Black bass fishing has been fair and the bass are on points, around docks and natural creek ledges. Start the day with slow moving lures and works.  Jigs and trick worms are the best baits. The early bite starts on anything in the water in the shallows. Wood, rocks, and docks have fish all around them and casting shallow is the best bet. Start the day with almost any color of Zoom’s trick worm. Skip or cast the bait past the cover and pull the lure and let it drop right into the cover. Depths can vary from 5 to 12 feet and Leverage spinner baits in the 3/8 ounce size with silver and gold blades in either the willow leaf or Colorado combinations has been working. Slow roll these baits on and over points and any wood all day.

The chrome and blue combination 1/2 ounce Rat L Traps has been good for bass in the same locations. Use the dark smoke red and green worms in the Zoom u tail style on a light Texas rig. The Texas rigged worm and a 3/16 ounce weight cast on and around the bank cover and around docks in the creeks will get strikes. With the water temperature warming, presentations can be faster. The chrome and blue combination 1/2 ounce Rat L Traps has been good for bass in the same locations. Yellow Creek and Wahoo Creeks are good areas to use spinner baits, worms and floating baits. Head to the very back of little river too. The Fish Head Spin 3/8 ounce with a small Zoom Fluke will work and we are using bait casting reels with Sufix 12 pound test Siege line. This is an easy bait to fish, just cast it to the bank, hold the rod tip up and slowly reel it back. Let it tick the bottom on the retrieve and be sure you have fresh line, stripers love these bait also and they are in the same areas. Use the dark smoke red and green worms in the Zoom u tail style on a light Texas rig. The Texas rigged worm and a 3/16 ounce weight cast on and around the bank cover and around docks in the creeks will get strikes. With the water temperatures warming, presentations can be faster. It’s been better to fish these lures in the same location for a few casts and this can make the better fish strike the lures. Once the lure is in contact with the underwater structure, stay in the cover as long as possible.

The fish that are being caught are coming on suspending jerk baits in a silver/blue or an orange/copper color, midsized crank baits that dive from 6 to 12 feet in a natural shad color such as a 200 series Bandit, Rapala #7 Shad Rap. Zoom’s pumpkinseed lizard on a Texas rig has been good for these bass in the same locations. The suspending Rouge in almost any color has been catching a lot of shallow bass on and around any cover in the creeks. Docks and wood are key areas. Try some extra scent on these lures and make several casts into the same location.

Spotted bass fishing has been good and fish are coming from the shallow coves especially the ones with lots of sand and off main lake points. As the warm weather sets in out you can catch some spotted bass moving up into areas of warming water, such as areas out of the wind, and that get the most sunlight. The fish are biting suspending jerk baits in a silver/blue or an orange/copper color, and small crank baits that dive to 6 to 10 feet deep. Natural shad color 200 series Bandits and Rapala #5 Shad Raps are best. Zoom finesse worms worm rigged on a 3/16 ounce Spot Sticker jig head in green pumpkin and natural blue colors are the best plastics. Go down to the 1/8 ounce Spot Sticker and add a June Bug finesse worm or a June Bug trick worm and cast these baits to the deeper docks half way back in the creeks. Small Bitsey Bug jigs in browns and several shades of greens are good and we are adding a Yamamoto salt twin tail trailers to these baits. Spots are a little more active and continue to focus on areas that will warm the quickest. Rocks, sand pockets and areas out of the wind with stagnant water and the back side of windblown points are best. Be ready for the spinner bait bite on the Mini Me all white bait to kick in real soon. Just make super long casts to any point on the lake.

Stripers are fair and the fish are biting only early in the day and then it gets tough. Look for the fish early each day and shallow feeding in the middle of the creeks and in pockets down lake. The middle of the channels in Flat Creek, Balus Creek and Flowery Branch Creek have been holding schools of fish and they are moving shallow very early each morning. These fish are ranging at depths from 2 to 20 feet and live bait will work on a float rig. Shiners, blue backs and jumbo minnows are best and be quiet in these areas while fishing. Keep some medium shiners ready as well as trout, herring and shad. There are sole some fish in Gainesville Creek from the river to the back. Early pull baits VERY shallow on planer boards and then after 9am, pull out to 20 feet of water. Add some weight to the baits and let them sink to 30 feet. Try a big trout up at Holly Park from 4pm until 7pm on the afternoon major feeding period. Bombers and Pointer 115 suspending jerk baits are taking spots and stripers after dark. The spots love the jerk bait and the stripers are becoming fond of them too. Record your day, good or bad at www.stripersurvey.com. 

Crappie fishing is good and the docks are the ticket. If you can “shoot” small 1/32 ounce jigs with either a hair or tube as the main bait, finding a school will only take 20 minutes. Be ready when you shoo the docks because bass like little baits too. The up lake fish are more active in the off colored waters and 7 feet is the best depth. Small lines, 2 pound test, makes a world of difference on these fish but the lines are very easy to break.

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