Lake Russell Fishing Report – March 2009

Russell: Level: 4.3 feet below full pool. Temp: 55 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Bass: Fair. Trad Whaley reports, “I believe they’re in transition right now. The deep, drop-shot bite for spotted bass has been off, and the shallow bite isn’t really there either. My dad went up the river, and there wasn’t that shallow, dirty-water bite yet. It took 18 pounds to win a tournament Saturday, but he had an 8 1/2-pounder, which is very unusual on Russell. I think second place was only about 9 pounds. The best bite right now is to fish a bucktail jig under the birds. There are a lot of birds up Beaverdam, which tells you the bait is starting to move shallow. Most of the fish seem to be suspended near the tops of the trees, and you can use your electronics to “Nintendo fish” with drop-shots. The next warm spell we get, I think that will be the big move for the bass. They’ll move up the ditches and stay there, and you can fish a Bladerunner on the steep sides of points near the mouths of the creeks. Later in the day they’ll move up on the flats where you can catch them on a jerkbait.”

Note: On April 4, the 2nd annual Claire Whaley Foundation Benefit Bass Tournament will be held out of the Hwy 72 boat ramp on Lake Russell.

Crappie: Good for big fish, said Wendell Wilson. The fish should be holding in 20 to 25 feet of water off the creek channels in the mouths of the major coves. Catch them downiling minnows. The shallow bite should turn on around the second week of March, and then the big fish will hit the banks first. Wendell likes to catch them by cruising the banks and hitting any shallow cover with minnows fished on a long pole, no reel. He’ll go with a 12- to 14-foot pole, 10-lb. test, a small float, split shot and a No. 2 hook baited with a minnow. Fish your minnow about 14 inches to 2 feet below your float, and put it right in the middle of the brushpiles. The fish should be in 2 to 4 feet of water.