August bass fishing on Lake Jackson is usually better during the low light hours as water temperatures soar into the 90’s. This year it may be a little different because recent rains have raised water levels and are keeping temps down in the mid 80’s.
Pitching and flipping are great techniques this time of year, but throwing top-water baits into and around submerged vegetation could produce even better. Bait fish are still key to finding bass; find the bait and the bass are most likely nearby. One thing you can’t see swimming around that bass absolutely love to feed on are crawdads. That’s right! Most of us think crawdads are just around rocks and shorelines, but that’s just not the case on Lake Jackson. These guys live on lily pad stems and, when conditions are right, you can not only catch monster bass—but many of them! There are places where the grass is so thick you can barely get your boat in position to fish…those are the areas I look for when I want to bust a big one.
Heavy duty equipment is needed to wrestle those big bass out of the thick grass. Braided line is key: not only for power but to detect even the slightest of strikes. Weights shaped like bullets that weigh 1oz or more along with a high speed reel are needed too. Baits are basic…pretty much anything that resembles a crayfish will work. Try different colors to maximize results.
Lake Jackson has a great population of large bream. Around certain moon phases, these tasty guys make bedding areas that could be as large as 200 square feet! Most of this type of fishing occurs in the Crowder area. It’s shaped like a bowl with heavy shoreline vegetation. The middle is open water with scattered grass beneath the surface. In between those spots is where the bream beds are found. Find one of them, take a cane pole and a bucket of worms or crickets and get the grease hot!
JR MUNDINGER
(850) 296-4071
www.fishtallahassee.com
fishtallahassee@yahoo.com