Late winter and early spring can be the best time of year to catch a trophy largemouth or spotted bass from Lake Jordan. There are several different ways to catch fish now including flipping a RealDeal Craw in the bank grass for largemouths and dragging a Coontail worm for the spots. My favorite way to catch the big’uns though is by cranking on pre-spawn staging type places. What you’ll want to look for is secondary points and humps that are very close to main lake spawning pockets. The key to these points and humps is that they must have gravel and or rock present. 6-10ft is usually the best depth and that can depend on water color. We have had a lot of rain this winter leaving the lake stained so the 6ft depth is where I would start looking.
I use a Spro FatPapa70 crankbait with 12lb Sunline fluorocarbon. This bait has a very wide wobble and it keeps its action at very slow speeds. Remember that this time of year the water temps are normally 48-51 degrees so a slow crawling retrieve is the best. If the water is stained I’ll go with a bright chartreuse like the Tropical Shad and a Nasty Shad pattern if it’s fairly clear. Keep your boat in deep water and make long casts over the rocky humps and points to give your bait a longer time on the bottom where both species will be. I can’t stress enough how important it is to use a very slow retrieve. You want to crawl it on the bottom trying to feel your way around the rocks. Occasionally they’ll even bite on a pause.
A lot of fish will be shallow this time of year but the “big girls” love to stage out a little deeper before committing to the spawning areas. Try this and I guarantee you’ll up your odds on catching a true Lake Jordan giant! You can also look me up on my Facebook fan page or Twitter for any questions you may have on techniques and tips for any other AL lakes and rivers! Good Luck!
Russ Lane
