Fishing on the lakes in our area is beginning to heat up. As the bass spawn has begun to taper off and fish move towards their postspawn haunts, the shad, crawdad and bream spawns are starting to happen, and the bass are responding.
The Bass Bite
A recent 25 boat club tournament was held on Neely Henry, and topwater baits, swim jigs and floating worms seem to have been the best performers for the day, and it took over 22 pounds to win the day, with several limits eclipsing the 20-pound mark.
Most of the action seemed to occur around the grass (water willow or Coosa River Grass) growing along the main river channels and leading into the pockets. The bite in the backs of the pockets seems to have slowed down some as the fish have begun their move out to their postspawn and summer areas.
The bladed jig bite is still a factor around the grass early with Jackhammers, Chatterbaits and Thunder Crickets, and a hollow bodied frog will produce some strikes from quality fish. However, the best overall bite is still swim jigs like the Dirty Jigs No Jack Swim Jig and a Davis Baits M Swim, both with flapping trailers like a Rage Craw, Paca Craw and the new Spicy Beaver from Reaction Innovations.
The bass will continue to move out towards the main river bars and ledges on Neely Henry, and anglers should soon begin to catch fish on Davis Baits Shaky Heads and 6-inch Finesse styled worms. The football jig bite, and the deep diving crankbait bite should pick up as well.
The Crappie Bite
The crappie are still on the docks, and our staff has been reporting finding them around main lake piers with some brush. The depth of the dock doesn’t seem to matter too much, but over the next few weeks, deeper docks with current flow may come into play a little more.
Dock Shootin’ is still the best producer, as it allows the angler to fire the jigs back into the shady parts of the dock where the crappie are laying. Our favorite is to use a Lew’s Mr. Crappie combo spooled with 4 to 6-pound-test yellow Mr. Crappie line and an a Bobby Garland Baby Shad or Crappie Shooter on a 1/32 to 1/16 ounce Head Dockt’R or the Strike King Mr. Crappie baits and heads.
The best colors to use are Black and Chartreuse, Monkey Milk Blue Ice and Pearl colors like Mr. Crappie’s Refrigerator White.
If you’ve got any questions, feel free to stop by The Loft and check in with us, we’re happy to help. And, we’re always here 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Saturday for any tackle needs you may have.
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