largemouth bass instead of crappie. According to my cousin, the crappie dive into heavy cover on days like this day. The big ones move in, and the little ones have to leave. That is the law of the water. OK. He didn’t use any scientific reasons, but he spoke with confidence. Suddenly my negative thoughts began to change.

With two buckets of two and three inch long shiners in the boat, we set out. These minnows seemed rather large for crappie, but I held back that question. Our tools were simple. We each had a ten foot telescoping crappie pole with a little butt-reel spooled with 40 lb. test mono. On the terminal end was a slip float, a split shot, and a 3/0 wire hook. A piece of rubber band was tied about 12 or 15 inches above the hook to act as a stop for the slip float. Without asking, I wondered why he would want to use such a heavy line and large hook to fish for crappie. That was another question in my mind which was later answered by observation.

We fished three or four buck bushes before my cousin got our first crappie. I was amazed at how he could drop his float and minnow down through the center of the bushes. He had done that in this particular bush, and I heard him say, “There’s one!”. He raised his pole straight up. The long pole took on a parabolic shape, and the fish struggled to stay in the maze of roots and limbs. After a few short seconds of grunting and pole bending, my cousin horsed the big crappie straight up through the thick limbs of the bush and swung it into the boat. This fish would have weighed two pounds!

Naturally, my cousin from Wisconsin and I were both excited about the size of the fish. My cousin calmly informed us that this fish was not such a big fish. He probably can be considered somewhat of an authority, since he has more than one crappie on his wall in the three pound range. According to him, the spring fish are larger, and it is the spring fish he likes to catch. I can see why!

My cousin had three good crappie in the box before I had the first bite. That was enough for me to begin trying to drop my float fig down into the middle of those bushes. By 1:00, we had ten or twelve fish in the cooler, all of which were big fish (from my point of view). We threw back a dozen or more in the 10 to 12 inch range (for some reason, they now looked to be really small).

I had also managed to land four largemouth bass, the largest of which was about three pounds. A larger bass had straightened my wire hook. Strangely enough, a gar, which had to be 30″ long, took one of my minnows. For a few seconds, that was a “line singing” experience. It didn’t take me long to understand why the poles were rigged with 40 lb. test line. First, the strength is needed to force a fish up through an entanglement of roots and limbs. Second, it is strong enough to pull loose from a snag. The heavy line can be wrapped around the hand and the wire hook straightened. Now it all makes sense.

That day of crappie fishing was an eye opener for me. It was a very relaxing day, even if the temperature was below the comfort zone. To say the least, I was impressed with my cousin’s ability to put us on the huge crappie. As he had predicted, they were few, but they were good ones.

This fisherman is now at the age of diversity. For years, those casting from the back deck of my boat had no choice but to fish for bass. The only exception to that rule was when the stripe (white bass) were surfacing or when I took my Dad catfishing. Now that I have somewhat mellowed, I have found that there is often much pleasure associated with diversity. There will certainly be another trip to the secret crappie grounds, but please don’t ask me where it is. I have too many good years of fishing left.

Recreational Fishing Is Low Impact, High Economic Return

I caught this bass at Lake Seminole

I caught this bass at Lake Seminole

Recreational Fishing: Low Resource Impact, Major Economic Engine
from: The Fishing Wire
(Today’s feature comes to us from the American Sportfishing Association)

A report released today by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) makes a powerful case that from an economic perspective, recreational fishing is just as important as commercial fishing, despite a much lower overall impact on the resource. According to the report, anglers landed just two percent of the total saltwater landings compared to ninety-eight percent caught by the commercial fishing industry.

This first-of-its-kind analysis – Comparing NOAA’s Recreational and Commercial Fishing Economic Data, May 2013 – provides an apples-to-apples comparison of recreational and commercial marine fishing from an economic perspective using NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NOAA Fisheries) 2011 economic data. The report was produced for ASA by Southwick Associates. The full report and executive summary are available on ASA’s website.

“It’s something we’ve suspected for some time, but NOAA’s own data clearly shows that recreational saltwater fishing needs to be held in the same regard as commercial fishing,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “The current federal saltwater fisheries management system has historically focused the vast majority of its resources on the commercial sector, when recreational fishing is found to have just as significant an economic impact on jobs and the nation’s economy.”

Among the findings are:

  • Anglers landed just two percent of the total saltwater finfish landings compared to ninety-eight percent caught by the commercial fishing industry.
  • Saltwater landings by anglers contributed three times more to the national gross domestic product (GDP, or value-added) than commercial landings.
  • The recreational sector added $152.24 in value-added, or GDP, for one pound of fish landed, compared to the commercial sector’s $1.57 for a single pound of fish.
  • Within the jobs market, the recreational sector made up fifty-four percent of all jobs, both recreational and commercial. This amounts to 455,000 recreational jobs compared to 381,000 on the commercial side.
  • For every 100,000 pounds landed there were 210 recreational fishing jobs but only 4.5 jobs in the commercial fishing industry.

