April’s above average daytime temps have bass already moving to the ledges. Although you can still find plenty of fish in the creeks, just as many have moved offshore.
There’s not much main lake schooling activity yet, but bass are still pretty easy to find. Even lower-end electronics (sonar) makes spotting schools of bait around ledges and points easy. Start looking around points or irregularities in creeks that meet near the main lake.
Once you find the bait you’ll want to see if there are any active bass around. To do this, throw a rattle trap, crank bait or spinner bait. Active fish will bite quickly, but there may not be a lot of them. Before you move on to the next spot, try mining the area with a Carolina-rigged worm/lizard or a jig.
You’ll want to keep a couple of different crankbaits tied on to cover a variety of depths: mid-range, 5’ to 8’, and then another that will dive from 8’ to 12’ deep. Once you find them, you can follow them on your graph as they move up, down, or even back into deeper water, like a creek or river channel, during high pressure days.
Toward the end of the month, schooling activity should be hot. Look for them near the Iron Curtain area between Coe’s and William’s Landings. White bass and striped bass may be mixed in as well.
Two main creeks have cool fresh water that feed them, and striped bass migrate toward these when they’re going to spawn. Find the actual creek channel in the back of these creeks and use rattle traps, large jerk baits and live shad to catch them. Some stripers reach 40” long and can weigh up to 30 pounds, although 8-12 pounders are the norm.
JR MUNDINGER
(850) 296-4071
www.fishtallahassee.com
fishtallahassee@yahoo.com