Lake Jackson Fishing Report – April 2006

Jackson: Level: Down one foot. Temp: Mid 50s but expect it to jump back into the 60s in just a few days. Clarity: Light stain.

Bass: Great. “I love to catch them sight fishing on Jackson in April,” said Mike Meason. “When the full moon comes around this month, they’re going to go on bed.” Mike said the lower end of the lake around the dam is a good place to go sight fishing, but because of Jackson’s usual stain, he’ll spend time targeting bedding fish that he can’t see. “They’re going to get on that Bang-O-Lure,” said Mike. “They can’t stand to have that thing come over top of their bed. Throw it along seawalls or anywhere you think a fish is bedded.” Mike uses a black/silver one, unless the water is heavily stained. Then, he prefers a gold one. “I actually prefer to catch them when I can see them,” said Mike. “I like a tube or a Sweet Beaver, and if the fish will let me, I’ll use a white one so I can see. If they act defensive enough, I just keep pulling the bait right through there and bump them over the head until they finally eat it. If they’re real spooky, I’ll back way off and throw a more natural color. You can still pick up a spinnerbait and catch some prespawn fish off blowdowns and docks. Another thing we look for before fish go on the bed is for the bigger females to be hanging out on any break, which often is on the end of a dock, and we’ll flip a jig in there and catch them.”