Nussman further noted, “We’re not releasing this report in an effort to demean commercial fishing. Commercial fishing is very important to our nation’s economy! Our goal is to highlight the importance of recreational fishing to the nation. As our coastal populations continue to grow, along with saltwater recreational fishing, significant improvements must be made to shape the nation’s federal fisheries system in a way that recognizes and responds to the needs of the recreational fishing community.”

The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the primary law governing marine fisheries management in the U.S., was originally passed in 1976 and has been reauthorized several times since. While the MSA has made significant strides to eliminate non-domestic fishing in U.S. waters and end overfishing, many in the recreational fishing community have argued that the law is written primarily to manage commercial fishing and does not adequately acknowledge or respond to the needs of recreational fishing.

“For decades federal management of recreational fishing has been like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” said Nussman. “Perhaps the MSA was written to focus on the commercial sector because that’s where 98 percent of the overall harvest is taken. But when you consider that the economic impacts of the two sectors are similar, it makes a strong case for revamping the MSA to better meet the needs of the recreational fishing community.”

The MSA expires at the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30, 2013), though many expect that a full reauthorization will take a year or longer to develop. On March 13, 2013, the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing focusing on the MSA reauthorization, and more hearings are expected this year and beyond.

Nussman concluded, “ASA and our partners in the recreational fishing community look forward to working with Congress to develop reasonable legislative solutions that will produce a federal fisheries management system that finally works for, not against, recreational fishing.”

Pflueger Purist Rod and Reel Fishing Product Review

I purchased a Pflueger Purist six foot, six inch Medium action rod (01112BJ)  teamed with a

Pflueger Purist Combo

Pflueger Purist Combo

Pflueger Purist 3LP 7.1 to 1 ratio reel at a Georgia Outdoor Writers Association auction at a greatly reduced price.  The outfit lists for about $100.  I spooled the reel with 12 pound test Trilene line and tied on a #8 Shadrap before a club tournament the next weekend.

I made many casts with this combo that day and it worked well. The rod is a little lighter action than I like, I prefer a little more backbone with a light tip for casting plugs, but this one preformed well. With a rod with this action you are much less likely to tear crankbait hooks from a fish’s mouth.

I did not adjust the antibacklash on the reel and it was a little hard to control the first few casts but it threw the Shadrap a long way. Later I checked and two of the six pins were out, so I popped out two more, a very easy process. The reel seems to cast a few feet less but backlashing is much less a problem. To adjust the magnetic antibacklash you push a button and pop out small spring loaded magnets, or push them in for less resistance.

The reel is smooth and the drag is easy to set and is very smooth.  The handles are comfortable and I llike the cork hand hold in front of the reel. I do not palm reels, I hold the rod in front of the reel and this rod and reel is comfortable to fish that way. But the reel is very low profile and would be easy to palm if that is the way you fish a baitcaster.

I like the outfit and will definitely use it for a variety of crankbait, It is an excellent outfit for the price.

For more info, visit the Pflueger web site.

How and Where To Catch Georgia Spotted Bass

I saw this bass holding under a dock and caught it on a Trick

I saw this bass holding under a dock and caught it on a Trick

Best Bets for Georgia Spotted Bass

Tell a bass fisherman spotted bass are not native to Georgia and he will look at you like you are crazy. After all, every big lake in the state has spots in them, and in many of our lakes they outnumber largemouth by a wide margin.

Add that spots are bad for the largemouth population in most lakes and you really will get that “You are crazy” look, and will get many arguments. Unfortunately, the arguments are “fisherman” knowledge and are not based on biology or science. The misunderstanding about how spots affect a lake is one reason they are so widespread.

Spotted bass are native to the Mississippi River drainage, including the Tennessee River that has some tributaries that barely touch Georgia, but Georgia waters are not in their native range. Spots were stocked into every lake in Georgia, mostly by fishermen that liked to catch them. They do have some good qualities but also change the dynamics of a lake and affect the largemouth population in negative ways.

WRD Senior Fisheries Biologist Anthony Rabern is responsible for northeast Georgia lakes has some interesting information about spotted bass. For one thing, spots don’t really move from one lake to the next one downstream naturally. It is possible for them to get through a dam and move downstream, but unlikely. So the spots downstream of Lanier in West Point, Bartletts Ferry and others probably did not get there through natural means.

Spots are more aggressive than largemouth, one of their endearing qualities to fishermen. But that also means they out compete largemouth for food, so a few spots can turn into the predominate species in a lake fairly quickly. Spots are fun to catch and pull hard, but they don’t grow as fast as largemouth and don’t reach the same sizes as largemouth.

