Black bass will be recovering from the spawn this month and will be extra aggressive at times. Sluggos, jerkbaits, pop r’s, zara puppies, and buzz baits are some of the “junk baits†that you will be able to draw strikes on. Most of the female bass have healed from the spawn and have come out of their lull ready to feed. However, not all bass spawn at the same time so remember there will be a few fish still on the bed and also many bass will still be in the lull mode. Probably the most prodominate patterns will be the buzzbait fished around shallow timber, rocks, and other shoreline cover. Chartreuse, black, or white skirted buzzbaits are top choices. If the cover is not too thick try adding a trailer hook or even a trailer treble hook. When the bass really get on the buzzbait the single hook of the buzzbait is enough. But the bite can change from day to day and the trailers will help you land the short strikers(especially on sunny days). On overcast days the topwater baits can be effective for a few weeks this month. You can catch bass on a variety of topwaters on your most productive areas that you never dreamed held topwater fish. When conditions are just right they will hit topwaters all through the year, but this year the conditions stay right longer for days at a time. Carolina, Bethy, Newton, White Rock, Caney, and Sandy are a few of the creeks up on the North end of the lake that I frequently fish. All of the creeks have excellent shoreline cover. Bethy has plenty of rocky shorelines, Carolina has reeds as well as White Rock and Caney, and Newton has log jams. Whatever cover you like can be found in the Northern creeks even coontail moss if you look hard enough. The lake is a little high right now so you have to look around for clear water if you are fishing up north. There are always clear water pockets up north no matter what the conditions are. Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide
