One year in Greenwood
Jeff recorded from the Greenwood, Arkansas plant he and Toby Keith bought. This week is the one-year anniversary of Luck E Strike there. The team has been working hard on the American-made hard-bait selection and bringing in import goods, and area dealers around the lake are starting to call. Thanks to every angler who asks a dealer for the new Luck E Strike products. The report is on KGVE Grand Lake Radio, GrandFishingReport.com, YouTube and the Grand Fishing Report Facebook group.
Crappie
Crappie are on the banks right now. Swimming minnows, or a cork and a Lucky Bug, are great choices. Williams Guide Service is still catching big female Crappie between the docks and the bank and limiting folks out every day. Some fish are on the bank and some are still over the boat docks, so the Crappie fishing remains fantastic.
White Bass
White Bass are coming back down Spring River and the Neosho River and filtering into the lake. Last week Jeff found huge White Bass around Shangri-La and the island, and there are reports of White Bass at Fifth and Boston too.
Inflow / Paddlefish
A big inflow looks to be coming. If it brings the Neosho up, expect a lot of Paddlefish up at the dam in Miami, so snaggers should get ready.
Bass with Al Fisher
Guest Al Fisher, Luck E Strike's lure designer and catalog guy, once won a big Bass tournament on Grand Lake and is a prolific tournament angler. In April and early May, Bass are in every stage (pre-spawn, spawn and the start of post-spawn), so look shallow. A jig, including the MCFJ jig, is an everyday tool deep or shallow. When Grand Lake is down and there's not much cover, a small bait like the CMCB Crappie Magic Crank Bait is really effective on Bass. It was a key player in an FLW tournament Al won in the 2000s and lets him fish behind other anglers and still catch fish. Al limits himself to about three colors this time of year: a white (shad), a perch and a red. Red shines when the water is 50 degrees or below, especially Chili Bowl, a crawdad red that's awesome in early spring.
Crappie Magic crankbait
Jeff says the little Crappie Magic Crank Bait will catch just about anything that swims, Catfish included. They've been built in Greenwood since the start, American made, and are two for $5 at LuckEStrike.com as a try-it promotion.