Lake Jackson Fishing Report – February 2006

Jackson: Level: Down 3.0 feet. Temp: Up in the river it’s in the high 40s, down the lake it’s in the low 50s. Clarity: It’s stained at Berry’s, and it will soon muddy up around the Yellow and South rivers.

Bass: Fair. “Lately everybody’s been pounding rocks, but it hasn’t been a real strong pattern,” said Aaron Batson. “This month you’ll start to see some get on wood, especially if it stays warm.” Look for stumps and blowdowns with 12 to 15 feet of water nearby. “A blowdown on a steep bank is ideal,” said Aaron. “All up and down Alcovy are some good blowdowns. There’s some good stuff where the Alcovy hits the main lake, on the western shore.” Small crankbaits, like a two-inch Fat Free Shad, a No. 5 or No. 7 Shad Rap and a Bomber 6A are great around rocks and dock posts. The brighter, firetiger colors are great up the lake, and try natural colors down south. In the blowdowns, start to look for a spinnerbait bite. “I like chartreuse or chartreuse and white with a single, gold Colorado blade,” said Aaron. “When the water gets 53 at the mouths of the rivers, I’ll start throwing it. You’re really just kind of flipping it around these blowdowns and slow-rolling it through the limbs. If I get a limit, I’m going to put it down and throw a jig.” Aaron likes a 1/2-oz. black/blue or brown jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Critter Crawl. The Butts County Bass Busters had a 14-boat tournament last weekend, and it only took eight pounds to win. “Fish were biting crankbaits on rocks the first of the week, but they weren’t there Saturday,” said Bobby Berry.

Crappie: Great. A father/son team caught 100 crappie Saturday, and they took home 40. “They said they were trolling black/blue/chartreuse jigs in the river channel,” said Bobby. “They usually fish below the powerline. They said it should be this way on into next month.”