Doggett at Large

by JOE DOGGETT :: TF&G Contributing Editor

Bass Fishing at its Best

THE LATE-AFTERNOON south wind was gusting to 20-plus as we shoved the 12-foot aluminum boat into the lake. Naturally, the best-looking bass water was on the far south end.

I sat in the front, playing the age-hasprivilege trump, as Rickey Morris stepped to the stern. We nosed the ski into the wind. He ddled with the ba ery cables and turned the trolling motor handle to full power.

We didn’t exactly go in reverse, but the splashing bow failed to reveal any discernible progress.

“Hmm, ba ery seems a bit low,” he muttered, the master of understatement. “We’d be er start paddling.”

Morris passed over a broad-bladed wooden paddle and started digging with its mate. e coveted shoreline bristling with green promise was perhaps 400 yards away. I se led into a steady rhythm, punctuating each fourth or h stroke with a choice epithet.

A er 200 yards into the hammering chops, I felt every hour of my sagging 74 years.

“Keep stroking! All this paddling exercise will help your sur ng.” I’ve known the 50-something Morris for 25 years, mainly through a shared obsession for wave riding.

By happy coincidence, he and his family live on a subdivision lake. By unhappy coincidence, he pays more a ention to Fry Sur oards than Delco products. e grueling exercise nally reached the leeward bank. I slumped forward, sweating and panting. Morris had the good sense to pack a beverage cooler, and I reached back, waggling an impatient hand.

“Ah, much be er,” I allowed, wiping frosty foam from parched lips.

By paddling a few so strokes and slipping a mushroom anchor a er each sly advance we were able to semi-e ectively work the bank. Tall reeds and shy-looking stickups punctuated the promise. I used a crankbait, and he chunked a Texas-rigged plastic. irty minutes later, nothing. e late sun was se ling behind low clouds, and the air was cooling. You don’t bass sh for more than half a century without picking up a few clues. I stashed the crankbait rod and grabbed a topwater rod. e 6½-foot stick was rigged with one of my all-time favorite plugs, a Norman Wounded Flash.

Lake Livingston pro Jack Segall introduced me to the Wounded Flash back in the mid ’70s. e chubby torpedo pro le is ed with slim fore and a chrome propellers that twirl and u er with each rod-tip “slush.” It’s just the right weight and balance for smooth levelwind casting. Many ne slush-type plugs are available, but the old Wounded Flash remains my “con dence bait” when topwater conditions for bass are right.

As if a switch were ipped against the growing shadows, the topwater conditions were u erly and totally right.

My rst cast—yes, my rst shot—into a tight shoreline pocket drew a prompt blast. A three-pound bass tore into the plug, and I whooped against the bent rod. e sh was healthy and strong, pulling and diving with surprisingly vitality. Like most bass stuck on surface lures in shallow water, it made several twisting, shaking leaps—all you could ask from an A-list game sh.

I held the glowing prize alo before plucking the trebles and releasing the sh.

“Not bad,” Morris said, ditching the worm rig and grabbing a topwater rod. His choice was a classic Heddon Torpedo, slightly smaller and ed with a single tail prop.

During the next hour we caught 15 or 20 bass, most in the honest three-pound class and several pushing four to ve. e runt of the bunch was a gung-ho one pounder that nailed the Flash. We each missed several blowups (mainly hi ing too soon), but I do not recall losing any exceptional sh.

My best was a thick green and gold beauty that struck at the end of a smooth cast tight to the reeds. e sh jumped repeatedly and pulled with alarming power—my reel drag was too tight, a rookie mistake that the 15-pound mono covered.

It was an excellent session. Any decent largemouth that smashes a well-cast topwater lure (plug or y) along a pleasing green shoreline carries the game to a high level on the style meter of Sport Fishing. Even Morris’s cheesy boat was a plus—the small ski puts the low angler closer to the experience, a front row seat.

I thought about bass shing during my short drive home.

Years ago, I spent many days on the big East Texas reservoirs. One of the standard pa erns in open water was to work bo om structure such as a hump, creek channel, or roadbed. Most of this shing occurred in 10 to maybe 20 feet.

No casting targets were visible, only a vague notion of the bo om contours and perhaps a few blips of sh or bait as marked by the electronics. Go-to o erings were Texasrigged plastics, deep-diving crankbaits, and jigging type lures (such as Mann’s Li le George tailspinners and Bomber’s Slab spoons) Bass o en schooled over main-lake structures, and the shing could be very productive.