Lakes can support a certain biomass per acre of bass. Since spots don’t grow as fast or as big as largemouth but are more aggressive, that lowers the average size of the bass in the biomass. Spots compete with largemouth for the available food, and usually out compete the largemouth.

For a theoretical example, if a lake can support 100 pounds of bass per acre, it does not matter if it is 100 pounds of spots or 100 pounds of largemouth, or a mixture of the two. So with largemouth, you would expect to find a variety of smaller fish in the one pound range, a good many in the two to three pound range, and some above five pounds. But with spots you would tend to have 100 one-pound fish.

Spots also act differently. They roam the lake more and chase baitfish. Rabern says when they tag a largemouth bass and release it at Point “A” in the lake it will usually stay near that point the rest of its life. But a spot may be tagged and released up a river and show up near the dam a few days later, even in big lakes.

This roaming and following baitfish is the reason blueback herring really help the spotted bass population in a lake. Bluebacks cause a lot of problems when established in a lake, but under the right conditions they become the favorite food of spots and make them grow bigger and fatter. Lake Lanier is a good example of that interaction, but it does not happen on all lakes.

Two north Georgia lakes offer opposite extremes. At Lake Chatuge there are large numbers of spots but most are 10 inches long or less. Those ten inchers still fill the biomass and reduce the number of largemouth in the lake. Lake Burton has a lot of big spots, and the state record 8 pound, 2 ounce spot came from it. Two similar lakes with very different results from the introduction of spots.

Many lakes in Georgia have gone from no spots to two-thirds spots and one third largemouth in just a few years. Where fishermen used to catch a variety of sizes of largemouth they now catch a bunch of small spots. It is fun to catch a lot of bass, but you give up catching quality fish in most cases when spots take over.

Each club in the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation sends Creel Census reports to Dr. Carl Quertermus at University of West Georgia each year, reporting on each club’s tournament catches. One of the questions is the percentage of bass that are largemouth, and that data shows the trend when spots get into a lake.

Lanier has long had a good spot population but in 1994 27.49 percent of club tournament catches were largemouth. By 2010 that was down to only 10 percent. Allatoona is also known for having spots for many years. In 1994 26.71 percent of bass were largemouth, by 2010 it was 9.8 percent. The largest average bass at Allatoona in 1994 was 3.27 pounds, by 2010 it was down to 2.81 pounds. At Lanier the average size of the largest bass actually went up from 3.49 pounds in 1994 to 3.75 pounds in 2010.

West Point did not have a large population of spots in its early years but they are much more common now. In 1994 90.17 percent of bass in club tournaments were largemouth, but the 16 inch size limit on largemouth may have impacted that number of spots weighed in. By 2010 only 34.3 percent of the catch was largemouth and the average largest bass went from 4.56 pounds to 4.27 pounds.

The following lakes give you a good chance to catch spots, some of decent size, this spring.

Lake Lanier

Spots have been in Lanier almost since it was dammed. Back in the 1970s you could catch them but most were small. After bluebacks were introduced to the lake the spots grew in weight and now you can catch big spots there. Unfortunately, not all lakes respond to this combination like Lanier.

Three pound spots are common on Lanier and five pounders are weighed in at most tournaments. Seven pounders are caught every year and some fishermen say they have had on eight pound plus spots. You have a change of breaking the state record for spots on Lanier in May.

Spots are aggressive when on the bed, and in late April and early May some are still bedding since spots tend to bed later than largemouth. If you find one on the bed you are likely going to be able to get it to hit on just a few casts. So looking for bedding bass is a good tactic. Drop a small jig and pig or Texas rigged worm in the bed and the spot will eat it.

Herring spawn in May on open water cover like shallow gravel bars, and the “blowthrough” fishing for spots on the herring spawn is fantastic. Go out to just about any island or long point on the lower lake below Browns Bridge and throw a big topwater bait like a Zara Spook or Sammy at first light and you will catch some big spots.

A spinnerbait, soft or hard jerk bait or swimbait also works well in the same places. You are looking for a gravel bottom in six feet of water or less and should work your bait from very shallow out to 15 feet deep. Spots will come up from cover to smash the bait even after the early morning feed when they are roaming the gravel looking for herring.

After the sun gets up the spots will hold on deeper cover like brush piles and standing timber but will still come up to hit baits fished over them, especially if wind puts some chop on the water. You can also fish the cover with a jig head worm, drop shot rig or small jig and pig to catch them where they are holding. Look for cover in 25 to 30 feet of water, especially toward the end of the month, and work your bait through it.

Lake Burton

Lake Burton is another success story where blueback herring and spots have produced a good fishery. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Davison says it is a quality spotted bass fishery. An adequate food supply, mainly blueback herring, coupled with a spot population that tends to have fish that live longer, make big spots common.

