Bartletts Ferry Fishing Report – May 2006

Bartletts Ferry: Level: Full pool. Temp: Upper 70s to low 80s. Clarity: Stained in the upper end, clear on the lower end.

Bass: It’s hard to get a big bite right now, but you can catch plenty of smaller bass this month. David Lowery says to start fishing all the way back in pockets and work out toward deep water in search of a big fish. David said skipping a Trick Worm or Senko under a dock is still one of his favorite tactics on Bartletts, and he will be doing that in May. “That’s tried-and-true,” David said. Right now, the bass are in a postspawn period, so David says the time is right to start pounding shallow cover, such as brushpiles. David said a variety of lures, such as spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, jigs and soft plastics will work good this month. David will throw the spinnerbait around cover, pull it into the wood, let it fall a second, and start retrieving again. David said one of his favorite ways to catch bass is on an All Terrain Swim Jig. He swims the jig through brushpiles and says the tactic draws violent strikes. “You can fish it just like a normal jig or you can swim it into a brushpile, let it fall a little, swim it some more,” David said. “It’s almost like you fish a spinnerbait around brush, but it gives the fish a little something different to look at.” David said later in May, fish will have moved out farther. “By the middle of the month, I’ll start fishing closer to the mouths of the pockets, the deeper posts on docks, and other deep water because the fish are going to start getting out there,” David said.