Back in the catch-and-keep days 10- sh limits were routine, mostly one to two pounders. Occasionally, a larger bass would push the “schoolies” aside and hit. It was fun. But it was not as exciting as what Morris and I experienced, and it was not as signi cant.

What we experienced is what made the largemouth America’s sh. It is available on lakes and ponds across the state. e accurate cast, the violent blast, the repeated leaps, those elements combined with a pleasing shoreline are bass shing at its best—Well, those things and maybe a hot trolling motor.

Email Joe Doggett at ContactUs@fi shgame.com

story by MATT WILLIAMS

IT’S EARLY FALL AND another summer meltdown should be in the rearview, or real close to it. It’s a feel-good time of year that always brings a gradual chill to the water that puts the slabs in the mood to chomp.

“Slab” is a moniker that crappie anglers sometimes use when describing a big sh. e criteria for the title varies with who you talk to. Lake Fork shing guide Gary Paris draws the line at 1 1/4 pounds.

Paris and his clients have boxed thousands of slabs over the years. Like most avid anglers, the guide agreed that man-made brush piles and bridge crossings rank among the best places to look for schools of the popular pan sh from summer through fall on Fork and other East Texas hotspots.

The Top White Crappie Lake in Texas

THERE ARE TWO SUB-SPECIES OF CRAPPIE FINNING AROUND in East Texas lakes—black crappie and white crappie. Although black crappie drive most fisheries, Texas Parks and Wildlife regional director Marcos DeJesus of Tyler says there are a few where the white crappie stands out.

“All of the big reservoirs have great populations, but it seems like the real turbid ones give white crappie an advantage over black crappie,” he said. “Some of the strongest populations sampled in recent surveys are from siltier reservoirs such as Cooper and Cedar Creek.

Keeping a strong hold at the top is Navarro Mills. This is a smaller silted reservoir that pretty much has lived its existence as a premier crappie destination since it produced the state record white crappie in 1968, a 4.56 pounder.

Pound-for-pound this lake hangs in there with the best when it comes to white crappie. Navarro Mills still has a solid population, but the drastic siltation is starting to show signs of impacting crappie recruitment.”

MAP: 2020 TEXAS LAKES & BAYS FISHING ATLAS

Good electronics and mapping technologies have played huge roles in Paris’s fishing strategies over the years, but none have helped him step up his game like LiveScope has.

LiveScope is Garmin’s version of forwardfacing sonar. Like Lowrance LIVETARGET and Humminbird MEGA Live imaging, the high-tech system provides real-time sonar images of structure, bait and swimming fish ahead of below or around the vessel. Paris says LiveScope enables him to pinpoint schools of crappie at suspended depths, make precise casts to them and see how they react to his bait. More

importantly, it gives him a good idea how many sh are in a school and allows him to bird dog the sh when they move.

“LiveScope hasn’t really changed the way I sh,” he said. “I still key on brush piles and bridges just like I always have, but it has made me way more e ective at shing them than I was before. I can actually follow the sh if they move le , right or under the boat,” he said. “You can’t do that with traditional down-scan or side-scan sonar.”

Paris says LiveScope comes in really handy when crappie meander away from a brush pile or set of bridge pilings. O en times this happens because the bait moves or due to shing pressure.

“You might catch two or three sh real quick, and then they quit,” he said. “It’s easy to think that is all that was there, but a lot of times the school may just move and set up 25 yards to the le or right. I nd them relating to open water pre y o en. Without LiveScope, I’d never know those sh were there.”

Paris says the same game plan can be applied on Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Lake o’ the Pines, Tawakoni, Cedar Creek or any other lake with an abundant crappie population.

“Learn to use it and you’ll catch more crappie wherever you sh, no doubt about it.”

Deadly as it is, not everyone has the extra money to invest in expensive forward-facing sonar gear. Not to worry though, plenty of fall crappie can be caught without it. You can score big, if you know the whereabouts of a brush pile or two, or don’t mind investing the time to build your own. Otherwise, you can nd success around bridges or select boat docks, provided the water depth is su cient.

Sam Rayburn shing guide Bill Fondren with Tejas Guide Service knows a thing or two about brush piles.

Fondren has dozens of sh hotels built on his home lake at varied depths for di erent seasons. Deeper piles in 25 to 35 feet hold sh from summer through winter. According to Fondren, how and where the sh will posi-

Black crappie are the more prominent sub-species on most East Texas fi sheries.

