Pickwick Lake Elevation 414
Water Temp. 69

BASS
Bass fishing has really picked up over the last week. I fished everyday last week and each morning has been about the same. I start off around daylight (5:30am) with a top water bait with little to no luck. From around 6am-6:30 I start catching a large number of fish on a Strike King Series 3 Crankbaits. I have been fishing the white Series 3 around any rocky point catching a lot of fish and catching at least one each day over 5 pounds. The depth and size of the Series 3 seems to be perfect for largemouth and Smallmouth bass right now. I also fish with the Series 3 along the river banks below the Dam, you can fish these on rocky banks and gravel banks and treetop without changing baits all day.

White Bass
If you like to catch a lot of fish you can still load up on white bass right now. Using the same Series 3 Strike King crankbait in the river will catch a large number of white bass while catching largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass along the way. The Botel area below the Dam is a good area to cover for all these species with the 8' diving Strike King crankbait.

Stripers
Stripers are biting really good when the Dam is generating. Yellow tail minnows are running right now and accounting for a large number of fish. Fish these yellow tail minnows close to the bottom and drift down stream. If you fish during the morning hours or late afternoon you can catch at lot of fish on a King Shad by Strike King, this bait runs below the surface and is big and strong enough to hold up to big stripers. It is best to fish the King Shad on 12 pound test line and throw it where there is a lot of current, because it is jointed its action attracts fish when you simple reel it back slow with tight line.

Catfish
I have caught a few catfish while striper fishing. I see a lot of catfish caught below the dam in 20-25' of water. Most people I see are using bait they are catching in the water such as yellow tail minnows and skip jack. You can also still catch them shallow along river banks in 5-8' of water using night crawlers and crickets.
Clagett Talley pickwickareaguide@yahoo.com (731) 607-5266