Mississippi Corp Lakes Seasonal tactics
Winter: This time of year can be tough especially when there is lots of cold muddy water pouring into the lake. The key at this time is to find the cleanest warmest water you can find. Most common tactics this time of year is to target the rocks at the dam or around launch areas with deeper water nearby. Also rocky points with brushpiles tend to be another target. Deep creek bends with stumps and brush are also good target. The water is very low during the winter and another common thing that people do is to ride atv down in the bottoms where you can find the old sloughs where fish live all year round. Marking these with a GPS can provide benefits later in the year once the water comes up.
Spring:
In the spring, again finding the warmest cleanest water is the key. But muddy may not be a big deal if the water is warmer than the lake. Prespawn the fish tend to follow the channels towards shallower water and a great way to catch these fish is throwing a rattletrap on flats around the hundreds of crappie mats in the lake. Another technique is to follow channels flipping stumps and trees that line them. Also, if the grass or bushes get flooded as the water rises fish those covers with a spinnerbait or flipping plastics. A nice rule of thumb with water levels is if the water is rising follow the fish shallow and if it is falling look for the first channels and breaks in 4-6 foot of water. The best fish tend to stay near creek channels and sloughs so use your electronics to stay on the fish. The fish will spawn shallow in 2-4' of water near some form of cover. In late spring after they have spawned the fish will stay shallow for a short time (though some will stay shallow all year) then they begin to move out to their deeper water haunts. By Memorial Day weekend typically the fish are in channel bends and sloughs with 10' of water or so around them to escape the heat. Now you are looking for channel bends and intersections with cover around or in them close to spawning flats.
Summer:
This time of year, we are looking for channels and sloughs in deeper water where the fish will stay til their fall migration. Sloughs in 10-12' of water can be very good targets this time of year. Targeting the trees and brush along the edges of the sloughs with crankbaits and jigs or plastics is a great way to fish this time of year. You may go a while without a bite but once you find them stay in the area and work it over well. Channel bends and intersections are another are to concentrate on. The fish will just being moving up and down these underwater roads following the bait. Good elctronics and understanding of your electronics are important this time of year.
Fall:
Much like spring the water begins to fluctuate this time of year. But following the bait becomes very important now and always be looking for signs of shad (gulls, birds, flipping tails, etc.). You will find the fish scattered somewhat this time of year. They will be shallow and deep and the weather tends to decide what the best tactics will be. Just go fishing and let the fish tell you what to do. I love to fish a spinnerbait in small pockets and around brush this time of year.
Lures to Use:
Spinnerbaits I like depend on water quality as much as anything. I have two basic styles I use on these lakes.
In spring and fall with muddy water I like a bait with a lot of thump and color. Double colorado blades with oranges, yellows, and browns are a great choice and black is another one. When the water is cleaner a double willow leaf with whites and chartreuse hints is a good one.
Rattletraps - early spring you just can't beat this bait for locating fish and searching flats. I like to use a chrome with blue back but sometimes you just experiment with colors and may find a better one. Also, in the fall when chasing shad this can be a great choice.
Jigs - I use jigs to probe creek channels and flipping brushpiles. This is a slower technique for when the bass aren't chasing. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and white based on conditions.
Plastics - A carolina rig or texas rigged lizard or creature bait is another good choice when bass aren't chasing baits. Use a texas rigs creature bait to flip around timber and shallow brush. When searching points or creek channels it is hard to beat a carolina rig to cover water quickly and eliminate unproductive areas. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and purples based on water conditions.
Crankbaits - these like rattletraps are great search baits that allow you to cover lots of water and look for those key areas. Most people like chartreuse and green, sexy shad, or other shad patterns. Don't forget that in shallow water a square billed crankbait can be bounced off wood and trigger some really good bites.
Spring:
In the spring, again finding the warmest cleanest water is the key. But muddy may not be a big deal if the water is warmer than the lake. Prespawn the fish tend to follow the channels towards shallower water and a great way to catch these fish is throwing a rattletrap on flats around the hundreds of crappie mats in the lake. Another technique is to follow channels flipping stumps and trees that line them. Also, if the grass or bushes get flooded as the water rises fish those covers with a spinnerbait or flipping plastics. A nice rule of thumb with water levels is if the water is rising follow the fish shallow and if it is falling look for the first channels and breaks in 4-6 foot of water. The best fish tend to stay near creek channels and sloughs so use your electronics to stay on the fish. The fish will spawn shallow in 2-4' of water near some form of cover. In late spring after they have spawned the fish will stay shallow for a short time (though some will stay shallow all year) then they begin to move out to their deeper water haunts. By Memorial Day weekend typically the fish are in channel bends and sloughs with 10' of water or so around them to escape the heat. Now you are looking for channel bends and intersections with cover around or in them close to spawning flats.
Summer:
This time of year, we are looking for channels and sloughs in deeper water where the fish will stay til their fall migration. Sloughs in 10-12' of water can be very good targets this time of year. Targeting the trees and brush along the edges of the sloughs with crankbaits and jigs or plastics is a great way to fish this time of year. You may go a while without a bite but once you find them stay in the area and work it over well. Channel bends and intersections are another are to concentrate on. The fish will just being moving up and down these underwater roads following the bait. Good elctronics and understanding of your electronics are important this time of year.
Fall:
Much like spring the water begins to fluctuate this time of year. But following the bait becomes very important now and always be looking for signs of shad (gulls, birds, flipping tails, etc.). You will find the fish scattered somewhat this time of year. They will be shallow and deep and the weather tends to decide what the best tactics will be. Just go fishing and let the fish tell you what to do. I love to fish a spinnerbait in small pockets and around brush this time of year.
Lures to Use:
Spinnerbaits I like depend on water quality as much as anything. I have two basic styles I use on these lakes.
In spring and fall with muddy water I like a bait with a lot of thump and color. Double colorado blades with oranges, yellows, and browns are a great choice and black is another one. When the water is cleaner a double willow leaf with whites and chartreuse hints is a good one.
Rattletraps - early spring you just can't beat this bait for locating fish and searching flats. I like to use a chrome with blue back but sometimes you just experiment with colors and may find a better one. Also, in the fall when chasing shad this can be a great choice.
Jigs - I use jigs to probe creek channels and flipping brushpiles. This is a slower technique for when the bass aren't chasing. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and white based on conditions.
Plastics - A carolina rig or texas rigged lizard or creature bait is another good choice when bass aren't chasing baits. Use a texas rigs creature bait to flip around timber and shallow brush. When searching points or creek channels it is hard to beat a carolina rig to cover water quickly and eliminate unproductive areas. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and purples based on water conditions.
Crankbaits - these like rattletraps are great search baits that allow you to cover lots of water and look for those key areas. Most people like chartreuse and green, sexy shad, or other shad patterns. Don't forget that in shallow water a square billed crankbait can be bounced off wood and trigger some really good bites.
