Spring Bassin’ On Jackson

Jackson Lake is like some of us older fishermen that visit it often. It has gone through many changes over its life and the cycles of its bass population reflect the good and bad fishing trips all of us have experienced. Right now the lake seems to have settled down into a steady fishery, not as hot and gung-ho as in the past but reliable and more even-tempered.

Living in Griffin, Jackson is the closest lake to me. I joined the Spalding County Sportsman Club in 1974 and the Flint River Bass Club in 1978 and both clubs fish Jackson several times each year. Our tournaments have seen the changes over the years and we have fished all the cycles it has been through.

I caught my first two 8 pound bass at Jackson, the first in a January club tournament in 1978 and the second in a January club tournament in 1983. My biggest bass ever, a 9-7, came in a February club tournament there in 1991. In a 1979 December tournament at Jackson Larry Stubbs netted a big fish for me early that morning and I netted one for him after lunch. Mine weighed 7-14 and his weighed 7-7.

A December tournament in 1987 showed what Jackson could produce. Early that morning I landed a bass that I knew was over 7 pounds. After lunch I netted a bigger one for my partner Roy Davis. At weigh-in my bass weighed 7-4. Tony Evans had one weighing 7-8. Larry Stubbs had one weighing 9-1. And the one I netted for Roy weighed 9-2!

Those kinds of catches were not unusual back then. Unfortunately, those days are gone. I have not landed a bass over 7 pounds at Jackson since 1991 and we have not had a 7 pounder weighed in there in many years.

In a club tournament in the early 1990s I saw the future. We had a spotted bass weighed in, the first one any of us in the club had seen from that lake. According to the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creek Census Report, in 1994 99.52 percent of the bass weighed in during club tournaments at Jackson were largemouth. By 2004 almost 45 percent of the bass weighed in were spots.

There may be a relationship between the decline in big largemouth and the increase in the numbers of spots. In simple terms, an acre of lake water can support a set number of pounds of bass, say 100 pounds. Since spots are more aggressive than largemouth but don’t grow as large, you might swap 20 largemouth from 2 to 10 pounds for 50 spots from 1 to 3 pounds in that acre of water.

There are still big largemouth at Jackson. Each year there are a few 8 pound plus fish caught in tournaments. Unfortunately, they make the news now because they are the exception rather than the rule. State fisheries biologists still shock up 10 pound fish at Jackson, but they are very hard to catch.

So what does all this mean for your spring fishing trip to Jackson? It means you are less likely to catch a big largemouth but should be able to catch a bunch of spots. You can still target largemouth and they will win most tournaments, but you can catch more bass if you go after the spots. The patterns and places you will catch them differ a little.

Spots tend to live a little deeper than largemouth and like rocks. They even bed in deeper water than largemouth and tend to bed on rocky places rather than the very backs of coves. They don’t move as far from prespawn to spawn and back to post spawn, and they are not affected as much by cold fronts.

Smaller baits usually work better for spotted bass. Start in early April working small crankbaits and jigs and pigs around rocky points at the mouths of creeks and coves. Spots are more aggressive so you can move faster, covering more water to find the fish if you are after spotted bass.

When spots start to spawn in the middle to late part of the month, look for them on secondary rocky or gravel points and banks near the mouth of the cove. You probably won’t be able to spot them on the bed since they will be deeper, but a jig and pig or Carolina rigged lizard dragged across spawning areas should make them hit.

After the spawn the spots will hold on rocky points and feed. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and a jig and pig will all catch them. Fish the baits fairly fast and jump from point to point. Wind blowing in on the point will make it even better. Spots seem to like bright colors, so chartreuse plugs and spinnerbaits are good.

Topwater baits are also good late in April and in May. Work a buzzbait or Pop-R around points on the main lake and in the coves and creeks for spots. Largemouth like those baits, too. You can fish into the coves, concentrating on wood cover for them. Work a Pop-R slowly over a brush pile or around a log for largemouth.

Early in April largemouth should be moving back into the pockets to get ready to spawn. Fish a spinnerbait around any wood cover from the mouths of the pockets to half way back, and follow the bass as they move further back later in the month. Also try a Trick worm fished slowly around wood cover and docks.

During the spawn look for beds way back in the pockets. You may find a big female on the bed and you can get her to bite a tube or lizard dropped into the bed. Sight fishing for a big bass is one of the most exciting and nerve wracking ways to fish.

A topwater plug fished slowly over the bed will work, too. Randy Crosby grew up in Griffin and fished Jackson a lot in the 1980s and early 1990s. He landed six bass from 10-14 to 11-14 from Jackson and four of them came in the spring. One of his favorite tactics was to fish a Bang-O-Lure slowly around wood cover all the way back in the pockets.

Post spawn female largemouth tend to be sluggish and not move much for a week or so. One of the best ways to get them to bite is to cast a Carolina rigged lizard or Trick worm to gravel secondary points and let is sit there. Deadstick it, not moving it for several minutes at a time, is often the only way to get them to hit. Keep your line tight enough to see it move when one hits and set the hook hard.

As the post spawn fish get more active they will move toward the deeper water and you can catch them by fishing topwater baits and spinnerbaits around wood cover. Also try Texas rigged plastics around docks, brush piles and logs. Follow ditches and channels probing for cover along them to find the migrating bass.

In late spring, look for brush piles in deeper water for largemouth. Fish big crankbaits like a Norman’s DD22N, Mann’s 20+ or a Fat Free Shad that will run down and tick the top limbs of the brush. Use shad colors. If the plug does not draw a strike, try a jig and pig or a big Texas rigged worm like an Ole Monster.

Spots should be deep on rocky points and humps. The same deep running plugs will attract them as will Trick worms and Finesse worms on Carolina rigs. Fan cast rocky points with both types of baits covering water from 10 to 25 feet deep.

All spring, after a cold front your best bet will be spotted bass. Stick with main lake rocky points that drop fast into deep water and fish a jig and pig or Carolina rigged Finesse worm on them. Slow down some, but keep it moving. Concentrate on any points with wind blowing into them.

Although my clubs have not produced any 7 pound bass for a long time, we did have two over six pounds and three more over five pounds each weighed in last year. Even during the good years Jackson was very cyclical. For two or three years even smaller bass would be hard to catch, then for a couple of years bigger and bigger bass would appear. Then it would crash and you would wonder how you ever caught a bass over two pounds at Jackson for a couple of years. The lake seems to be improving right now so give it a try.

Take your pick of largemouth or spots and you should have a good trip. Of if you are fishing a tournament, go for a quick limit of spots then look for a kicker largemouth. No matter what you target, Jackson will produce some good catches for you this spring.