April 2012 Archives - Mississippi Sportsman

Guide Charlie Kent has been fishing Bay Springs since it was impounded. You can find him any day during April fishing one of these crappie hotspots.

Crappie hotspot: Bay Springs Lake

April 17, 2012 Phillip Gentry

Bay Springs Lake, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Lock and Dam, is the northernmost lake on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. […]

One of the main reasons that Trace State Park Lake remains so productive is because so many anglers take their limits of bream out of the lake leaving more food for the biggest bream to grow even larger.

Truth be Told

April 5, 2012 Chris Ginn

There’s a saying in the U.S. Army that you can tell a soldier is lying if he starts his story with, “This ain’t no #@!%.” […]

Tubes come in a wide range of sizes, but all appeal to big bass. You just have to learn the tactics for appealing presentations.

Tempting Tubes

April 5, 2012 David A. Brown

Designed to imitate a range of forage, tubes are among the most versatile and productive baits in a bass angler’s arsenal. […]

The author suggests using the Mann’s Baby 1 Minus after the shad spawn is over for the morning, and you’ve moved to fishing the lily pad stems.

During April, I’ll primarily be fishing the shad spawn on the rocks at Ross Barnett Reservoir, one of the hottest lakes in Mississippi during April, where you’ll catch 1½- to 6- or 7-pounders. Fishing the lily pads in the lake will be my second choice. […]

Sandy Tackett, fishing with her dad, Andy, caught this beautiful 3.23-pounder.

Washington too good to pass up

April 1, 2012 Paul Johnson

I know, I know, I know — last month’s “As Big As They Grow” column was all about Lake Washington. But I can’t help but share the following Lake Washington update, especially as it relates to the crappie tournament action and the great fishing at Washington so far this spring. […]

The Ruger American Rifle comes with a dual-bedding block system, a free-floated barrel, a special adjustable trigger the shooter can set from 3 to 5 pounds, and includes Weaver scope mounts with the package.

The art of the rifle … 3

April 1, 2012 Gordon Hutchinson

The Jeep was almost sliding down the rocky, shale-strewn mountainside at a steep 15-degree angle when Larry Wieshuhn stood on the brake. […]

If you’re going offshore, there’s no reason not to drag shaky baits for wahoo this April. There still are big ones to be caught.

Twice as nice

April 1, 2012 John E. Phillips

According to Capt. Lenny Maiolatesi of the Fighting Chicken, docked at Harbor Landing Marina in Ocean Springs, “April means wahoo, and we use a three-pronged attack to fish offshore then. […]

Turkey hunting ground blinds allow hunters to hunt well concealed and close.

Blind as a bat

April 1, 2012 John J. Woods

Turkey hunting can sure seem like hunting blind sometimes. Gobblers can appear out of thin air as though in a vision. Hens pop up behind you with peering eyes picking up on every out-of-place detail in the woods. […]

If you pull a bass off a bed and then immediately let it go, you may feel good about your action, but you’re not having much impact on the population.

Bed fishing revisited

April 1, 2012 Hal Schramm

It’s spawning time for largemouth bass throughout much of Mississippi. It’s time for sight fishing bass on the beds, and it’s prime time for the perennial debate about the effects of bed fishing. […]

The new StructureMap feature on Lowrance Gen2 HDS units can overlay sonar readings on charts to give you incredibly accurate mapping information you can view in real time as you record it or later, off the water, as you plan your next fishing trip.

Seat-of-your-pants orientation rules

April 1, 2012 Allan Tarvid

Once upon a time, one of the most tedious things we boaters and fishermen attempted was to figure out exactly where we were on a lake map or chart. Few freshwater fishermen bothered to mount a compass on their boat and just used shoreline sightings and depth soundings to figure out where they were. […]

An old standby, the wacky-rigged Senko is a reliable smallmouth-getter. Deep water presentations require a little weight and a lot of patience.

Tips for catching post-spawn smallmouth on Pickwick

April 1, 2012 David A. Brown

It’s often called the “Lake Erie of the South,” and the abundance of big smallmouth more than justifies that moniker for Pickwick Lake. However, while northern anglers bounce around in monster swells, anglers in the Magnolia State do their smallie work in much more hospitable conditions.

Indeed the TVA lake shared with neighboring Alabama and Tennessee holds a healthy population of smallmouth that find abundant habitat throughout its 43,100-acres. And with long southern growing season, Pickwick smallies grow fat and sassy on a diet of threadfin shad, gizzard shad and all the yellow perch they can catch. […]

Texas-rigged tubes are ideal for flipping and pitching presentations.

Optimizing your tube

April 1, 2012 David A. Brown

For those deep jobs with a lead head inserted into your tube, you’ll enhance the bait with a few well-placed snips. […]