Entry 318-4
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 4: Smallmouths at Night
Question: One of the advantages of fishing the Tennessee River, especially Pickwick Lake, is the great nighttime smallmouth fishing, isn’t it?
Stegall: Yes, it is. Although most of my fishing’s done in the daytime, there’s plenty of night fishing going on in August on Pickwick.
Question: Where will those big smallmouths be holding at night when they’re on their summer pattern?
Stegall: We usually find them on a flat or a ledge close to the bank. They may be holding in 12-14 feet of water during the day, but at night they’ll move in closer to the bank, and at night they usually like to hold on a shallow bar. Strike King’s Midnight Special with either a black or a black-and-red skirt and black blades is hard to beat. 
The Strike King Midnight Premier is also very effective because it has a big Indiana Blade on it.
Two lures that most people never use to fish for smallmouth at night are a Carolina rig or a Football Head Jig. I like these because I can drag them on the bottom. If I’m fishing the Carolina rig, I’ll use the Rage Lizard or a Rage Craw. June bug is my favorite color at night. If I’m going to fish the Football Head Jig, I like a 3/4-ounce jig in the Texas-craw color or black and blue. On the black-and-blue jig, I’ll put a black-and-blue trailer, and on the Texas-craw colored Football Head Jig, I like a green-pumpkin- or a june-bug-colored-trailer. When I’m fishing the Football Head Jig, I’ll use 12-pound-test Vicious fluorocarbon because I can feel my jig working better. You have to remember, at night you can’t see the bite – you’ve got to feel it.
Question: When you’re fishing the Carolina rig at night, how much leader do you have between your barrel swivel and the Rage Craw or Rage Lizard you’re fishing?
Stegall: I like at least a 3- to a 4-foot leader. I’ll either be using a 3/4-ounce or a 1-ounce sinker on that Carolina rig. Many times I’ll be fishing close to the bank, and I’ll be dragging that Carolina rig down a gravel bar or a wash. I think the smallmouths are moving close to the bank to feed on crawfish at night, and you want that lead to rub some kind of rock or red clay bottom at night.
To fish with Roger Stegall for bass and other species, visit www.fishpickwick.com, call 662-423-3869, or email rogstegall@fishpickwick.com.
Next: Hot-Weather Cats
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
