Blade-Runner

Welcome to Bass Resource. I've spent years "networking" to find good knowledgeable and fun fellow anglers and this is the place. Enjoy and utilize.

I'd think Turtle Creek would have the makings for a good wiper fishery but haven't heard much. Sad that poor management sometime, somewhere has dribbled away another sizable impoundment. Particularly since us Hoosiers don't have much to choose from.

I caught four 14-15" LMB in 2 hours at a local city pit yesterday in the rain. 3 on swim jig, 1 on spinnerbait. Only one other guy on the water and he just happened to hook and land a 10-15 lb. wiper on a Trap...Lucky guy - it fought real good.

Buzzbait.

I fish a lot down in TN where my family lives. Down there, other fishermen are much friendlier and less selfish than here in Central IN where we have about 1/10,000th the fishable surface acres. Down there the greeting when you get back to the ramp or come up to the dock is "Well, did ya catch 'em all?" - with a smile. We call waxworms "beemoth" or "bee's moth" up here - down there they have no clue what beemoth is. And, every white bass, hybrid striped bass, or striper is called a "stripe"... I'll be using the same language as soon as I can find a job down there. Aside from our big whitetails, there is absolutely no comparison for an outdoorsman. IMO.

AVS63MXF/Soron and AVC66MF/Viento.

Yep. Saves my summer on high-pressure city lakes...

Too many think that topwaters are only for shallow water, low light, or warm water.

On the other extreme where folks change lures too often.

No.

I've been having most luck on jerkbaits, even with the poor water clarity. Haven't really slowed down much with the jig because I'm not finding concentrations in the usual prespawn hotspots yet. Fish seem spread out more than normal. Right now I'm trying to get as much coverage as possible before the heavy pressure starts and before vegetation starts choking the small-acreage locales.

Run down to the local Wally World and pick up the 1/4 lb. spool of Berkley Big Game 15#. My favorite spinnerbait/4wd crankbait line.

War Eagle Screaming Eagle. Absolutely my favorite spinnerbait (and overall lure, for that matter). Best ever.

This late winter/early spring bite is one of the toughest of the year man. Don't sweat it. Just keep after them. I guess my only suggestion would be to slow down and fish high percentage (even if they seem too obvious to hold fish) areas. Find the warmest water you can and look for baitfish.

I like Power Pro and the Stren Sonic Braid.

Summit is ice-free as of last Thursday. Water temperatures were in low-low 40's. Most of the bass reports I've been getting in this area have still been on small ponds/pits. Some action being reported on crappie on the area reservoirs, but water is still cold & muddy.

Wasn't Turtle Creek on some national F&S/Outdoor Life list of the 25 best bass lakes a few years back? Of course shad bloom can have drastic effects - competition with YOY bass, adult LM tuned in to nothing but live shad forage, etc...?

For me, the difference between good & great crankbait rods = weight.

BWCAW.

Tube or light bass jig with a long cast.

Get your white grubs ready

Suspending Jerkbait. Jig. Crankbait. Lipless Crankbait.

Soft jerkbait is at the end of my line from spawn on out...Deadsticking has it's place but I wouldn't say it has supplanted flukes/Sluggos. I love fluke swinging behind 'mechagodzilla' cranks/spinnerbaits during high-pressure springtime in IN. I can almost always count some fish when shallow prevails with soft jerks. Not underrated to me. ;D

Try a Ledgebuster spinnerbait or drag a heavy tube jig slowly on the spots you've found. Sometimes works for me...Of course that's after I've tried deep cranks, C-rigs, etc.

Definitely a tube jig.