The state record spot came from Burton and the WRD says it has the potential to produce a new world record spot, weighing more then the current 10 pound, 4 ounce fish. There are above average numbers of spots over 12 inches long and above average trophy fish, so if you want a wall hanger spot Burton would be a good choice.

The same patterns for the blueback spawn that work at Lanier will work at Burton. Another pattern that works well on Burton is to fish a Super Fluke and Texas rigged worms around boat docks and blowdowns in deep water. The lower lake is the best area to catch big spots.

West Point Lake

The population of spots at West Point has exploded in the past 15 years and there are some big spots in the lake. Bluebacks have been showing up there, too, but the population is not dense enough yet to really offer a good spawn fishery. Spots tend to rely on shad on West Point and the shad spawn is pretty much over by May each year, but you can still catch some on the places the shad spawned.

Fish a gravel point below the Highway 109 Bridge before the sun comes up and you should have good action. A Spook or Sammy work well, but since the spots tent to be smaller also throw a smaller bait, like a Pop-R, on those points. They can get the smaller bait in their mouths easier and you will hook more of the fish that hit.

After the sun gets up throw a Finesse worm on a jig head on those same gravel points, fishing from right on the bank out to 15 feet deep. Drag it along and then hop it every foot or so to draw their attention. A little chartreuse on the tail of the worm really attracts spots, so dip your favorite color in JJs Magic.

Fish the same bait or a small jig and pig on rocky points on the lower lake for spots, too. If the water is clear, browns and green pumpkin work well, but if it is stained try black and blue. Keep in contact with the bottom but hop the jig and pig along, imitating a fleeing crayfish. Spots love crayfish.

The bridge riprap and pilings on the railroad causeway, Highway 109 and in Wehadkee Creek are also good. A light one-eight ounce jig with a small chunk works well on the riprap and the light weight will keep you from getting hung in the rocks too much. Try a small crankbait on the rocks and around the pilings, too. Shad or crawfish colors work well.

Jackson Lake

The transition to spotted bass on Jackson Lake is the one with which I am most familiar. The two bass clubs I am in each fish it three times a year, and I have been fishing it since 1974. My first two eight pound bass came from there in club tournaments in the 1970s, and my best ever, a nine pound, seven ounce fish came in a club tournament there in 1992.

We have had some memorable catches. The day I caught my second eight pounder there were two other eight pounders weighing a little more weighed in. I netted a nine pound, two ounce bass for my partner in one tournament where there was another nine pounder, an eight and a seven the same day. We seldom fished Jackson without a seven pound plus fish being weighed in, but there has been only one weighing over seven pounds in the past 10 years.

In 1992 at a weigh-in someone said “That looks like a spot,” and it was, the first we ever weighed in. Now at least three fourths of the bass we catch are spots and we have had many tournaments where not a single largemouth was brought to the scales. In the Creel Census Report, in 1994 99.52 percent of bass were largemouth. The percent largemouth was in the upper 30s to low 40s the first nine years this century, but for some reason in 2010 largemoouth were 52.1 percent.

There are some big spots in Jackson and we usually have some over three pounds, with an occasional four pounder. The best bet this time of year it so throw a topwater popper around rocky points on the main lake early in the morning. If you can find a May Fly hatch it really makes it better.

After the sun gets up back off and throw a jig head worm on the rocky points. Use a five inch worm in green pumpkin and dip the tail in dye to make it more attractive to spots. Work it from right on the bank to 15 feet deep. Rocks are the key to catching spots on Jackson.

Lake Russell

Lake Russell is full of spots and some of them are big. Club fishermen transported spots from Lanier to Russell as soon as it was built and they have taken over. In 1994 99.83 percent of bass in club tournaments were largemouth. By 2010 that was down to just 42.3 percent largemouth.

The simplest pattern for finding spots on Russell is to run the poles marking the channels and fish around each one. The poles mark the ends of points in most cases and many have rocks around them. Fishermen have put out brush around most of them, too.

Fish a Spook over the points around the poles in the morning then fish them with a small jig and pig or jig head worm. Probe for the rocks and brush and jiggle your bait when you hit cover. Make it quiver in one place as long as you can. Doodling was invented for spots and it works wherever they live.

Also try the riprap. Shad spawn on it so a spinnerbait or topwater works well around the rocks on the many bridges in Russell. Soft jerkbaits like Flukes are good, too. Fish them as an angle to the rocks, keeping your boat in fairly close. Cast right on the bank and work the Fuke back to the boat parallel to the rocks.

These patterns and techniques will work on most any lake with spots, and that means most of our lakes. Give them a try. Rocks are always the key, and clear water is usually best for spotted bass, so stick with clear water lakes.

Spots are here to stay, no matter if they are good or bad for a lake. There is no size limit on spots on any lake except Lanier, so if you want some fish to eat take home a limit of small spots. They taste good and removing them won’t hurt the lake. In fact, it may help.

