The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Gabby’s fishing fever

Cranking up largemouth bass



On a recent Saturday, Justin “Pork Chop” Adams and I took a little bass fishing trip on Carr Creek Lake.

As we started out on that cool morning the temperature was in the low 40’s, but it felt much colder. Because we had big bass on our minds instead of the cool weather, we took off in the boat and ran to a area that has a steep rocky bank and a river channel running close by.

The fog coming off the water made visibility very limited so we started out fishing with jigs. I was throwing a dark colored 3/8 oz. spider jig and Justin was fishing a black cabin creek jig. As we fished along we both got several hits on the jigs and I had one small run but nothing enough to set the hook. We fished on around a main lake point and in a small hollow, but the bass just did not seem to be aggressive.

We later decided to fish a spot that has a old road bed running into the lake and has an old creek channel that hugs the bank. This spot also has a main lake point with a stairstep drop into much deeper water. For this location we switched to a rattling-style crank bait, a very wise decision.

The sun came out and warmed up the water about two degrees to around 54, but it was enough to get the shad working and a few bass chasing them. We knew then that a shad-pattern crank bait should produce some action.

After about 15 minutes of fishing the crank baits, Justin made a long cast across the old road bed and a nice largemouth hit his bait. After a good fight he lifted a good solid keeper bass into the boat, a 2-1/2 pounder that measured about 16 inches. After about 10 more minutes of fishing my ratting crank bait I also hooked into a nice bass, a two-pounder about 15 inches in length.

You can see the pictures of the bass we caught by visiting www.myspace.com/ gabbysfishingfever.

The best action right now is on rocky banks that receive the most sunlight and the best fishing is during the warmest part of the day. The bass are moving up more shallow and are chasing the shad and looking for suitable spawning areas.

This is why the crank bait is such a productive bait for bass at this time of year. There is not another bait that imitates the action of a bait fish better. The trick to crank bait fishing is to select a bait that closest resembles the color and action of whatever the bass are most active on, usually a shad or crawdad type.

You should also use a crank bait that will run to the depth where the bass are most active. Use light clear line and make long cast this will allow you to get the crank bait down to its designed depth. While you are making your retrieve, feel for your bait to bump into or off of any type of cover. When it does stop and let your bait float up some then work your bait with a erratic action. This will look like a injured bait fish and might cause a nearby bass to strike. Give these tips a try to cure your fishing fever.


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