By
Water Temp: 57-66 F Bass spawning has begun. It is not the
hoped for grand event where all fish move on the beds the same day. Instead a
warming event allows a few bass to spawn in a warm cove. Then cooling moves the
fish back off the beds. It warms, then cools and fish
move back and forth. There are more bass beds in the northern lake, which may
be a degree or two warmer than water on the south end. Very few beds are seen
south of Dangling Rope.
Regardless, fishing is very good in one specific
spot. That spot is in a sand (defined as, soft soil with small rock)
drainage lined with tumbleweeds or brush.
The back of a
brush lined cove is a good place to start searching for spawning bass. A sandy
cove or flat in a slick rock canyon is even better.
Picture a slick rock canyon. Usually in the back or in a cove there is a flat
spot to park a boat. That flat has a different soil component than the slick
rock. Now think about spawning. Bass need a rocky substrate to build a nest.
Slick rock cannot be worked with a bass tail. Sand, clay or gravel can be
fanned and rocks uncovered. Bass gravitate to that soil in an otherwise slick
rock environment. So in slick rock canyons look for sand flats.
Now to enhance the sand pattern it is best
if there are bushes (tumbleweed) for cover and deep water access leading in.
Most often the weedy extreme back of a canyon (floodplain with weeds) will be
good for bass crappie and stripers this week.
Yesterday I was motoring in the main channel looking for prospective hot spots.
I saw a sand flat (beach) which is not all that great in itself, but in the
middle of the sandy beach was a flood drainage cut with tumbleweeds collected
in it. The 10-yard wide cut was pronounced and led to a rocky ravine high and
dry on the ground. The cut extended through the beach and then into the lake.
So I lined up on the cut and fished it some 50 yards off shore at a depth of
10-15 feet. I was not disappointed. It was loaded with stripers but that is
also where the bass were. We sorted through 5 stripers to get to one bass and
then did it again and again. Next we found a rocky edge where the beach joined
the slick rock and fished that. Mud was washed up by boat wakes and we took 10 largemouth out of that sand/mud spot where bottom depth was
8-15 feet. Look for sand and weeds for best success this week.
Wind seems to be with us this week. To
fish successfully in the wind throw reaction baits instead of trying to
"feel" the plastic bait on the bottom in the wind. Fish move
shallower in wind and often move to windy points where the water is breaking on
shore. Try spinnerbaits and jerk baits and lipless vibrators where the feel is not
as important when the wind bows your line. You can troll in productive areas to
keep some boat control in the wind. Don't just troll, but troll over structure
like points or reefs. Then motor to the next likely structure and troll some
more.
Stripers are being caught by the bucketful at the dam and in many main channel
locations that were good in 2006. The best spots are near the dam,
Jerk baits like this Suspending Bomber Long
A are working well for
bass and stripers. I have slow trolled this bait over points with a pumping
motion and found great success for smaller stripers that are feeding on
plankton.