How To Catch Lake Murray’s Pre-Spawn Bass

ronwpshallowlmMurray’s Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing

This big lake on the Saluda River offers a lot of water to cover to find bass. Here are some tips that will help you find the bass this month.

March is a great month to be a bass fisherman. Warming waters and longer days kick in the spawning urge and bass move shallow and feed, getting ready to bed. Some early spawners even start bedding. That means bass are hungry and easy to catch. Lake Murray is one of the best bets in the state to find those hungry bass.

Murray is a 50,000 acre South Carolina Electric and Gas Company lake on the Saluda River. It has about 500 miles of shoreline and runs 41 miles east to west from the dam up the river. When the dam was completed in 1930 is was the biggest earth and rock dam in the world and it backed up the largest reservoir in the world at that time.

Until a few years ago Murray was full of grass like elodea and hydrilla. That submerged grass made the bass populations expand and the fish grow bigger. Big tournaments were attracted to Murray and fishermen brought in huge stringers of bass. It was called a world class fishery by visiting professional fishermen.

Since the grass interfered with pleasure boating huge numbers of grass carp were released in the lake, and they did their job only too well, cleaning out almost all underwater vegetation. Due to the loss of the grass the bass populations have started to suffer. They got a little help when the lake levels went up and down a good bit starting three years ago. That allowed some grass to grow on exposed ground and it was flooded when the lake came back up.

The good news is there are plenty of quality fish in Murray and March is a great month to catch them. But you will have better luck if you concentrate on certain areas of the lake and use some proven techniques. To help you get started three fishermen that know Murray well and fish it often agreed to share their March tactics.

Captain Rob Thames got started bass fishing as a child and got into tournament fishing in 1974 when he and his father joined the Lake Murray Bassmasters club. He and his father also helped found the Mid-Carolina Bassmasters. He is now a full time Coast Guard licensed bass guide and is on the water most days, studying the habits and movements of Lake Murray bass.

“Bass are staging for the spawn in March, moving up into the bedding areas,” Thames said. He added that some will be spawning by late March in years when the weather is warm. These shallow fish can be caught in a variety of ways.

The northern creeks on Murray always warm up first and are the best bet for shallow bass in March. Since the lake runs east and west, wind is often a problem. But if you put in at the dam at the power company public ramp on the north side of the dam or at Dreher Island State Park you can stay on the north side of the lake and be protected by the long points. Thames says the best fishing is from the dam to the state park in March. The bass move up earlier on the north side since the sun warms it more so that is the area you want to fish.

Cover is crucial in March and there is little left since the grass is gone. You should look for boat docks, boat ramps, brush piles and rocks this time of year. The bass will hold on any cover and feed until the water temperature gets right for them to bed. They will be feeding on shad, bream and crayfish in the shallow water.

Have a crankbait in a shad pattern rigged. Thames likes Bandit, Lucky Craft and Strike King baits and they all work well. He will fish them around dock posts, ramps and even brush piles. He says don’t be afraid to put your crankbait right in the middle of a brush pile to get a bite. You may get hung up but you may hang a bass, too.

Dock posts are excellent cover this time of year and Thames will make his casts so his crankbait deflects off them on the retrieve. He follows up the crankbait with a jig and pig, pitching it around the dock posts, too. Let it fall and hit bottom then shake it and hop it a couple of times before reeling in for another cast.

An Omega Jig in browns and greens, with a Zoom Super Chunk in brown or green pumpkin is his choice for this kind of fishing. It also works well when hopped down a ramp or worked through a brush pile. Fish it slowly in brush, jiggling it as it comes up a limb and falls off. Give the bass plenty of time to hit it.

Both those baits also work on rocks. Look for rocks on points and off the bank in three to five feet of water, and around boat ramps. Rocks and boat ramps are especially good when the sun is warming them in March. Work the rocks and boat ramps from different angles with both baits.

For a backup plan, especially if a cold front comes through or if the weather stays cooler than normal, look for deeper brush piles. You can often find them out from docks or along the channels going into coves. Also check out on points at the mouths of spawning areas. Look for brush in five to 12 feet of water for bass holding and waiting on better conditions.

Fish the brush piles with either your jig and pig or soak a Senko in them. Sometimes a Senko type stick bait is best since it falls slower and gives the bass more time to decide to eat it. Fish both baits very slowly and work the brush you find carefully.

Norm Attaway has been a professional bass fisherman for over ten years and was the BFL Angler of the Year in the Carolina Division in 2001. Last year he fished the BASS Tundra Series and finished in the top ten in all but the last two tournaments. He guides on Murray when he is not fishing tournaments and did an Orlando Wilson TV Fishing Show at Murray. He knows the lake well and has watched the changes it has gone through the past few years.

“Late February though March is my favorite time on Murray,” Attaway said. The bass are moving onto the flats getting ready to spawn and some big females are bedding in March if the water is warm. They will be holding on cover and feeding this time of year.

Attaway likes boat dock posts and broom straw out on the flats for fishing in March. The broom straw grass grew up when the lake was low then got flooded when the water came up. It holds bass this time of year, especially out in the middle of flats in five or six feet of water. He also looks for docks near the flats in the same depths.

The best areas of the lake in March are on the north side since they are protected from strong winds and the sun warms them faster than on the south side. Although a cold front will push them out of the shallows they won’t go far and you can find them and follow them back in as the water starts to warm again.

You can often see fish in the shallows, according to Attaway, and that tells you where to fish. The clear water allows you to spot bass up shallow either looking for a bedding spot or already on the bed.

Attaway will fish for them with a brown hand-tied Ernest Langley jig with a green pumpkin chunk trailer. Fish the jig around the dead grass and let the fish tell you how they want it fished. Try swimming it through the grass and also letting it hit bottom and make short hops with it. Sometimes bass favor a moving bait and other times they want it on the bottom, so try both. When you catch a bass, keep doing what you were doing when it hit.

Also pitch your jig to boat dock post and work it around them. Try both retrieves there, too. And if they want even a slower moving bait, try a stick bait like a Senko. It falls slower and you can fish it even slower then a jig and pig.

If a cold front comes through back out to a little deeper water and look for rocks at the mouths of the spawning flats. Fish your jig around the rocks to get strikes from bass that have moved out to wait on warmer water. You can also catch bass on rocks like this if March is unusually cold and they are slower moving in. They will be holding on rocks until the water warms.

Boat ramps offer a good spot for bass to hold and the sun warms them, making them even better. Attaway says you can get on a good pattern some days just fishing boat ramps. Work the jig along both sides, down the middle and make several casts so you cover the end of the ramp where it drops off.

As a back-up Attaway will always throw a Basstrix four or six-inch swim bait over the grass. He says sometimes the catch can be incredible for quality bass on a swimbait but this bite is inconsistent. You may load the boat one day and not get a bite the next day. But try it, and if you catch a bass keep throwing it. It can pay off big.

Fluorocarbon line in 20 pound test is Attaway’s choice for his jig and swimbait. He drops back to 12 pound line for stick bait fishing since it is a more subtle presentation. He wants the heavy line on jigs and swimbaits to make sure he lands anything that hits and the fish don’t mind the heavier line. On stick baits the lighter line gets more bites.

Attaway usually puts in at the Larry Koon Boat Landing, also called Shull Island ramp. It is convenient for him from his house and gives him a central location on the lake. If you use it you will have to run across to the north side of the lake to fish, but if you are coming in from the south that may be much shorter then driving around the lake.

Paul Ham lives in West Columbus and fishes Murray every chance he gets. As a member of the Sandhill Bass Club he fishes club tournaments on the lake. He also fishes the Low Country Fishers of Men Trail and the Carolina Angler Team Trail on Murray. He has done well in tournaments there and says March is a good month on the lake.

Ham agrees March is a good time to find fish shallow near the bank getting ready to spawn. He will often spend time before a tournament searching for visible bass to know where to fish. One good way to spot bass in the clear water is to get your boat in about 20 yards off the bank and ride with your trolling motor, looking for cruising bass up in five feet of water or less. If you see the bass cruising you know they are there.

The north creeks on Murray are where Ham will be fishing now. He says Camp, Bear, Johns and Beards Creeks are his favorites. Those are the creeks on the north side between the dam and Dreher Island State Park so he suggests putting in at the state park, Hilton Recreation Area or at Lake Murray Marina or Lighthouse Marina. All will give you good access to the north side creeks.

Warm weather and calm winds bring the bass in, often as early as late February. Wind, cold nights and rain may delay them coming in or push them back out. But under normal conditions you can fish the banks back in spawning coves and catch bass during March.

First thing in the morning Ham will start with a stick bait like a Senko or weightless worm and fish them slowly, letting them wiggle their way down near brush, dock posts or any other cover he finds in the shallows. Fish the baits slowly. He says many fishermen work stick baits and floating worms way too fast. You need to let them sink and pull them back up to sink again, not work them with a constant jerking motion.

Ham will then switch to a buzzbait or buzz frog like the Zoom Horny Toad early in March, looking for active bass, especially as the water gets warmer. Run both baits over and around any cover in three to five feet of water. These are good baits to use to locate active bass.

With all your baits stay way back and make long casts. Ham says fishing pressure has made bass on Murray spooky so you need to stay far enough away from them so you don’t scare them.

Another good bait is a jig head worm. Ham likes the Buckeye Pro Model with the spring screw in eye. That arrangement holds the worm on better for the long casts he wants to make with it. He fishes it on the bottom on ten pound test fluorocarbon line. A green pumpkin worm is the best bet on the jig. A jig and pig in greens and browns, to match the crayfish the bass are feeding on, is also good. Work both baits with short hops and let the jig head stand the worm up.

