When people speak of Grenada Lake, sandwiched between Enid and Sardis lakes, most think of numbers of big crappie, not bass.
But good-sized bass also live there. I think the locals want to keep the outstanding bass fishing at Grenada Lake a secret. Bass and crappie often inhabit the same structure. The amount of structure that’s put in Grenada for crappie by anglers also enhances the lake for bass.
So here’s how I fish Grenada in November.
No. 1 pattern: Crankbaits
Bass will be shallow, in 1 to 4 feet of water. I’ll mainly fish stumps and laydowns, since the water will be being pulled down. My main baits will be shallow-running crankbaits, starting with a grey ghost Mann’s Baby 1-Minus followed by a C4 Elite Series in a shad pattern.
Two arms come together to create Grenada, and I’ll go to the very backs of both of those arms to start and then fish to their mouths. I’ll make multiple casts and fast retrieves at every piece of wood cover with both lures. I’ll fish the shallow wood with the Baby 1-Minus and pinpoint bass at 3 to 4 feet with the C4.
The secret for bass success at Grenada is to cover plenty of water and fish as many stumps and laydowns as possible, not worrying about fishing the bank between the wood cover. I’ll fast-forward my trolling motor as soon as I fish a stump to reach another laydown and start fishing again. You’ll catch a few crappie on these little crankbaits too.
Also, search for baitfish. The shad migration usually takes place in November, and they will concentrate in the pockets and back ends of Grenada’s two branches. I’ll fish these two small crankbaits on a 7-foot-1, medium-action FX Custom rod with a 6.2:1 gear ratio Bruin ELS reel and 20-pound White Peacock fluorocarbon line.
No 2 technique: Spinnerbaits
Next I’ll fish a 3/8-ounce Mann’s Classic spinnerbait with a small, silver Colorado blade in front, a No. 4 willow-leaf blade behind and a white skirt. I’ll fish it shallow, just like I did the small crankbaits, but I’ll retrieve it more slowly on a 6-foot-10, heavy action FX Custom rod with a 6.2:1 Bruin reel and 20-pound fluorocarbon line. In November, Grenada generally receives several rain events, and the water becomes somewhat muddy. The spinnerbait will produce better in that muddy water than the crankbaits.
No. 3 method: Buzzbaits
I’ll also fish two different buzzbaits: a 1/2-ounce black or the same size in white. I let the bass tell me the color they prefer on that day. I’ll be using 30-pound bass braided line with a 7.3:1 Bruin reel on a 6-foot-10, heavy action FX Custom rod.
No. 4 tactic: Stone Jig
My last-resort tactic, if the bass aren’t actively feeding, is pitching a 1/2-ounce Mann’s Stone Jig in black/blue with a black/blue crawfish trailer around stumps and blowdowns. I’ll have 50-pound bass braid on a 7.3:1 Bruin reel that’s matched with a 7-foot-10 heavy-action FX Custom rod.
Best ways to fish Grenada
I’ll try to fish both arms of the 35,000-acre Grenada Lake in the same day, which includes most of the lake’s surface area. Since these branches don’t contain numbers of stumps and laydowns, by just targeting the wood and making multiple casts to each piece of cover, you should be able to fish both branches before dark. The bass aren’t schooled up in November, so you probably won’t catch more than one or two off the same piece of cover.
Another general rule I follow at Grenada is that if I can’t see the target I’m casting to, I generally won’t fish there. However, after a big rain results in fairly stained water and seeing cover becomes tough, I’ll use my Garmin Panoptix LiveScope to spot stumps and underwater cover I can’t see with my eyes.
In November, you should be able to catch 15 bass between 11/2 to 3 pounds and possibly a 5- to 6-pound kicker bass at Grenada. You’ll probably also catch enough crappie on both the little crankbaits and the spinnerbaits to take some home to eat.
Be the first to comment