Bass
It was a great week of fishing. Last weekend's big Bass tournament weighed some really, really heavy stringers, and anglers told Jeff the Bass fishing was on fire.
White Bass and the Crappie Magic
Jeff has caught White Bass and Crappie for days. It's crazy how many White Bass (Sand Bass, as Oklahomans call them) are already out in the main lake. He catches them at night under the light on his dock, and the wind has pushed them into windy coves and points like it's summertime. He doesn't believe he's ever seen this many in the main lake this early. Usually that's around the first to the middle of May. He's caught them all on the Crappie Magic crankbait in white/pearl and clown. For Grand Lake's many trollers, he's not sure there's much better than the Crappie Magic for trolling. Swimming minnows and Rooster Tails are great too.
Crappie on the bank
Crappie moved onto the banks heavy over the last two days, after a couple of warm nights that stayed in the 60s with a warm wind. Historically, now through the end of April is the best time to catch them, and some will still be on the bank on the south end come May 1. Work a Swimming Minnow up and down the banks in Knockout (clear chartreuse) or Moonshine (chartreuse and white, a color Toby Keith helped pick). Haydn has been catching limit after limit on Old School (black and chartreuse). Jeff can't believe how many Crappie are in the lake, or how many that kid catches for all his happy clients.
Paddlefish / Catfish
Guides are still snagging Paddlefish up around Twin Bridges. The first one- or two-foot rise on the lake is prime time for big Flatheads and big Blues. When the water comes up fast, there's a two- or three-day window to really get your string stretched, and live bait gives you a shot at a big old Flathead.
Looking ahead to May
In May, Sand Bass will pile up on top of the humps and start surfacing as the new Gizzard Shad hatch comes on, and the lake will fill with trolling, casting, WaveRunners, skiing and tubing. For now it's quiet. Jeff and Haydn fished this evening and saw very few boats, though people were catching Crappie on the bank. Folks waved from their lake-house porches, eating dinner and watching the fishermen go by.
OnGrandTime.com
Jeff's wife has a new print-on-demand site for Grand Lake gifts: hats, t-shirts, lake maps, coasters, doormats and more. Free shipping is built into the price, and she keeps adding to the assortment. Also check out Crappie Magic crankbaits at LuckEStrike.com, two for $5 online right now.