Don’t pass up looking for and fishing for bedding bass, especially in late March. Ham says many fishermen are catching bass on the bed even if they are not sight fishing. Drag a green pumpkin six inch lizard on a light Texas rigged weight or a Carolina rig across bedding flats. If you feel a thump but don’t hook up, throw right back. There is a good chance a bass “blew” the bait out of the bed and might eat it on the next cast.

The Camp Creek area called Crystal Lake is especially good for bedding fish, according to Ham. The water is usually very clear and warms early, and you can sight fish or blind cast in deeper water on gravel and sand bottoms to find bedding bass.

These three local fishermen offer you a variety of baits and methods to fish. They all agree you should stay on the north side of the lake and fish shallow water for prespawn fish. If a cold front comes through back off and fish a little deeper cover.

The lack of grass is hurting Murray but it also means the bass are more concentrated on the cover that is available. Get on the lake this month, try these tactics, and you will have a great trip.

Big Georgia Bass and Fishing Clarks Hill

I was happy with this keeper bass

I was happy with this keeper bass

Week before last was a good week in this area of Georgia for big bass. A young man from Griffin caught a 7.53 pound bass at High Falls Thursday afternoon that week and a fisherman from the Oconee Lake area got a bass weighing just under 12 pounds there the same day.

Peyton James was fishing at High Falls Thursday afternoon when the 24 5/8ths inch bass hit a Pop R. Any fish caught on topwater is exciting but one this size will make your heart stop. He also got a 2.5 and a three pounder soon after the big one hit.

At 15 years old Peyton is just getting started bass fishing and he was mentioned here when he did well in his youth bass club tournament at Lake Sinclair a few weeks ago. Peyton is a member of the Jr. Bass Procasters Club in Macon and he made that club’s state team this year.

That team won the state tournament in March at Lake Sinclair with 40 pounds of bass. The youth teams send their top six to a state tournament, just like the adult clubs. Peyton’s club has won the tournament the last two years and many on that team were on the Flint/Spalding Youth Club team that won the state championship the two years before that.

Congratulations to Peyton – many of us adults fish for years without catching a bass that big.

I was on the way to Clark’s Hill last Thursday when Peyton’s father called me about the big bass. Soon after that I got a call from Jeremy York, owner of Anglers Warehouse in Athens. A friend of his had caught a huge bass that afternoon at Lake Oconee that they thought would weigh 14 pounds, a new lake record.

I told them they needed to get it weighed on certified scales with at least two witnesses just in case it was a lake record. Turns out the bass weighed just under 12 pounds – you know how we fishermen exaggerate! – just under the state record. It is still a great catch. I didn’t get any info on how it was caught.

This is a great time of year to catch a big fish since the females are shallow looking for beds. There are many ways to catch them.

Last Saturday and Sunday 13 members and guests of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our April tournament at Clark’s Hill. We caught a lot of bass even under the cold, windy conditions that surprised us.

There were 103 bass weighing about 174 pounds brought to the scales. We had 15 limits weighed in during the two days and everybody caught some fish. Bass were caught on a wide variety of baits, from topwater to jig head worms.

Kwong Yu won with ten weighing 22.30 pounds, Raymond English was second with ten at 18.84 and I was third with ten weighing 17.06. Al Rosser was forth with six weighing 15.05 and his 3.77 pound bass tied one the same weight caught by Billy Roberts for big fish. Niles Murray came in fifth with nine bass weighing 14.64 pounds.

After a disastrous practice day Friday when I never got my boat in the water, Al and I both had limits before 10:00 AM Saturday. We found fish feeding on some rocky points and caught most of them on Shadraps but also got fish on a jig and pig, Carolina Rig and jig head worm.

Al had two big ones, almost the same size. One hit a Carolina rigged lizard on a wind blown point and the other smashed a Fluke back in a pocket. He had seven keepers that day and I had 11, but his two big ones put him in first for the day and I was in third.

Sunday we ran to those points and caught three on Shadraps but that was it. I managed to scratch out three more keepers over the next six hours, all on jig head worms, for a limit but Al was not able to catch another keeper.

The wind was awful. One point I like to fish we had to crank the gas motor and move upwind of it, make a few casts as we blew backwards by it with the trolling motor on high, then crank up again. I could not keep the trolling motor in the water the waves were so bad. That kind of fishing is miserable!

How To Catch Arkansas Walleye

Tony Roach caught this big walleye

Tony Roach caught this big walleye

Arkansas Walleye
By Tom Neustrom

You could say we northerners sometimes migrate with the geese, or more like snowbirds, to places far from the frosted lands. No doubt, the warm sun on one’s back is reward enough, but for many anglers, it’s the pursuit of openwater alternatives that lure us southward. For me, even a week or two below the Ice Belt recharges my fishing soul and preps me for the final few weeks of ice fishing.

