By Matt Henry
Lake Sinclair is full, 62 degrees, muddy upriver and stained on the main lake. Bass fishing is really good right now. The fish are up shallow staging for the spawn. Check primary and secondary points in the mornings with lipless crankbaits, shallow crankbaits and spinnerbaits. SPRO Little John and Fat John crankbaits in the firetiger color are catching fish consistently all over the lake. As the sun gets up, start moving up on the flats and into the pockets fishing dock walkways and seawalls. A Buckeye Lures 3/8-ounce spinnerbait with double gold Colorado blades fished shallow on the walls and backsides of these docks is a great way to catch a big fish right now. Once you have located a pocket with fish in it, turn around and go over it with a soft plastic bait, fishing slowly. A Texas-rigged junebug Zoom lizard will catch some of these fish when you need to slow down. Fishing will be fun over the next month, as they will continue to feed up for the spawn. This is the best month to catch a fish of a lifetime!
Later in April when the weather stabilizes, the bass will move back and start spawning in the pockets. Look for the largest wave of fish to start spawning the week of the full moon. When the spawn starts, slow down and fish soft plastic baits most of the day. It will be difficult to sight fish for spawning fish this year, as the water is really stained. The best way to fish for these spawning fish is to throw at any target you see in the water and fish extremely slowly. Make sure you make multiple casts to every piece of cover to trick these big fish.
The last couple of weeks in April should be the start of the shad spawn. This is a great time to catch some good postspawn fish that are trying to recover from the stressful spawn. The shad spawn will be happening on concrete seawalls, rip-rap banks and other hard cover near the primary and secondary points of the spawning pockets.
Give us a call to book your guide trip so you don’t miss out on the fun. Trips are booking fast. Make sure to stop by our new boat showroom at Sinclair Marina to see our 2013 and 2014 inventory of Nitro, Tracker, Sun Tracker, Tahoe and Mako boats. We only have a few 2013 models left. Don’t miss out on some great deals.
Matt Henry
Sinclair Marina Guide Service
matt@sinclairmarina.com
(770) 361-4210
www.sinclairmarina.com