Entry 103-5
Catching Smallies At Night And In Warm Weather With Roger Stegall
Work the Current
Editor's Note: Roger Stegall of Iuka, Mississippi, a longtime Strike King Fishing Team member, has guided for smallmouths on Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee/Alabama/ Mississippi border for 17 years and has fished for smallmouths on the lake since 1975. In an average year, he and his party of fishermen will catch 50 to 60 smallmouth bass that weigh 5 pounds or more. At times, he'll even catch smallmouths that weigh 8 pounds or more. Stegall most enjoys fishing for smallies at night during the warmer months. This week, Stegall shares his tactics for catching nighttime smallies.
Stegall: The current really helps anglers catch smallmouths in the late season by stirring up the bottom, causing the crawfish and minnows to feed on the algae. The smallmouths feed on the crawfish and the minnows. They'll position themselves on the ends of humps. A smallmouth will always be in front of current. There's always a dead spot right in the front of a stump or a log and that may be where you'll find a smallmouth. A 3/4-ounce Premier Spinner Bait No. 5 in chartreuse or chartreuse and white with gold specks works great in these situations.
I'll also throw a grub on a Texas rig with a red hook. I'll fish both the grub and the spinner bait on tight lines. When the bait hits the bottom, I'll make about eight or 10 cranks to make sure the bait is close to the bottom. Then I'll let it flutter back down. The fish will hit it most of the time when it falls. I'll throw the spinner on a medium-heavy All Star rod with an improved reel like a 4:7:1
I'll throw the grub on an 8:1:5, which is a 6-foot 8-inch-spinning rod with a fast-action reel. I'll use it on a yellow 8-pound line with a 2:1 spinning reel. In May and June, I expect to catch 30 fish with a party group-12 to 15 of those fish will be smallmouths. We've got a super population of fish in Pickwick Lake. I believe that Pickwick holds the next world-record smallmouth. I've had fish on my line that have weighed in the 10-pound range. I think there's a 12-pound smallmouth in Pickwick Lake. The world-record smallmouth will probably be caught in the Tennessee River channel on a 3/4-ounce Strike King spinner bait in March.
For more information on fishing with Roger Stegall, call 662-423-3869, e-mail rogstegall@fishpickwick.com, or check out www.fishpickwick.com.
Contents:
- Part 1: Fishing on a Full Moon
- Part 2: Nighttime Baits
- Part 3: Catch Smallmouths After the Spawn
- Part 4: Summer Tactics
- Part 5: Work the Current
