PFA Fishing Reports – April 2007

Public Fishing Area Reports:

Evans County PFA: Level: Full pool, but may be down 1 to 3 feet this April. Temp: 62 to 65 degrees. Clarity: 22 inches.

Bass: Good. Anglers fishing with 3- to 5-inch shiners have caught several bass around in the 4- to 5-lb. range, and a 10-lb. fish was caught by an angler trolling around the lily pads. Bass activity is usually good during April, and a floating golden Rapala or shad-colored, soft plastic jerkbait will be hard to beat.

Crappie: Excellent. Anglers in Bidd Sands Lake are trolling very slowly with minnows and fishing around structure in 3 to 6 feet of water. The larger crappie are averaging 2-plus pounds. Most shallow-water spawning activity should be over by April, and fish will be moving into a little deeper water to feed.
Bream: Good. The shellcracker bite is excellent during late-March, and the bluegill are almost always biting good. Most anglers are catching fish in 4 to 6 feet of water using pink worms and crickets. In April, fish should be congregating to spawn and look for large concentrations in 2 to 4 feet of water.

Linesides: Good. Anglers have caught several 2- to 5-lb. hybrid bass with chicken livers, shiners and artificial lures. This fishery is relatively new to Evans County PFA. Hybrids are stocked into Bidd Sands Lake to suppress the gizzard shad population. Happy anglers are enjoying this secondary recreational benefit from this management practice.

Hugh Gillis PFA: Level: Full pool. Temp: 62-65 degrees. Clarity: 55 inches.

Bass: With warming water temps, larger bass are showing up in the shallow water to spawn and feed. During the prespawn period anglers were consistently catching 4- to 8-lb. fish, and this included an 11.83-lb. bass caught by Eddie Peeples of Warner Robins. April should bring good bass fishing with just about any kind of bait, and topwater action should be excellent.

Bream: Many limits of quality bream were caught during March on just about any kind of natural or artificial baits. As the water warms and begins to darken with its summer plankton bloom in April, more and more of the quality bream will move shallow to feed and spawn. When the water temps get in the mid 70s in late April, this lake should offer some of the best bream fishing available anywhere.

Crappie: Good numbers of small crappie continue to show up in the creel. As these fish grow throughout the spring and summer and reach harvestable size, crappie fishing should only improve.

Catfish: Not many catfish were seen during March, but action for these should really improve with the onset of warmer and more stable weather in late April and May.

Marben PFA: Level: Lakes are full. Clarity: Clear. Temp: 62 to 65 degrees.

Bass: Plastic worms in black, blue and purple have been effective. Most of the bass caught are in the 2- to 3-lb. range, with a few larger ones being caught as they begin to move into shallower water.

Crappie: White and chartreuse jigs retrieved slowly under a float or by trolling have produced good catches in Fox, Bennett and Margery Lakes. Most of the crappie are running around 1/2 pound.

Bream: Waxworms and pink worms fished on the bottom have produced some good catches in Margery and Fox lakes, as well as in several of the other smaller ponds.

Rocky Mountain PFA: Level: Full pool. Temp: 60 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Last month was a good month for bass on Heath Lake, with many big bass caught in the 6- to 9-lb. range. Fish are moving to the shallows, so try using something topwater. Expect the first of this month to be a good one on both of the lakes at Rocky Mountain, and good fishing should continue through April.

Crappie: Good. Many fishermen have reported that fish have been moving to shallow water and that females are full with eggs on both lakes. They have been catching them on both minnows and jigs, with the best luck using minnows in shallow water around structure.