I caught this bass in a club tournament in January at Jackson Lake a few years ago

How and Where To Catch Big Bass In Georgia

Catching your limit when bass fishing is always fun.  But there is something very special about catching a big bass.  Landing a five pound plus largemouth or spotted bass will bring a smile to any fisherman’s face. Putting a true trophy in the boat, a spot over six pounds or a largemouth over eight pounds, is something to brag about for years.

Where you fish can make or break you when trying to land a bragging size bass. Some waters produce trophies on a regular basis, others not so much.  We are lucky here in Georgia to have choices where big bass are not rare. After all, our waters produced the world record bass!

When trying to decide where to go hunt your trophy there are several things to consider. An important one is access. It does not matter how big bass get in private ponds if you can’t fish them.  And some public waters have so many restrictions on boats and times you can fish that they are not good choices.

Our big lakes offer a wide variety of choices for a big bass.  But how to determine which ones are best? The Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creel Census Report compiles data from about 100 bass clubs each year.  The clubs submit information from each tournament and most have 12 per year, so there is a lot of water covered. And one of the data points recorded is bass over five pounds caught.

By keeping up with the number of five pound plus bass landed and the hours fished in the tournament by the number of fishermen, a category “hours to catch a five pound bass” is produced for each lake.  That can be a good guide to show you where your have your best chances of landing a big bass.

The following lakes will all give you a good shot at a bass over five pounds.  Right now is a fun time to be after them with good weather and stable conditions. Make your choice, head to the lake and hook a wall hanger.

Seminole

Lake Seminole is hands down the best big lake in Georgia to land a five pounder.  In club tournaments it took only 85 man hours to weigh in a five pound plus fish.  That may seem like a lot, but in an average club tournament lasting eight hours with at least 11 fishermen there was probably a five pounder brought to the scales.

Seminole is about as far south as you can fish in Georgia.  Located right in the corner of Georgia, Florida and Alabama where the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers join to form the Apalachicola River, its waters are filled with a wide variety of kinds of water plants.  Bass love things like water hyacinths, hydrilla and lily pads and they are everywhere.

All the plant life is the bottom of the food chain that produces all kinds of goodies bass love to eat and grow fat.  From eels to shad, just about any kind of baitfish and other food for bass is plentiful for them.  And they have lots of shallow cover so you don’t have to go dredge the depths for them.

The big water in the lower rivers and near the dam is full of shallow flats, ridges, humps and channels and they are covered with stumps, standing timber and a variety of grass.  By now most bass are done spawning and have moved toward the old river channels so that is the area you want to fish.

Find a ditch or channel coming out of a shallow spawning area and follow it to the main channel. Look for flats covered with grass on both sides of it.  Bass will hold and feed on the edge of the grass, right on a drop.  They use grass edges for cover to ambush passing food.

Work a big bait for a big bass. On cloudy or windy days a big spinnerbait slow rolled right along the edge of the grass will produce strikes.  A big vibrating bait like a one-ounce Rat-L-Trap can also be run along these edges. When it hangs on grass rip it free. That sudden surge will often draw a reaction strike.

A huge plastic worm will eliminate some smaller bass but will attract the hawgs you want.  The Zoom Old Monster 10.5 inch worm and the Big Bite 10 inch Kriet Tail worm are good choices and a big worm will get big bites.  Rig it on a big 5/0 hook with a light sinker to work along and through the grass line and fish it slowly.  A big bass usually does not like to go far or fast for its meal.

Lake Walter F. George

Just up the Chattahoochee River Walter F. George, called Eufaula by most, also produces good catches of big largemouth.  It took 156 man hours to land a five pound plus fish in club tournaments, a lot higher than Seminole but still second best in the state.

Eufaula is on the Georgia Alabama line just south of Columbus and is known for its river and creek ledge fishing.  Its shallows are full of grass and stumps where largemouth grow fat in the spring and the water is fertile enough to produce lots of schools of big shad.

Big largemouth stack up on deep drops out in open water by this time of year and you can sometimes find a school and land several big bass from one spot.  Cowikee Creek and the lake downstream of it contain lots of good channel ledges.  It may seem strange to be sitting so far from the bank you could not hit it with a                  30-06, but the bass are there.

You want to look for a sharp bend in the creek or river channel and a ditch or cut in the ledge formed by it helps.  Cover like stumps, brush or rocks also are important to holding bass on the ledges, and you need some kind of hard bottom.

Current is critical on these ledges. Fish during the week when power is being generated at the dam, pulling water and bait across the drops.  It is an amazing difference in the bite when the water is moving.

A big crankbait like a Mann’s 20 plus, Fat Free Shad or Norman’s DD22N are good baits to fish on the ledges. Right now look for ledges that top out 12 to 16 feet down.  Position your boat downstream and down current of the ledge and make long cast upstream across them.  You want your bait to bump the bottom along the ledge to draw a strike.

