Anglers forget about topwater bite

Last week when I was at Table Rock Lake, during the PAA event on the first two days of pratice I found myself relying on what works for me on large river systems. It was until into day two that I realized, this was working. I had seen bass attacking the topwater all around me, and I was catching a few with crank baits. The main reason was these fish were in a feeding frenzy and would bite anything. So I decided to switch to topwater and that is when it turned on. Before an hour had pasted I already had five keepers in the livewell and each one was over 3 lbs.


The bait that worked for me was Bass Pro Shops® XPS® Professional Series Topwater Hardbaits - Walker, this bait was the saving grace for me. I suggest you try it next time, and always remember that you have to try new things to have success.

When Water Levels Are Low

As an avid bass angler when I’m driving and I see a body of water I start to wonder what's in that water, what are the size of the fish, what do they bite on, etc. I live outside of Memphis, TN and for the last two months we’ve been experiencing a major drought. Everyday I drive by the tail waters of the Wolf River, which is a tributary into the Mississippi River. During this time I’ve noticed the water receding and grass has started growing where water one was.

Although we take it for granted most of the time, what water really is to the fish we catch. There’s so much media coverage about clean water conversation acts and the effects on aquatic vegetation and fish that we catch. But when there’s a major drought you don’t hear about the effects on these echo systems due to low water or lack of water.

Today on my daily drive into my office I noticed something that I haven't seen for a least 15 years, dead fish laying on what looks to be no more than 6 inches deep of water. I had noticed that the gray heron had been lurking around the edges of the water for a while now. As a bass angler, this is normally a sign of fish and food source. Although in this case it's alarming because water is the lifeblood to aquatic life and to the angler also.

I stopped to take a few pictures and when I got out of my vehicle. The smell of dead fish was almost enough to make you throw up. Just sight of fish trying to swim amongst the dead fish, and knowing that I couldn’t do anything about it was a sick feeling. If I only could make it rain!

Like other parts of the country the south has been experiencing any major drought. We haven't had significant rain for close to 60 days now. The Mississippi River is at a very low level, creeks and small rivers are drying up. While they will return once the winter rains start, but the fish won’t if they are dead.

While I know there isn’t anything I can about it, I wanted to share my thoughts, and the photos.