Big Indiana Bass

Jack DeBord

Jack DeBord, a former Muncie police officer that later moved to Brownsburg, IN and could frequently be seen in the area, especially around That Place In Clermont, the former bait, tackle and boat repair shop run by Howard Wood. Jack had a production company, Angler Productions, that was responsible for his Midwest Angler televsion series seen locally on WTTV Channel 4, as well as the ABC Cable Network. Jack was sponsored by Bass Hunter Lures, Big Blue Stores, Evinrude motors, A.C. Delco, Chevrolet Motors and Hildebrandt Lures.

Pre-Storm Bank Walking

Put the Husky Jerks back into service again yesterday. Playing around with a new color that seems to be working well in the clearer water ponds I've been fishing. One thing I think I'm noticing with this warming weather (and water) is that wind is becoming critical if you want to get bit right now on them. Found one little spot late this afternooon where I was able to just stand and catch 15 bass without moving at all, and likely could have caught more but, 1.) the storms and rain were approaching fast, and 2.) the last fish I caught was a big one for these ponds, so I figured that was a good way to end the day. Still adding just a partial Suspend-dot to the throat of each bait to keep it sitting near still on the pauses with the changing water temps. Seems to be working.

More Crappie Madness

Made another trip back out to the local reservoir to chase crappie earlier this week. This time the wind let me fish some of my favorite wintering holes, and it paid off. Landed 50 fish within the first 2.5 hours before deciding to go bass fishing. That didn't pan out over the next hour, so I finished the afternoon back on the crappie and totaled 62 for the day. These fish are still sitting down in 17 feet of water or greater. The deepest fish I caught (several, in fact) came from 27 feet, but they were all smaller fish. Water temps are still running in the 46-48 degree range.

I had also reset one of my electronic units back to factory defaults, so I spent some time getting it dialed back in. Have everything reading pretty much just how I like. Can't wait to get out and try some different species and type of fishing with them later this year. Also be glad when the reservoirs get back to normal pool elevation so I can do some mapping on a few key areas of my local reservoir.

  

Friday "This and That"

Stocked up on some more Husky Jerks in a few new colors. Found one they liked today. Caught 14 on it after the rain finally cleared. The ones right out of the box are suspending great "as is." The one I've been fishing with (was my only one) where I changed out the hooks and split rings, I had to weight to get it back to suspending. Megabass 110 jerkbaits are great, and I have my favorites in that line, but these are 4x-5x cheaper and catch fish pretty well, too, especially in these shallower ponds. Had a day a few years back on a local reservoir where I caught 2 bass over 6# on a Megabass, but my buddy fishing with me that day, the late Lee Dilley, caught the largest one (over 7#) on a Husky Jerk.

Also saw a couple blue crayfish claws laying around the bank. Haven't figured out exactly what the deal is. I tend to see them most right after winter and into early spring. Is it a "dead" thing, a molting thing, a vulnerability thing? Not certain, but I've written a couple other posts on the subject.

• Blue crayfish remnants 
• Blue crayfish 'Fun Facts'

Revisiting Reservoir Seasonal Guidelines

For most parts of the country, spring has finally started to arrive as winter ice and snow grudgingly give way. That means open water fishing for the vast majority of us by the time this issue gets to you. As such, I wanted to focus on Buck's guidelines for approaching most reservoirs during this still cold water period.

 

Keep in mind his classic seasonal diagram showing the fish sitting down in a channel in the deepest water to start, with movements toward the steeper side of the channel in colder water, and toward the longer, flatter sides of the channel and structures during the warmer parts of the year. Buck wrote, "During these colder parts of the season (late fall, winter and early spring), there will be short, scattered migrations from the deep channel towards the steep shoreline and short structures. This provides the shortest route to the shallows for a limited, scattered migration, and provides immediate access back to deep water."

 

So in most reservoirs, the first section you should check for activity is the deep, steep shoreline on the main body of the reservoir. If you have a good topographic map of the reservoir, these areas should be easy to pinpoint. Any areas where the main channel swings in or near the shoreline will likely be one such area to mark and check. In other areas, just the natural makeup of the flooded land will create a very steep drop into deep water even without the channel being in the immediate vicinity. These areas should also be checked.

 

If you don't have a map, then you need to use your eyeballs. Scan the surrounding shoreline, looking for banks that exhibit a steep shoreline slope of 45 degrees or greater. In many instances, there will either be riprap or exposed natural rocks that helped protect or create such areas. Another thing to look for would be areas with a lot of fallen trees pointed sharply down into the water. Oftentimes, these will be mud banks that are still in the process of eroding. Classic "bluff" banks are yet another typical example of good winter areas with lots of rock outcroppings and ledges forming sheer walls.

 

As water temps increase and spring begins to take hold, the next areas to check would be the feeder streams and coves found off the deeper sections. As weather and water conditions improve, some fish will move into the channel of feeder streams, and from there they will migrate into the shallows. I see a lot of guys rush the season, immediately heading into the backs of these coves where the bass will eventually spawn, but right now you want to spend most of your time out toward the mouth of these creek arms looking for those same type steep areas as you did on the main body.

 

Depending on their exact makeup, these spots could be checked by both trolling and casting. However, casting will allow these areas to be checked more thoroughly. It is one of the times where Buck wrote that casting would be more effective and would provide better coverage than trolling. The colder water temperatures, especially in the earliest part of the season, can often be too fast in regards to speed control in order to make a big catch. Casting will allow you to slow down your speed control and will likely produce more fish until water temperatures warm closer toward the spawning period.

 

Keep in mind, Buck gave us a few other tips to making good catches on reservoirs during this time of year.

 

First, fish migration is mostly spotty. Multiple trolling or casting passes on the same structures might yield just a single fish, or even no fish, while the same pass at another time of the day could yield a limit catch. This is quite normal for this time of the year, so don't get discouraged if catches are slow to begin with. Keep checking and rechecking your marked areas several times throughout the day.

 

Second, when a productive area has been found, considerable time should be spent working it over thoroughly. Fish are often grouped tightly in this cold water, so spending time in the immediate area where you have already caught one fish is a good idea to see if others have moved with it.

 

Finally, if a particular area has proven productive, other spots of a similar nature should be looked for and tested. This is similar to "pattern fishing" that you often read about. For example, if your first attempts on mainlake structures produce no fish, but then a steep riprap shoreline inside the mouth of a feeder cove produces for you, be sure to look for and search out other similar type areas in other coves on the lake.

 

For a short video that covers a lot of the points made in this article, see Jim Shell's Structure Fishing YouTube channel for a video he and I did a couple years back on prespawn reservoir fishing. It can be found at the following address:

 

Tough Day on the Big Pond

Had to work for them today, but squeezed out my 25. Water stained, but not muddy and 46 degrees. Wind started out from the SE, but later switched to the NE. High temperature today hit 49 degrees. They also started pulling water (one gate open) around 10:00 AM which often seems to make the bite go sour. Fish were still deep, at least the ones I got to bite. Best on the day was this pair of 11’s.

Stuck A Good One (Finally)