The Dean's prespawn videos
My church sponsors a tournament every year and this year it was supposed to be February 29. I watched all of the Dean's videos on finding prespawn bass. After watching the videos and a few on muddy water, I went to practice last Saturday. I fished a few spots and then decided to go to Nancy Branch. I graphed the creek all the way to the back where it got about 3-4 feet deep then started fishing docks all the way out of the creek. I fished from the back to the front of the docks and finally got a couple of good bites in the last third of the creek on the front of the docks. I used a jig, spinner bait and a nail weighted senko, just to make the Dean proud. I went home and did more research on bass tournaments on Lake Sinclair near Milledgeville, GA and found the Bassmaster tournament from 1997. It seems there was an young, upcoming angler from New Jersey that did well in the tournament. I enjoyed that and was looking forward to the tournament to see if my preparation would payoff and they postponed the tournament because it was to cold and muddy. I'm sure things will be different come April 11. Thanks for all of the information anyway. I feel like I was prepared to do well.
Steven, thanks for sharing. We love to hear a success story on applying the knowledge in our videos. I'm sorry they rescheduled on you.
Your name sounds familiar, did you fish the Fisher's of Men tournaments in the late 2000's early 2010's in the North Carolina area?
No. That isn't me. I have only fished my church sponsored tournaments each spring here in Middle Georgia - either Lake Sinclair or Lake Oconee. The first year was 2001 and I had no clue about bass fishing but my best friend did. I asked him if he wanted to enter. He was interested but he was more of a pond fisherman and so we had to learn about finding fish in a lake. After about ten years of fishing a couple of times a year and being a detriment to the team, I subscribed to Bassmaster magazine and bought a several CD's to try to learn as much as I could. Once I found Bassu.tv, I was hooked. There might be a few Icast videos I haven't watched, but other than that I have watched every one of the others and most of them multiple times. Thanks for a great learning opportunity for someone that doesn't get much time on the water. I am much more effective when I do get the chance.
I couldn't stand it so I went Sunday after church. I couldn't get bit. The water temperature was still in the mid 50's but the lake was down a foot or so. I figured with them being on the outside of the docks, they would still be there. There isn't a break off the bank any where (defined creek channel etc) and no real structure. I'm not sure what I should have done. I went to an old tried and true pocket that has a little grass in the back and got a couple of 1-2 lbers. Any suggestions? Very stained - about 6 inches. Water 55-57. I hit the front to the back of the docks just trying to locate where they were.
Hey Steven, Thanks for watching. Usually, when the water temps are 55 degrees and up, the bite is at its best. You have been hampered by the falling water levels. That will always affect fish this time of year. The deeper docks can be a good bet as you tried but I also see fish pulling out to secondary points when the water drops. They will move back up when the water rises or stabilizes. In heavily stained water, I really like the vibrating jig and thumping spinnerbaits and square bills. The moving baits can be really strong in these conditions. I will also fish a jig a lot under these conditions. I hope the fishing has improved for you.
