John's Journal...


C&B GUIDE SERVICE AT LAKE GUNTERSVILLE - OFTEN CALLED AMERICA'S BEST BIG BASS LAKE

Crappie Fish for Big Guntersville Bass in June

Click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Bobby Bright and Charley Slaten of Boaz, Alabama, own C&B Guide Service and specialize in fishing Alabama's Lake Guntersville, Lake Logan Martin and Lake Neely Henry. These two fishing guides make their living helping their customers catch fish, and they depend on their equipment every day they're on the water. This week Bright and Slaten will tell us how they fish and how they consistently catch more fish than other anglers do.

Question: Why are crappie fishermen so important to catching big bass at Lake Guntersville in June?

Bright: Crappie fishermen sink brush and tree tops, and during this time of the year, bass will be holding in brush and treetops. Therefore, if you know where the crappie fishermen are sinking their brush, you also can pinpoint the spots that are holding big bass.

Question: What are you using to catch the bass in the buck brush?

Bright: I'll use a 1/2-ounce black-and-blue jig or watermelon-seed jig and fishing these jigs on 15-pound-test Mossy Oak Fishing Line. I like the 15-pound-test Mossy Oak line because I can feel the strike better and control my jig better with this pound-test line than I can with heavier line. Also, the 15-pound-test Mossy Oak Fishing Line is so abrasion resistant and so much stronger than other line companies' 15-pound-test line, that I'm not afraid to use this lighter line when I'm trying to catch big bass in heavy brush.

Click to enlargeQuestion: What kind of trailer are you using when you fish for bass in June, and why?

Bright: I like to use a plastic trailer instead of a cork trailer. With a plastic trailer, you don't have to put it in your mouth and keep it there until you're ready to fish it to keep it moist like you do with a cork trailer - now don't tell people I said that. Really, the plastic jig holds up better during the summer months. If I'm using a black-and-blue jig, I like a black trailer. I'll fish the jig primarily in deep brush.

Question: How are you fishing that deep brush?

Bright: I'll flip the jig into the brush, let it fall all the way to the bottom, crawl the jig and then twitch it through that brush.

Question: What's the secret to finding that deep brush?

Bright: There's some really good crappie to be found at Lake Guntersville, and everyone knows that. Many homeowners sink brush out in front of their piers or docks. Most bass fishermen are so tuned into fishing piers and docks that they concentrate all their fishing around the piers and docks and don't ever look for the brush out in front of the docks. Another good giveaway to finding brush is to look for lights out on the dock that homeowners will turn on to concentrate crappie around the lights. Usually wherever a light is, you'll also find brush Click to enlargeabout a pole's length or a rod-cast distance out in front of the dock. If you'll search for that brush with your depth finder, you'll locate it. Most of the time the brush with the big bass in it will be right below where bass fishermen's boats are when they're flipping and fishing docks. At this time of the year, the crappie have moved out of the tops and the bass have moved in, so when you find those tops that originally have been put down for crappie, sometimes you'll find good bass in them. We also look for brush on points and drop-offs where crappie fishermen normally sink brush for crappie.

One critical item that you have to remember when you're fishing this much cover is that you check your line for nicks and cuts about every third or fourth cast. If you find those nicks and cuts on the line, or if your line feels rough, break off and re-tie. Unlike the Senko worm fishing, when a treetop bass hits the jig that fish will hit it hard and fight hard too. You're really going to have to work that bass out of the treetop. Oftentimes we'll catch two bass out of one treetop before we move to the next one. We also fish jigs on the points of grass. We'll pitch the jig out to the point, let it fall, swim it to the edge of the drop-off and then allow it to fall again.

Question: What size bass are you catching at Guntersville in June?

Bright: We're catching bass that weigh from 3- to 8-pounds each. On an average day, you may catch some 4- to 5-pound bass. On a good day, you'll catch 10 to 15 bass weighing from 2- to 5-pounds each. In three days of fishing, I expect our party to catch at least one fish that weighs 8 pounds. Getting a bass that weighs more than 8 pounds is much tougher, even at Guntersville, which is known as a big-bass lake. Click to enlargeWe'll usually produce from two to eight bass that weigh more than 8-pounds each here in a year's time. As I said in the beginning, Charley and I have really been fishing this Mossy Oak Fishing Line hard this spring and summer. We've used over 3,000 yards of Mossy Oak line for crappie, bluegills, shellcrackers, bass and an occasional catfish. We've got the experience with the line to know that it's a better line and does a better job for us than any other lines we've used in the past. This week I've told you where we fish and how we fish with the line we use. I hope you'll take the information I've provided and the line I've recommended to have a great day of fishing next time you're out in the water.

For more information about fishing with C&B Guide Service, you can call (256) 593-7830, (256) 738-4293 (Bobby Bright) and/or (256) 572-6217 (Charley).

To learn more about Mossy Oak Fishing Line's top-quality lines, go to www.mossyoakfishing.com.


Check back each day this week for more about C&B GUIDE SERVICE AT LAKE GUNTERSVILLE - OFTEN CALLED AMERICA'S BEST BIG BASS LAKE

Day 1: Secrets to Bluegills and Shellcrackers
Day 2: Secrets to Fishing Riprap
Day 3: Spinner Bait Secrets
Day 4: The Trophy Bass Lake
Day 5: Crappie Fish for Big Guntersville Bass in June

 

 

Entry 304, Day 5