Lake Russell Fishing Report – June 2010

Russell: Level: 0.4 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 90s. Clarity: Clear; a slight stain up Beaverdam.

Bass: Decent. Trad Whaley said you can go catch numbers of small spots pretty easily, but the big fish are tough to find right now. He said it’s taking 10 to 12 pounds to win tournaments. If you want to have some fun, Trad said to find out when they’re going to be generating and to crank rocky points with brushpiles, the reef markers down by the dam or vertical structure like the bridges with a DD22 or a Strike King 6 series. He said you can pick up a couple of fish with the crankbait and then switch to a vertical presentation with either a drop shot or a shaky head to pick up a few more. He likes watermelon or another natural color during the day, and he’ll go with red bug in the evening. If you’re looking for a bigger fish, Trad said they’re suspended in the treetops at 10 to 15 feet over a deep bottom. “Standing timber is where it’s at,” he said. “If you find the right tree, you can catch two or three in the 3- or 4-lb. range.” Again, Trad likes his DD22s and series 6 baits for the trees, but he said anything that runs 10 to 12 feet deep is likely to get bit if you can find the fish. If you can locate them with a crankbait, try following it up with a big Texas-rigged worm, just crawl it through the tree at the about the same depth. Trad said you can always go for your kicker fish shallow, but you’re only going to get two or three bites in a day. He said wood structure in the backs of the creeks will always hold some good fish, and when the water is high the flooded grass is worth trying. “If you find a piece of wood in the water, it’ll probably have fish on it,” he said. Trad likes to flip wood cover with a big Texas-rigged worm in green pumpkin or watermelon. A shallow-running crankbait is good in the backs of the creeks. Early and late, try a Horny Toad or a buzzbait.