Bass opener is over six weeks away here in northern
Minnesota but some of us “bass fanatics” just can not wait that
long. I had the opportunity to travel to Lake Fork in east Texas to
try for a real trophy bass. My fishing partner, Greg Peterson and I
left Grand Rapids on March 22 at 7:00 PM and we were on Lake Fork by
2:00 PM on Wednesday March 23. Greg had fished Lake Fork in 2001
but I have never been on this body of water before. This is a man
made lake covering over 27,000 acres with a lake record for
largemouth bass set in January 2001 of 18.18 pounds. It is filled
with flooded timber and extreme caution is needed when leaving the
main lake channel, which is marked with white buoys.
Although we were fishing in
Texas, the techniques we utilized will work here in our local lakes
as well. When we first got on the lake, the water temp was in the
low to mid 50s on the main lake. We knew we needed to locate warmer
water so we explored the back of some of the coves on the lake. A
cold front had gone through the weekend prior to our arrival and the
air temp was still only in the upper 50’ to low 60s. It took until
Friday before we were able to locate water with a temp of 68. When
we located this water temp, we also located the bass.
We worked the main lake points and
followed the creek channel to the back of the coves. The coves with a deeper
creek channel seemed to hold more bass than coves with a less distinctive
channel. Our choice of presentation for fishing the creek channel was a
Carolina rig with a Berkley power lizard. The best technique was to cast onto
the flat adjacent to the creek channel and drag the lure into the channel.
Eight to twelve feet of water was the depth the bass were sitting in. White and
chartreuse spinner baits as well as red or craw colored lipless crank baits were
also a hot lures to present to the bass. The week before we arrived on Fork, a
young man caught a bass over 13 pounds using a craw colored rattletrap. It was
the ninth bass over 13 pounds caught so far this year.
One of the keys to locating springtime
bass is water temperature. Look for the warmest water you can find leading to a
spawning area. If the water temp is between 50 and 60 degrees start your search
on the main lake points working deeper water structure. As the water warms to
the upper 60s look farther back in the bays or creeks as the fish will be moving
shallower in preparation of the spawn. On Lake Fork, we located our fish on the
east side of the lake and the fish were caught on the north side of the coves.
The key was the amount of sunlight and protection from the wind, which created
warmer water.
TACKLE SUGGESTIONS:
I like to use a Carolina rig in the spring
for locating and catching schooling bass. A seven to seven and a half foot
medium/heavy or heavy rod works great. I will spool my reel with 30-pound test
Berkley Fireline with a 12 to 14-pound leader made of Berkley Vanish. The lure
choice of course has to a Berkley Powerbait or Gulp. I have talked to many
anglers and we have all had days when this product does in fact out fish live
bait. Other lure choices for springtime bass are suspending jerk baits, spinner
baits and crank baits. I prefer to use medium rods and baitcasting reels for
these presentations.
Try these tips and you will definitely
increase the number of bass you catch. Versatility is the key factor when
looking for some great bass action. If you are not getting bit in the first 15
to 20 minutes, move to another area. Change the lure size or color as well as
your retrieve. If you catch one or two fish on a point, you can bet that there
are more bass in this area. When they stop biting, change your bait and give
them something new to look at. It is very important to remember what you were
doing when you did catch a fish. What was the water depth and temperature?
What kind of structure were you fishing? How were you working the lure?
Putting all this information together is called establishing a pattern. Repeat
what works in other parts of the lake and you should a have a great day on the
water.
No matter what your favorite lake is in
the Grand Rapids area, you can find tons of hungry bass ready to take your
offering and give you a fight you will not soon forget. Good luck and I hope to
see you on the water.
Remember to practice CPR. Catch, Photograph and Release.
Arnie Nichols
classicbass.com Field Staff