If you don’t want to throw a big crankbait all day, or can’t hold up to throw one that long, try a Carolina or Texas rigged worm dragged across the same ledges. Go with big worms like the Old Monster and use sinkers heavy enough to keep it on the bottom in the current. Drag the Carolina rig across the ledge and stop it when you hit cover. Hop the Texas rig and let it rise and fall, but stop it too when you hit cover.

Jackson Lake

Back in the 1970s and 80s Jackson Lake produced more big bass than just about any other lake in the state.  I landed my first two eight pound plus largemouth at Jackson in club tournaments in the 70s and my best ever, a nine pound, seven ounce fish, hit in a club tournament in 1991.  Although smaller spots have hurt the lake the past 20 years, you can still land a big largemouth there. Two years ago I landed an eight pound, thirteen ounce largemouth there in a club tournament.

Jackson was a very fertile lake years ago with sewage from Atlanta fertilizing its waters.  The water is much cleaner now but that means it is less fertile and bass grow slower.  You might have to work harder for a five pounder now, but you will catch some.

Jackson is almost in the middle of the state about 15 miles east of I-75 and south of I-20.  It is formed by a dam just downstream of where the Ocmulgee River starts. The waters of that river produced the world record bass so you know it has potential.

Bass have been feeding on the shad spawn for several weeks in April and are fat and happy now.  They are still holding near the main lake seawalls and riprap where the shad spawn and will look for late spawning shad still. But they will quickly back off as the sun comes up and you will need to fish a little deeper during the day.

Start early in the morning with a big topwater bait like a Zara Spook and work it along the  main lake points with seawalls and riprap.  Cast right on the bank and work it all the way back to the boat with as steady, slow walk the dog action.  Be ready for a hit any time.

As the sun gets higher, try a Zoom Trick worm or Fluke fished weightless in these same areas. Start with the bait just under the surface but let it go deeper and deeper as the sky gets brighter.  Work both baits slowly, offering an easy meal to a fat hawg.

Bumping the bottom with a jig and pig will work well on these points, too.  Use a black and blue jig and pig in stained water or a brown one in clear water and slowly hop it down the sloping bottom, working from a couple of feet deep down to 15 feet. Slow down and fish it carefully if you hit wood or rock cover.

Lake Burton

For a big spotted bass, go where the state record eight pound two ounce bass was landed.  Lake Burton has been producing big spots since blueback herring were introduced into the lake and five pounders are fairly common.  The eight pounder shows what is possible.

Lake Burton is a Georgia Power lake on the Tallulah River west of Clayton. It is an old lake and has steep rocky shorelines with lots of wood cover like dock posts and blowdown trees. Seawalls and riprap line the banks with the rocks, too, and the water is very clear

The blueback herring spawn in early May in Burton and that is a key to catching a monster spotted bass.  The big spots will be holding right on seawalls on the main lake, watching for the herring first thing in the mornings.  Cast a white spinnerbait against the rocks and seawalls and slow roll it back out. It usually won’t go far!

As the sun get higher the bass will back off but will still hit the spinnerbait. Also try a topwater plug like a Spook worked from the bank out over deeper water.  Follow up with a Fluke.  Get your boat in fairly close and make angled casts since the bottom drops fast.  Work the Spook and Fluke fast, drawing the bass up to hit them.

Also try swimming a Buckhead Pulse Jig with a Zoom Fluke on it just off the bottom. If the big spots won’t come up they will often eat a more subtle bait like the Pulse Jig.  Use a natural colored Fluke behind the head.

Blowdowns hold big largemouth and spots on Burton, so after the sun gets high work trees in the water with a jig and pig.  Find the nearest blowdown to the areas where the herring spawn and work a brown and green jig and pig through them, bouncing from limb to limb, from the bank all the way out to the tip of the tree.

In the clear water, use fluorocarbon line and make long casts. Also, be aware of the sun position and make your casts to cover the shady side of the tree trunk and limbs in the water. Use as light a jig and pig as you can work depending on wind and depth water.

Lake Lanier

Lake Lanier may produce more quality spotted bass than any other lake anywhere.  With the introduction of blueback herring and the 14 inch size limit on all bass, Lanier has become a well known trophy spot lake.  Five fish limits of spots weighing over 20 pounds are common in tournaments and seven pound spots are weighed in each year. Several people say they have hooked a new world record spot but only time, and landing the fish, will prove if a record spot is on Lanier.

Located just northeast of Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River, Lanier is a big Corps of Engineers lake with good access but heavy usage. It is difficult to impossible to fish the lake on warm weekend days but week days are often uncrowded this time of year.  If you fish the weekend, try to be on the water at first light and fish as long as the waves will allow.

Laura Gober lives near Lanier and fishes it often with husband Trent. They fish a good many tournaments there and do well.  Laura fished the Woman’s Bass Tour and did well in it during its run, too.  She won one tournament and had 11 top 20 finishes on that trail.  Lanier is her home lake and she loves to catch big spots there.

