Bass Fishing

Prespawn Patrol ­- Tips for bass fishing success during the prespawn

Pickles and ice cream, donuts with lots of sprinkles, Cheese Whiz and anything with chocolate – pregnancy cravings are a fact of life, for a soon-to-be mom eating for two (or more).

Expectant bass might not crave anything odd, but they’re all about packing their bellies for their forthcoming spawn. Learn where and how to locate these fish and you can, ahem, “expect” your own delivery of rod-bending fun.

First, consider the basics of where they’ll spawn. Creeks, coves, backwater canals. Pretty much any shallow habitat with good sunlight and some type of cover will do. […]

Bass Fishing

Private Neshoba County lake gives up 12-pounder

Steve Grace launched his bass boat on Lake Neshoba just before noon on Feb. 15, one of the few we’ve had with sunshine this year. Grace and partner Jeff Collum had a little time off from work and decided to try the bass on a beautiful February day.

“We pulled up on a flat right off of a main point and tried to locate some bass,” Grace said. “We knew it was early and they wouldn’t be pulled up tight to the point yet, but we figured we might catch some near there, since there was deep water right off the flat.” […]

Bass Fishing

Bass run big at Pickwick

In February, you can catch some really big largemouths and smallmouths on Pickwick Lake in the northeastern corner of the state. Toward the end of the month, the bass will start staging to move into the creeks and up on the flats for the spawn. […]

Bass Fishing

Fish stems and rocks

This month, I’m picking Lake Ross Barnett, near Jackson. To find the bass, we’ve got to shrink the lake and concentrate on where they’re most likely to be and the lures they’re most likely to take. […]

Bass Fishing

A Day on Lake X

Trolling over a submerged stump field, Jeff Collum pitched his jig-and-pig combo to a likely looking spot, and hesitated for just a second when a bass struck. Collum reared back, and drove the steel home, deep into the lip of a cold-weather lunker.

After a nip-and-tuck battle, the talented angler landed the lunker bass and quickly released him.

Collum, a Meridian resident, has been catching bass and lots of them since he was just a youngster tagging along with his dad Gordon Collum. The Collums are well known around the East Mississippi area for their bass-fishing expertise. Jeff has taken it a step further and become one of the anglers to beat in almost any tournament in which he competes. […]

Bass Fishing

Spring Kiss ­— Best tips for spring bass-fishing success on Okhissa Lake

Angling for Florida strain largemouth bass has always been something of a challenge. When the big sows get on the bed that challenge is multiplied in spades by the fickleness of the female.

Many bass anglers have watched as the their baits are carried away by females, but hook-sets only result in baits flying back toward the anglers with the ferocity of an angry bird.

The United States Forest Service has only a few fishing lakes in Mississippi. Of those, Okhissa Lake near Bude has to be considered the crown jewel. […]