With winter fading and spring just around the corner, it’s time to fish. Currently the lake is a little under 10 foot below pool. You still need to use caution running in shallow areas and don’t get in a hurry. Many stumps are just at or below the waters surface. The good news is that we have seen the level rise almost 4 feet over the winter. This is flooding shoreline vegetation that has grown up during the extended low water period. This should help the upcoming spawn and recruitment of fry as it gives them a place to hide from predators and grow up a bit. The typical prespawn tactics are working well. Lipless cranks fished over and around submerged hydrilla is the best way to locate bass. First you need to find the grass. Midlake grass seems to have fared the best. Veach, Caney, The Black Forest, Harvey, and Mud Creek all have good grass beds in 3-10 feet. There are a few areas with hydrilla up the Ayish arm. Buck Bay and the islands and drains in front of Miller are good areas to start. Look first near points leading into spawning coves and around drains leading onto flats. These are the areas where the bass will stage and wait for the temps to rise to move shallow and spawn. Once you feel you have found the fish, slow down. Soft Jerk Baits such as Super Flukes, Big Bite Jerk Minnows and Caffeine Shads in watermelon and green pumpkin shades are great choices. I always dip the tails chartreuse. Rig them with a small split shot pinched on about 10 inches above the bait and toss them out over the grass. The bites may be soft, just a mushy feeling, so watch your line closely. When conditions are right the soft swim bait bite can be awesome. My favorites are the Big Bite Cane Thumper and the Reaction Skinny dipper. Watermelon Red Ghost, Houdini and Bad Shad are good colors. Rig them on a belly weighted swim bait hood and slow roll them in around the grass and especially wood cover. I prefer the Owner Beast hook, 4/0 with a 1/8th ounce weight. This hook gives them the right "wobble" and has a very wide gap for better hooksets. Buck Bay and the Black Forest are good areas with a mixture of grass and wood to try this presentation. As always, there will be some fish out in deeper water. Locate ledges and humps where the depth drops quickly from 10 feet down to 25 or so and use your electronics to locate bait. Where you find bait, you’ll find the bass. Drop Shot rigged finesse worms in both 4 and 6 inch sizes work well. Best colors are anything with watermelon and/or chartreuse. These are also good areas to drag a Carolina rig. These are just a few pre-spawn tactics that will work this time of year. If you would like to book a trip, or just talk fishing, gimme me a call at 409-379-3474 or shoot me an email at rogerbaconoutdoors@gmail.com Set the Hook Hard.

Good report Roger...any info on the crappie at Rayburn?