Things are some quieter on Big Sam since 7,551 anglers in McDonald's Big Splash went home. Fortunately, there were no bad accidents during the event although one angler was struck by lightning while fishing the tournament. He did survive but had some scary accounts of the incident.
The lake level is rising due to heavy weekend rains and stands at 162.4 feet which is the highest the lake has been in months and is basically 2 feet below full pool of 164.4 feet. One turbine is running 5 hours per day with a release of 4247 cfs. Water temperatures are 66 to 71 degrees. Even with the influx of a lot of rain/run-off, there are a lot of area on the lake with good water conditions. The east end of Mill Creek area is muddy as are some of the area of the river above highway 147. Winds churned the lake Sunday/Monday but calmed on Tuesday and allowed the lake to clear up some. There is still plenty of good water.
Rayburn gave up four bass over ten pounds in McDonalds and a good number of 9's. The biggest bass of the event, a 10.90 pounder, was caught on a Texas rigged Berkley 10 inch Power Worm. In my Rayburn article last week, a Texas-rigged 10 inch Power Worm was one of the baits that I listed as a possibile $250k bait. It is an awesome big bass bait.
The spawn is mostly over on Rayburn but there are a few late females doing their thing at their own pace. That's a lady's choice, I guess. However, most have moved on with their lives and are in the post spawn mode which have bass moving out of drain/ditches and moving toward the main part of the lake. A good number of bass are also setting up house keeping for the summer on main lake points and ridges. It is Rayburn we are talking about and there will always be some (many) bass in shallow water all the way through summer. They will just find heavy grass to move in and out of depending on weather conditions.
Top baits this week include Stanley's Wedge spinnerbaits in quarter and three-eighths ounce fished slow-rolled or waked. Also, Stanley's Titanium Buzzbaits are catching bass. Pitching creature baits and jigs are also catching bass when fished on inside grass line as well as outside edge of grass. Berkley's Critter Craws and Beavers are two of the top baits in that catorgory. Carolina rigs with lizards, Power Worms, Jerk Shad and Flukes are also catching a lot of bass when worked both in shallow grass as well as on deeper ridges and points. Top water patterns on points are also catching bass.
AUTHOR INFO: Joe Joslin is a syndicated outdoor columnist, tournament angler and pro guide on Toledo and Sam Rayburn. Contact him at 337-463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com. and WEBSITE www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.