Three Steps to Shooting Crappie Jigs

PERFORMING THE SHOOTING TECHNIQUE IS A SIMPLE, MULTIstep process:

1) Release enough line so the jig falls between the bottom rod guide and the reel. Trap the line against the rod with the index fi nger on your rod hand. Grip the jig head fi rmly between the index fi nger and thumb on your free hand. Make sure the exposed hook is turned downward.

2) Point the rod tip at the target dock with the line and jig parallel to the water. This will cause the rod to bend or load backwards, sort of like a bow and arrow. You might want to sit or kneel to get a lower angle.

3) Release the jig and trapped line simultaneously. This causes the loaded rod tip to spring forward and sling the bait toward the target.

PHOTO: COURTESY WALLY MARSHALL

tion around the brush depends on oxygen content, sunlight and cloud cover. He almost always nds the sh suspended.

“Sometimes they’ll be on top of the brush, out to the side or right down in the middle of it,” he said.

Fondren likes to build his brush piles vertically in the water column using sweet gums and willows. He steers clear of cedar, because dense foliage is bad about snagging 2/0 shiner hooks and jigs.

Brush piles of all sizes will a ract sh. Fondren is a fan of big ones. He builds the piles in the shape of a horseshoe with the 8- to 10-foot limbs spaced far enough apart that he can nose his 24-foot pontoon boat into the bend. is provides multiple customers a spot to sh.

Fondren weights his piles using cinder blocks. He connects the block to the base of the limb using stainless steel wire to prevent rust.

Any brush pile constructed using natural materials will rot or lose its appeal in time. Fondren says it is a good idea to refresh piles periodically.

“I’m a rm believer in keeping things fresh and green down there,” Fondren said.

FISHING BRIDGES AND DOCKS

Fishing around brush piles is o en a vertical game. However, bridges and docks are more about casting or “shooting” with small jigs or swim baits.

Paris says anglers can catch sh by soaking shiners vertically around bridge support columns. Yet, he prefers to stay on the move and cast with small jigs when targeting the crossmembers. He always lines up parallel with the bridge and casts ahead of the boat. e key is to make a lengthy cast, then count the bait down a few seconds before beginning a slow, steady retrieve. e depth of the crossmember can vary with location and water level. At Fork, many of the crossmembers are about 20 feet deep when the lake is at full pool, Paris said.

Dock shooting is a special tactic Texas crappie pro Wally Marshall relies on to catch crappie from spring through fall on just about any lake with boat docks, slips and piers. Cedar Creek, Palestine, Tawakoni, Fork, Conroe, Texoma, Athens, Toledo Bend are among the East Texas lakes where he’s had good success.

Marshall says bait sh gravitate to docks to feed, seek shelter and hide from larger predators. Crappie take advantage of the shade to ambush unsuspecting forage. e sh also are a racted to the cooler water beneath the canopy, and shooting is ideal for ge ing at them.

Marshall says the magic is built around the presentation of the bait, usually a 1/16- or 1/32-ounce jig. is is paired with a medium/light spinning out t and high visibility mono lament line in

Mr. Crappie, four- to six-pound test.Wally Marshall, demonstrates dock shooting. Done correctly, shooting will catapult the jig at a low angle, parallel to the water, with enough velocity that it will sail far beneath the dock or whatever you’re aiming at. Marshall claims he can shoot a 1/16-ounce Slab Daddy or Shad Pole jig about 60 feet with the right out t. “It enables you to put a jig into the co n corners—the deepest, darkest places under that dock that are impossible to get to with a conventional cast,” he said. “Plus, it allows you to get a bait beneath a dock without getting so close that you might spook sh hanging closer to the outside edge.” Marshall says anyone can learn to shoot docks e ectively with practice and persistence. Beginners can learn in their yard or driveway by si ing in a lawn chair and using a sawhorse positioned 15 to 20 feet away to simulate the dock. He suggests practicing with 1/16-ounce lead weight instead of a jig. Practice until you can consistently shoot the weight under the sawhorse at varied distances. Having the proper equipment helps atten the learning curve. A sensitive rod is a key component. Marshall’s favorite is a Lew’s seven-foot, medium/light action spinning model he helped design for shooting. Fi ingly, the rod is called the “Speed Shooter.” It’s made from sensitive IM8 graphite with a fast-tip action tip. «