Oklahoma pro James Elam expects varying degrees of water clarity during REDCREST : clear water on the lower end and varying degrees of color the higher you go upriver .
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
“ March is prime time in the central parts of the country . There could be fish in all phases of the spawn – anglers should be able to fish a variety of different techniques ,” Bardin says . “ The upper end of the lake will be dirtier and warm up faster than lower on the lake , where the water is fairly clear and stays cold longer . The fish down the lake will likely be a few weeks behind the other fish for spawning .”
PATTERN PREDICTIONS
There are generally many ways to catch bass in the spring , but Elam agrees with Evers ’ assessment that a small handful of baits will be the most productive at REDCREST .
“ Jigs and crankbaits are the meat and potatoes on Grand ,” Elam says . “ Those baits will catch fish all year long ; you just have to adjust sizes and weights for different seasons . This tournament should be shallow-diving crankbaits and squarebills and fishing jigs up shallow around the bank . Two other possibilities are jerkbaits and spinnerbaits .”
Birge agrees with Elam , especially about the viability of jig fishing to catch a bunch of quality bass .
“ It ’ s a safe bet to say that a crankbait and jig will be the two most dominant baits ,” he opines . “ They ’ ll catch a bunch of fish , and if it warms up nicely , fishing shallow with a jig could be the way to win it .”
Elam believes that any section of the lake could produce the winning fish and that there are groups of potential winning fish swimming from one end of the lake to the other
“ I could see the tournament being won anywhere on Grand Lake ; it just depends on which area proves to be the hottest while we ’ re there ,” he says . “ The lake fishes very big , and it ’ s a place you can run patterns to catch fish . I think we ’ ll see guys spread out up and down the whole lake . I don ’ t think you ’ ll see groups of guys gathered in [ just ] one or two areas .”
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Grand Lake ’ s productivity and abundance of cover have made it one of the most highly regarded tournament fisheries in the country .
MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE