Sports: Outdoors

All ‘wrong’

• Longtime guide Tracy Beall is the first admit that the Walter F. George ledges produce during the ‘wrong’ time of year — just like they are now.

Bob Kornegay

Something just wasn’t right.

“If this seems a little strange to you I can’t help it,” said Tracy Beall as he deftly assembled and tied together a Carolina-rig and baited it with a down-sized, green pumpkin-colored plastic worm.

Beall, a guide with 26 years‚ professional experience on Lake Walter F. George, was referring to the bass-fishing technique he was preparing to employ as it related to the time of year (late April) and time of day (7:30 a.m.).

Indeed, it did seem rather offbeat. Beall, Warner Robins angler DaWayne Spires and I were all about to go deep-water structure fishing for largemouth bass.

“This time of year, of course,” Beall began, “almost everyone on the lake is working the shallow sloughs, inlets and the shoreline looking for late-spawning fish and the post-spawners that haven’t yet returned to deeper water. That’s especially true early in the morning. As a rule, for most folks that’s a good plan of action, but I’ve always been rather devoted to deep-water bass fishing, almost exclusively. That’s what I’m most comfortable with and confident in, no matter what the clock or calendar says.”

While it has long been understood that the 47,000-acre confines of Walter F. George Reservoir (or Lake Eufaula) are ideal for “depth-plumbing” with soft-plastic worms, lizards, jigs and big slow-rolled spinnerbaits (the first tournament professionals proved that back in the 1960s), many angles — present company included — have been loath to think of such on a mid-spring day only an hour after dawn.

There we were, however, putting finishing touches on our Carolina-rigs, comfortably riding a gentle chop motivated by a southwesterly breeze, preparing to bounce our baits along the deep lake bottom among the rocks, stumps and various piles of old and new manmade bass-holding structure.

“I basically prefer two types of structure-bumping techniques,” Beall explained. “Along a good long stretch of bottom that contains the kind of ‘stuff’ (rocks, wood, old pre-lake landmarks) I want to fish in, I like to drift-fish. I’ll cast out, leave the bait on the bottom and let the wind and trolling motor do the work. It’s little more than bottom trolling, and is an excellent way to locate fish. By myself, I’ll often fish two rods, one on either side of the boat.

“For smaller, more isolated structure sites, I’ll pinpoint a specific area electronically and drop a marker buoy. Then I’ll back off and cast.

This is productive for fishing humps, ‘ditches’‚ old roadbed culverts and bridges and certain ‘trashy’ spots along a creek or river channel. There will almost always be fish holding around deeper bottom structure, regardless of the season or time of day. They don’t bite every time out, of course, but to be successful you have to fish where they are. You can’t always do that in seasonal shallow water or those in-between ‘transitional’ areas.”

Working the bottom off the lake’s eastern shoreline, from just south of George T. Bagby State Park to the mouth of Pataula Creek, Beall demonstrated his prowess at locating the likeliest deep-water largemouth haunts. He expertly (and usually correctly) “called the shots” for locations that produced smaller fish in larger numbers and spots where more isolated, bigger fish were wont to reside. His experience and knowledge of the lake’s south end were evident. Everyone aboard boated bass of various sizes while drifting and casting, despite the fact that the before-noon fishing was slow overall, even for anglers working shallow-running baits in the secluded coves and sloughs.

“Another thing about deep-structure fishing right now is that it lets you determine just where most of the lake’s bass are in their seasonal stages,” the Beall continued. “If you catch a lot of post-spawn fish and few egg-laden ones, that might mean the spawn is winding down. Good numbers of heavy, pot-bellied females means bedding is going to continue awhile longer.

It’s a pretty good way to accurately judge what might be happening fishing-wise over the next few days or weeks.”

Bait-wise, deep-water springtime angling involves the same lures one normally employs during the so-called “prime season.” Color, according to Beall, depends largely on the degree of fish activity.

“If they’re on, color doesn’t seem to matter,” he said. “If they’re off, you sometimes have to keep changing and experimenting until you find something they’ll bite.”

Having already stated that time of year or day is not necessarily of concern, the Eufaula, Ala., pro said there is one time frame that, as a rule, improves an angler’s main-lake bass fishing odds.

“If possible, it’s good to be on the water during a generation run at the dam,” he stated. “Generated current here is very subtle, but you can tell it’s happening by watching the little riffles that start flowing around channel markers, snag buoys, and the like. Evidently, the increase in current gets the baitfish moving, and the bass often go into feeding mode as a result. I’ve seen it more than a few times. A very short time after the water starts moving; it’ll be bang, bang, bang. I’ll start getting strikes.

The fish were there all the time, but it took that little bit of current to make them start feeding.”

A final tip Beall offers for prospective spring bottom-structure anglers concerns the nature of a bass’ bite this time of year.

“More often than not,” he concluded, “you’ll not get that traditional ‘tap-tap’ you might be used to. Be ready instead for a steady tug, a change in line direction, or just a slight slackening or tightening. If that happens, set the hook and don’t be embarrassed if you’re wrong. You’ll miss a lot of fish if you don’t set the hook in a stump or brushpile now and then.”

(For further information on deep-structure bass fishing on Lake Walter F. George, or to enlist Tracy Beall’s guide services, call (334) 703-2570.)

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