Lay Lake Report for mid-April
By Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
With spring now upon us the bass of Lay Lake are doing their thing! This goes for some very shallow-dweeling largemouth bass, mostly found bedding around the many types of aquatic weeds now in bloom.
Those fiesty, Coosa River spotted bass are bedding too! They prefer to bed along rock bluffs, on sandy or small pebble bottoms or they may share some form of wood cover with their cousins, the largemouth bass.
With water temps very close to the perfect temperature for ideal bedding purposes(around 72 degrees), the bass have moved right in to set up house for a few weeks.
Anglers can cruise the shallows with their trolling motors set on a quiet slow speed, utilizing a good pair of polorized sunglasses to see these bass and their beds.
Always try to approach these bedding bass in the shallows with the sun towards your back (to cut down on the glare on the water's surface) and try to utilize a low profile.
Always create long, precise cast's with every lure you choose to fish...this is what it takes to successfully sneak up on some of Lay lake's big, unsuspecting bass!
You can actually see their small, dished out beds!
The beds will show up as rounded-out (yellowish in color), bright spots, easily seen against the lake's dark bottom.
Backing off, after you discover several beds in one location and then fan-casting the entire area several times, will eventually connect you with some nice bass.
With various types of lures, covering shallow water from top to bottom, you will eventually reveal just one or two of the days many shallow water patterns, and there are many patterns to be discovered this time of year!
Some largemouth bass could be holding on isolated weedbeds in a certain depth, or many bass could be found really bunched up along the many creek points found in Lay lake's dozens of major, feeder creeks.
Spotted bass bed right along rock bluff banks and some of the year's biggest spotted bass can be fooled fishing small, rocky points leading into small cuts and pockets found along these places.
Fish Lay lake this spring season for lots of shallow water action!
Oh, the lures? You will figure em' out!
With a wide variety of weedless lures like topwater buzzbaits, frogs and floating worms and those egg eating lizard lures bass hate!
Mid-range lures like lipless crankbaits, shallow diving crankbaits and suspending jerkbaits can cover water fast and help astute anglers discover bass away from the banks. Big bass other anglers miss, or just plain overlook!
Lures fished on bottom can be small, finesse worms or other soft plastics. Or bigger more gaudy-type jig combos, creature baits, tube baits, or oversized worms, lizards and plastic crawfish imitations.
In open water situations alwys try those lures that shine! Like spinner baits or topwaters that can be walked, jerked, or made to create some kind of noise.
Or, much like myself, you can just throw that zara spook all day!(See: "Everything you need to know about fishing the zara spook" info on my website; www.fishingalabama.com)
Be safe and have a good time fishing this spring season on Alabama's Lay Lake!
Next month in May, it only gets better with post-spawn topwater action bass!
Thanks and Good Fishin'
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
