Finding the Right Spin

It would be tough to complain much about the driving rain and accompanying lightning that drove us off the lake prematurely today. After all, the fast action we enjoyed in the few short hours we were able to fish was caused by flooding rains a little more than a week ago. The now-receding flood waters had put the bass among flooded briers, and Harry Padgett knew that a BOOYAH spinnerbait would be the key to bringing the bass out of hiding.

Our job this morning was to figure out exactly how the fish were positioned, what size of spinnerbait would produce the most strikes and the best presentations. Padgett is very observant, so it didn't take long for him to figure out that the fish had moved substantially since the day before and that they were using cover along the edges, close to drops, especially along outside bends in the inundated creek channel. Initially, the fish wanted our spinnerbaits swam barely beneath the surface, but as the morning progressed, they dropped lower in the water column and wanted the baits presented deep enough that we couldn't quite see their flashing blades or white skirts.

It was a fun morning of fishing, and Nathaniel, Harry and I all caught fish. It was also a great lesson about fishing flood waters, finding fish and allowing the fish to reveal patterns.