Largemouth Bass:
Smaller male Bass have started moving up towards the shoreline in some areas. Not quite making beds yet but pre-staging for the upcoming spawn, no doubt. Finesse plastics, mainly on a light-line Carolina rig with a straight tail worm are getting bit at a regular clip. Oxblood Roboworms and Neptune Shad C3 Shimmys have been the go-to colors and baits as the water is extremely clear in most areas. The bigger females remain deeper, holding on the first major dropoffs and should be moving up to the spawning areas in the coming weeks.
Striped Bass:
Not much of a change from previous weeks. The Stripers are still spread out all over the lake, most likely foraging on blooms of freshwater shrimp. This makes them tough to locate as the bulk of the baitfish remain in deeper water on the bottom. Trolling with lead core line in the twenty to forty foot zone has been the most productive. Yak Flies, KastMasters and Flukes are good choices if you put in your time and cover water.
Lagoon:
Bass are starting to move up to pre-spawn flats and dropoffs and some big fish have been seen cruising the shallows in the North end. Most of the bites are coming on the Carolina rig, both from boat and shore, although the bite hasn’t been off-the-hook as of yet. Oxblood straight-tail Roboworms and Neptune Shad C3 Baits Shimmys are the mainstay baits here, as well as 5″ Senkos in Green Pumpkin and watermelon hues. An 11 pounder was caught by local legend Jay Poore on Thursday afternoon.
Water conditions:
Surface temp – both lakes: 55 degrees
Good clarity to fifteen feet plus in most areas.
Debris not an issue.
Jim – www.661Fishing.com