Lake Talquin is the hot place to fish for bass in the month of June. Bait fish have moved to some of the main lake ledges, and are still available on creek channel ledges as well.
Although a good morning bite still exists in the creeks around vegetation, I believe the bigger fish come from ledges. If it’s fast and furious you want early on, top water and blade baits around creek vegetation is where you want to start; lots of 2- to 3 pounders are still feeding heavily in those areas. As the sun warms those shallows, it’s time to move to those ledges. Remember, if the ledge isn’t holding bait fish, you probably won’t catch any bass.
Since bait is the key to bites, try to “match the hatch.” You might see bait come back up out of a bass mouth when you catch one. The preferred bait right now is threadfin shad, so your crank baits or vibrating baits need to have a small profile. Fish will move up and down the ledge throughout the day, so it’s important to move around and keep an eye on the fish with a fish finder. Have a couple different crank baits ready to throw: a medium-diver for bass on top of the ledge, and one that runs deeper for bass positioned off the edges. If you’re confident bass are still in the area, then go ahead and mine it with a Carolina- or a Texas-rigged worm. Weight sizes and baits will vary but it’s hard to beat a 3/4oz barrel weight for the Carolina-rig, or a ½ oz. bullet weight for the Texas-rig.
One last thing, let’s not forget the standup jig. This is a great lure for this time of year as bass position themselves around bottom structure waiting for an easy meal when not schooling on bait.
Hope this helps, and for more info visit www.fishtallahassee.com.
JR MUNDINGER
(850) 296-4071
www.fishtallahassee.com
fishtallahassee@yahoo.com