Lake Russell Fishing Report – August 2019

Russell: Level: 1 foot low. Temp: 86-89 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament pro and guide Trad Whaley reports, “Spotted bass are making up more than 90 percent of catches now. It’s hard to catch a largemouth. We’re catching very good numbers of spots, 30 to 50 a day. Just get over them and fish a drop-shot. Try a Pulse Jig in the brush in 20 to 25 feet of water for a bigger bite. They’ll be right on edge of the main channel. At Russell, they suspend in timber and slide horizontally up to the brush to feed. Try a crankbait like a bigger DD 22 for a bigger bite. If the water gets up after a good rain, try fishing shallow back in the new stained water with a buzzbait.” Guide Jerry Kotal reports, “We are catching them out in 20 to 35 feet of water around brush. I’ve been catching a lot of the fish on drop-shot finesse green pumpkin and watermelon worms. You can catch some on a deep-diving crankbait in sexy-shad color.” Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “The bass fishing on Russell is still good, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. There are still some big largemouth being weighed in each week and several big fish over 5 pounds. We have been catching a few largemouth each week in brush and standing timber using Texas- and Carolina-rigged Zoom Mag II and Ol’ Monster worms. For spotted bass, we have been fishing primary and secondary points at the mouths of the creeks and on the main lake with Carolina rigs, drop shots and shaky heads with Zoom Finesse worms, Z-drop and Swamp Crawlers. As we head into August, the fish should migrate more toward the main lake, and baitfish will be the key to finding the bass. Typically, August is a tough month as the water is at its warmest, so I look for big schools of baitfish in 20 to 30 feet of water near the river channels.”