Lake Jackson Fishing Report – March 2022

Jackson: Level: 1.3 feet above 528. Temp: 50-51 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “Current fishing is slow and poor. The ABA only took 7 pounds to win. With fishing like that, let’s talk March fishing! I managed to talk to two veterans on the lake. They said that right now is when to target main-lake points with a crankbait that runs 5 to 8 feet deep and a crankbait that runs 3 to 5 feet deep. Add a squarebill as soon as water is on a warming trend and a Carolina rig with a 12- to 18-inch leader. If you get bit on a main-lake point that goes into a pocket, continue into the pocket working your crankbait at an angle or parallel to the bank. The crankbait needs to be hitting the bottom or you’re wasting your time. Key crankbait colors are crawfish, chartreuse and white/chartreuse. If you get to a dock, make multiple casts with your crankbait down the sides and along the deep ends of the dock. Follow that up with either a shaky head or jig and work it out until it’s 2 to 3 feet out from under the dock. They said a lot of bites early this month will come out from the docks. Your other baits to try is a ChatterBait or a spinnerbait in the stained water and target blowdowns or areas that have logs and debris collected near the bank. As the water warms up near 60, start on the main points but fish farther into the pocket using both crankbaits and spinnerbaits. If the secondary points are working, they will start skipping the main-lake point as the fish start working their way shallower. By the next full moon, they will start on the secondary points and let the fish dictate how far back they fish. At this point, fish shallower cranks (6 feet and less), a squarebill and a heavy Carolina rig with a big lizard (6 to 8 inches) for the bigger females. They will still be using a jig, shaky head and a Senko on the docks and fishing the entire dock up to the bank to find where the bass are positioned. Shades in black, blue/black and green pumpkin are about the only colors you really need unless you are in extremely clear water. Although there will be bass to spawn later this month, both anglers agreed that April is the month the biggest bass get caught on Jackson.”