Bartletts Ferry Fishing Report – April 2006

Bartletts Ferry: Level: Full pool. Temp: Upper 50s, but it won’t take long to get back into the 60s. Clarity: Clear to light stain.

Bass: “It’s hard to go wrong with a crankbait this time of year,” said Royce Railey. Royce likes to throw plugs everywhere, and he’ll start about halfway back in creeks on rocky points. Royce said later this month, bass could be anywhere from halfway back in the creeks to the very backs of shallow pockets. “I’ll have three crankbaits tied on,” Royce said. Royce will throw a crankbait that dives 10 to 12 feet, one that runs six to eight feet, and one that dives two to four feet. In clear water, Royce likes natural shad colors, and when it’s muddy, he’ll throw a red or chartreuse plug. Even with the deeper-running crankbaits, Royce will cast into shallow water, so when he starts his retrieve the crankbait will bounce off of rocks. If the bass are way back in the pockets, Royce will likely throw a Senko or some type of floating worm.

Crappie: Robert Smith said the crappie bite has been pretty good, provided you can get in an area that is out of the wind. “When we’ve had some really windy days, it’s been a little tough,” Robert said. He said the crappie have been scattered between six and 18 feet, but the warm weather should bunch them up in shallow water. “When we had that one stretch of real warm days, they were up and ready to do their thing,” Robert said. “They should turn right back on with the warm weather.” Robert said you can catch crappie in April by pitching jigs to blowdowns, but he will also tight-line minnows over brushpiles in 10 to 12 feet of water.

“The big females seem to hang back a little ways and move back and forth from shallow water,” Robert said.