Shorts on Shorts

The water on the lakes has warmed up quickly this week. Some places seeing 80 degrees surface temp. There are still fish to be caught though, most are moving out to deeper summering holes. That means my favorite time of year, ledge bassin' and giant bluegill! I expect to see more bass moving out of the shallow spawning grounds to the main lake. If i were looking to catch them I would be fishing transitions in between with deep diving crankbaits, big worms, swimbaits and big jigs. I also look for bluegill beds to start popping up in in force the next week or so. I have not had a chance to fish for them as of yet but all the reports that I have gotten say that they are still on staging areas. The crappie bite for me this week has been challenging, catching about 10% keepers to shorts. I fished the Big Sandy area three days this week and this seems to be the normal. I have heard reports of peoplr pulling crankbaits and doing well. the fish are definitely deep. most of my fish were caught in brush or on stumps in 16-24' of water. Looks like to me that we have all but skipped spring and are headed straight for summer. If you are headed out, make sure that you stay hydrated, and pack plenty of sunscreen!

Crappie: 16-24' of water Spider rigging jigs tipped with minnows, longlining road runners, trolling crankbaits is the most effective. Look for fish on the creek channel ledges.

Bass: Some fish can be caught shallow early in the morning on topwater baits around bushes and cover. Look for better fish to be moving towards the main lake on humps and ledges in the bays and just outside of the bays. Crankbaits and swimbaits have produced the best.

Bluegill: Look for pea gravel bottom close to buck brush or mustard grass. These are the most productive areas