Bartletts Ferry Fishing Report – May 2007

Bartletts Ferry: Level: Full pool. Temp: 67-68 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. “If you want to catch a fish, be at Bartlett’s Ferry,” said Jim Pass. “They’re biting anything you want to throw right now.” Jim said he is catching lots of 1- to 1 1/2-lb. fish right now fishing shallow water around deep water in the creeks. The pattern should last until the end of May. Lizards, watermelon worms, Senkos and chatterbaits have caught the most fish. The early morning topwater bite should also pick up. Jim suggested fishing a black buzzbait around sea walls and grass and said chugbaits or propbaits will also work.

Linesides: The linesides should still be up in the headwaters right now. Jim said the shoals in the Chattahoochee or in Flat Shoals Creek are good places to catch big hybrids. He suggested a Rattlin’ Rogue in black and silver, a Rat-L-Trap or Rooster Tail fished around the rocks. Once they move out of the river, as the water warms into the 80s, Royce Railey said they can be tough to catch.

Crappie: Good. Robert “Smitty” Smith said there are still a few crappie trying to spawn, which is weird, but most of the fish have moved into a postspawn pattern. The fish are mainly taking jigs around wood cover, treetops and brush in 20 to 25 feet of water. Robert said he’s been catching them counting down to where he sees them on the graph, and he lets the jig sit completely still, twitching the line every now and then. Yellow, chartreuse/yellow and pumpkin seed chartreuse are colors that are working well right now. When the sun is out, Robert has also had some luck shooting jigs to the docks, and he thinks that bite, along with the trolling bite will pick up as May moves on. The bite on the top end of the lake should also pick up in late May because the water temperatures remain a little cooler.