This past November, veteran walleye chasers Mark Brumbaugh, Tony Roach and I had the opportunity to track walleyes in Arkansas. We were like three giddy kids, knowing the potential and possibilities that lurked in Lake Ouachita. Trailering down, our big Lund Pro-V’s became our navigational chariots. But before embarking, we did what all intuitive anglers should – we got a pep talk and mini seminar from a deeply entrenched local.


In this case, it was the guiding icon, Jerry Bean. He’s an approachable southern gentleman and mountain of a man. Shaking his hand is like being on the wrong end of a vice grip. Jerry is a guide’s-guide that knows every inch of Lake Ouachita, every nook and cranny that walleye hide throughout the year. Mark and I had the distinct pleasure of sharing an afternoon on the reservoir with Jerry. We became his students, realizing that we were far from home and needed to listen intensely to the Lake Ouachita professor. Both Mark and I are walleye veterans with deep knowledge of the sacred species, but we were there to listen, learn, and absorb.


Jerry opened by expressing how essential it is to locate pods of baitfish – shad – that can range as deep as 50-feet. Besides the points and inside turns that Mark and I were familiar with from fishing northern natural lakes, we came to learn that flooded stands of trees and brushpiles, even random groupings, were magnets for baitfish and walleyes in the vastness of Lake Ouachita. There are also monster striped bass that patrol the same food-forests, adding potential shock and awe with light tackle.

Fishing wood can be tricky and Jerry has found that heavy jigging spoons (1/2-ounce plus) effectively imitate native baitfish with their flash and wobble. That, and staying vertical is critical in the presence of so much lumber. With a watchful eye on his electronics, Jerry puts that spoon right in the grill of these often suspended fish with the accuracy of William Tell on the apple. My personal pick for spooning in such situations is a Luhr-Jensen Crippled Herring.

When vertically fishing spoons at a multitude of depths, it’s essential to get better feel and control by using a high-sensitivity braid. Suffix 832 is the choice of many, including Jerry, as it lays comfortably on the spool and transmits feel better than anything else in the bait shop. We all agreed that attaching a section of fluorocarbon leader – 18 to 24 inches – with an InvisaSwivels softens the hookset while eliminating line twist, too.

Mark and I barraged Jerry with questions about what other techniques could turn these southern walleyes. Being a lifelong student himself, Jerry said he experiments with presentations learned from walleye articles and tricks picked up from customers from the north.

Two of his mainstay presentations, when not jigging vertically, are running bottom-bouncers with spinners and fresh kept crawlers from a Frabill Crawler Crib; and jig fishing with minnow-imitating plastics, like Trigger X Action baits. Jerry states that all three have their place in his arsenal depending on time of year and fish preferences, which we all know can change by the day.


With so much timber and brush on the bottom of Lake Ouachita, and other neighboring reservoirs, the bottom-bouncer and crawler combo makes for a nasty, snag-stopping trolling pattern that Mark and I are intimately familiar with. We shared some insider information with Jerry on color selection and blade sizes, as well as trolling speeds.

Mark expanded the conversation, talking about the trolling-board techniques that he is so well known for. We talked about jig presentations and Jerry let us know he preferred jig fishing early in the season for walleyes over and around points, creek arms, and sunken islands near shoreline breaks. And there’s the nearly certain probability of catching bonus largemouth and spotted bass, with the occasional bruising striper.

During the afternoon we talked about hard-bodied stickbaits and when to fish them. Jerry said with a smile, “You guys don’t miss much!” We all discussed our favorite styles and brands and concurred that Rapala Husky Jerks and X Raps bang the most fish because of their neutral buoyancy, realistic looks, and enticing wobbles. Fished over the tree tops or on gravel points early in the season, stickbaits are as deadly as any of the arrows in Jerry’s quiver.

Slip-bobber fishing was a relatively new approach for Jerry, and teacher turned student when the discussion came up. We fish small jigs opposed to plain hooks; incorporate attracting beads and even a touch of hair or feather on a jig. Livebait was strongly endorsed by both Mark and I, tipping with a half of crawler, whole shiner minnow, or plump leech – leeches being Greek down this way. (We promised Jerry to find him a source for big black Minnesota leeches.)

Sharing information with one of the best walleye guides in the South was incredibly rewarding. We all learned from each other on his ‘Arkansas Campus of Fishology.’ But most of all, Mark and I came away with an experience we will not forget and made friends with southern guide who is equally as passionate about walleyes.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Mountain Harbor Resort on Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita for providing top-flight lodging along with some serious home cooking. Visit www.mountainharborresort.com. Call 501-282-6104 to book a boat with the amazing Jerry Bean.