Pickwick Lake Elevation 413.5
Water Temp. 85
BASS
Bass fishing in Pickwick one day will be great and the next day you will be lucky to catch a few fish. From daylight which is around 5:20am until 6am try throwing a buzz bait on shallow points and over grassy flats. If you are fishing a grassy area also try fishing with a plastic frog, they are very weedless and one the best baits you can choose in thick grass. After the top water bite is over throw a Strike King Series 3 Crank Bait, I have caught a lot of fish lately on the Splatter Back and Parrot colored Series 3 Crank Baits. From 6am through 9am throw the Series 3 Crank Bait along bluffs and drop offs.

The Series 3 Baits will only run approx 8' and I have caught a lot of fish in 20' of water on the crank baits because the fish are suspended in the depth that the Series 3 and 4 run. During the morning hours also throw a carolina rig, Rage Tail Green Pumpkin Lizards are working well. Deep water humps and ledges are accounting for most the big fish caught throughout the day Series 6XD's are catching a lot of the fish in the deep water. Fish along river channels in 15-25' with a Strike Kind Series 6XD when you locate a few good fish also try a their 1oz spinner bait. It is really tough on the weekends because all the local deep water well known spots are taken and soon to be taken after one boat leaves, so looking for new deep water structure would be a good thing to do.

Stripers
The majority of stripers are deep. To catch them we have been using 3oz sinkers on 3way swivels. The only live bait to use is live skipjack minnows that you catch yourself in the river. The skipjack minnows are easy to catch right now. A lot of the fish we have caught on the skipjack minnows have been over 10 pounds. For the most part it is more productive than normal right now. I am used to catching at least ten stripers on a slow day and it is not unusual to catch fifty stripers on half day trips. But for the last week or so we have been able to boat ten fish or more pretty easily. If the fish come up on the surface I am likely to catch several fish in a short period of time but other than that I am using a live skipjack. I am seeing a few more bank fishermen catch fish, when I am able to watch them.

Catfish
I caught skip jack and fished with them with a one once sinker on the bottom in around 20' of water for catfish over the last two weeks. It did not seem to matter if the bait was alive or dead, unlike striper fishing where the baits really needs to be alive.
www.pickwickareaguide.com and you can also go there to access TVAs website and by doing so it will take you straight to Pickwick lake.
Compliments of Clagett Talley 731-607-5266