Entry 318-2
Catch Hawg Fish During the Dog Parts of Summer with Roger Stegall of Strike King
Editor’s Note: Roger Stegall, of Iuka, Mississippi, has guided on Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi/Tennessee/Alabama border for 16 years and has fished the lake for 27 years. Stegall, a Strike King pro, fishes many state and regional tournaments. Pickwick Lake, located on the Tennessee River, has hosted several BASS and FLW tournaments, and Stegall believes this lake holds the next world-record smallmouth bass.
Part 2: How to Find and Catch Largemouths Now
Question: Yesterday we talked about catching smallmouth bass in August in Pickwick Lake. I also know that you’re catching largemouths on Pickwick this month. Where and how are you catching them?
Stegall: Right now the largemouths are schooling on top, and we’re seeing a lot of fish busting the surface chasing bait. These schools of largemouths can be from 10 inches in size up to weighing 5-pounds each.
Question: What lures are you using to catch these schooling bass?
Stegall: If the bass are on the surface, the Spit-N-King is hard to beat. The Red Eye Shad also works if bass are on the surface, or if they’ve quit breaking on the surface. The Quad Shad and the Shadalicious have also been excellent baits for us to use to catch bass schooling on the surface. Now when the school goes down and quits breaking the surface, I can still catch ‘em on the Strike King Anaconda worm in the 10-inch size.
The best colors have been Bama bug, red bug and plum. Depending on how deep the water is, I’m using a 3/16- to a 5/16-ounce sinker when I’m fishing the Anaconda, and I’m using a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook. 
I’ll fish the Anaconda on 15-pound-test Vicious fluorocarbon. The Anaconda seems to work best when I find bass schooling over grass. A few weeks ago in late July, my friend Todd Raspberry and I won a team tournament here on Pickwick with five bass that weighed 24.64 pounds, and we’d caught four of those bass on the Anaconda worm.
Question: What color Red Eye Shad are you using. and how are you fishing it?
Stegall: I like the chrome with a blue back or either green- or blue-gizzard shad or the sexy-shad color. I use both the 1/4- and the 1/2-ounce Red Eye Shad sizes, depending on the size of the shad on which the bass are feeding. I’m fishing the sexy-shad color over the top of the grass that hasn’t grown to the surface yet. When I see the bass schooling, I’ll cast it to the outside edge of the school and catch them like that. If the school goes down, I’ll let the Red Eye Shad fall and catch the bass as they go to the bottom.
Question: You also said that you fished the Quad Shad on schooling bass. Why are you using that lure?
Stegall: Right now, there are a lot of little-bitty minnows in the water that the bass are feeding on, and the Quad Shad looks like a whole school of tiny minnows. 
Sometimes a school of largemouths can be cantankerous and not want to hit any lure. When I find a school of those cantankerous bass, I’ve found that I can throw the Quad Shad to them and many times they’ll take it. I’ve found it to be effective when I’m fishing above underwater grass. I’ve caught bass with it in 2 feet of water and 10 feet of water with the Quad Shad.
To fish with Roger Stegall for bass and other species, visit www.fishpickwick.com, call 662-423-3869, or email rogstegall@fishpickwick.com.
Contents:
- Part 1: How to Find and Catch Smallmouths Now
- Part 2: How to Find and Catch Largemouths Now
- Part 3: Catch Them with a Current
- Part 4: Smallmouths at Night
- Part 5: Hot-Weather Cats