By late spring the bass are mostly done spawning and are moving deep on main lake humps and points. Big spots will come up to hit topwater baits like the Chug Bug, Laura’s favorite, and jerkbaits like the Staysee 90, especially early in the morning. Laura will fish both these baits over humps and points.

If your boat is in 35 feet of water and you are casting over 15 feet you are about right this time of year, according to Laura.  She will work the faster moving baits as long as the bass will hit, but she then slows down and fishes a Texas rigged Senko through cover on the bottom in the same places.

Rig a green pumpkin Senko behind a one-quarter to three-eights ounce sinker and dip the tail in chartreuse JJ’s Magic to give it scent and flash.  Work it slowly through rocks and stumps in 17 to 30 feet of water.  Laura says she catches bigger spots by fishing deeper than most anglers do on Lanier, so back off some and fish deep for a wallhanger.

No mater which lake you choose, use quality line and equipment when fishing for big bass.  On big public lakes the fish are getting more and more wary so fluorocarbon line is a good choice.  Use as light line as you can depending on water clarity. Pick a reel that has smooth drag and set it so your trophy pulls drag and does not pop your line.

All of the above lakes will give you a shot at a bragging size bass this month. Decide if you want a largemouth or spot and fish the lake that offers the best of that species.  Fish long and hard to increase your odds and you will get that big one.

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.

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

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.

Murray’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.

Sight Fishing
by: Scott Suggs

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

By Scott Suggs

Maybe it’s cold outside where you are right now, maybe the lakes are all iced over. Or perhaps the sun is shining and the temperature hasn’t dipped below 70 degrees in a while. Either way, if you consider yourself an angler, it’s time to start thinking about sight fishing.

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where the weather is warm and sunny right now, then it’s time to start employing sight fishing in order to catch bass. If it’s cold where you are, then that gives you plenty of time to start practicing your skills before the fish head to bedding areas. Some of the year’s biggest fish are caught by sight fishing and it’s easiest to do in clear, shallow water. It can be hard to master but can be very productive for bass and other species once the basics are understood.

Sight fishing involves spotting fish in the water – far easier said than done. In my experiences, I simply look for a shiny or bright spot with a shadow over it. The shiny spot is the bedding area. Big bass will find a place to hang out and then proceed to fan the area clear of algae and debris. This produces the shiny spot; the fish produces the shadow lingering over the bed. Spotting the fish any other way is very difficult because bass have evolved in such a way that the tops of their bodies take on the color of their environment enabling them to stalk their prey more effectively.

To see any of the features and fish beneath the surface, a must-have for anglers is a pair of quality, polarized sunglasses. Different people prefer different colored lenses for sight fishing with each offering advantages and disadvantages. Green lenses are more comfortable but are average in terms of contrast. Gray lenses offer more true color distinction but are lacking in terms of contrast. Amber lenses (preferred by most saltwater anglers) can be uncomfortable in the bright sun but offer the most contrast. There is no right or wrong lens color for sight fishing, only personal preference.

Once a fish is sighted, it is important to understand whether or not the fish is still spawning, protecting fry or just hanging out. If the fish is still spawning or guarding a hatch, it will be protective of its bed and will strike more out of aggression, not necessarily out of hunger. In this case, it will be necessary to cast closer to the fish as it will be less likely to leave its bed unprotected. If the fish is not guarding a bed, cast beyond the fish and retrieve it in front of it to get its attention. If the fish is moving, cast in front of it.

When selecting bait for sight fishing, it is not as necessary to mimic prey as it is to make sure your bait is seen. I prefer to fish brightly colored baits to make sure it grabs the attention of the fish. A large 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Flippin’ Tube is ideal rigged with a 4/0 wide gap hook; I like white because it allows me to easily see the bait in the water so I always know where it is in relation to the fish. Line size can also be a factor, so the clearer the water, the smaller the line. To give me the best strength-to-diameter ration, I use Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line. It disappears underwater and is less likely to spook line-shy bass that can be especially finicky when on the spawning beds.

Once you’ve found a bed, pitch the bait beyond the bed and work it slowly into the middle. Try to move it to the different sections of the bed, and take careful note of the bass’s reaction with each move. What you’re trying to do is determine where the “sweet spot” of the bed is. The “sweet spot” is the area of the bed – for whatever reason – that, when intruded upon by the bait, elicits an aggressive response from the fish. If the fish gets mad enough, it will strike the bait.

Other baits like a Texas-rigged PowerBait Power Worm or a PowerBait Classic Jig or even a small dropshot rigged with a PowerBait Hand Pour Finesse Worm or other similar-style baits can be effective. But the white tube is a tried-and-true sight fishing bait, one that brought a lot of bass to the boat for me over the years.

Sight fishing is an exciting way to fish for bass. It takes concentration, a keen eye, accurate casting and a requisite amount of stealth to be good at it. If the bass are on the beds right now where you live, go give it a try. If it’s going to be a while before your local fish start the spawning process, then you’ve plenty of time to practice.

Scott Suggs is the 2007 FLW Champion and the first angler in professional bass fishing to win $1 million in a single tournament.