Bass Fishing Jul - Sept 2019 | Page 72

E WHAT TO EXPECT AT LAKE HAMILTON ven though Lake Hamilton is only 7,200 surface acres, it fishes plenty big enough for 52 pros thanks to miles of shoreline and more docks and brush piles than a bass angler could fish in a season. Most of the patterns will focus on those targets, says Lake Hamilton local George Cochran, who won the 2005 FLW Cup on his home lake. He also predicts a few other typical summertime strategies will be in play. According to Cochran, Hamilton is brimming with bass, and three-hour night tournaments regularly require 18 pounds to win in the summertime. Daytime fishing is much tougher, as bass clam up and refuse to bite, plus anglers have to deal with heavy boat traffic on the well-populated lake. The silver lining is a typical strong morning bite in the first two or so hours and some surprisingly large bass (fish approaching double-digits) that call Lake Hamilton home. “The difference between a lot of winners and others is you have to be so focused to catch them when it’s slow fishing, and you can’t lose very many fish because every fish is going to be priceless,” Cochran says. “The one that’s going to win the tournament is going to get on something, and he’s going to be focused and hun- gry to win. You’ve got to really want to win bad like I always did.” Probable Baits and Patterns 1. docK-fISHING Buzzbaits in the morning, frogs in the middle of the day, and swimbaits, jigs and finesse plastics at any time will catch fish on the myriad docks. 2. BRUSH pILES A crankbait, under-spin or swimbait reeled over brush might work early, but once the fishing pres- sure sets in, it’ll probably take a big worm worked slowly through the brush to get bites. 3. BANK GRASS A little bit of bank grass could attract enough baitfish to hold some bass, especially in the morn- ing or if boat traffic stirs up the water. 4. ScHooLING fISH Catching schoolers with topwater and under- spins is unpredictable, but could produce big bags early. 70 5. RIpRAp ANd SEAWALLS Hard cover and structure on the shoreline, par- ticularly if the water’s a little deeper next to it, can be targeted successfully with topwater, drop-shots and jigs. fLWfISHING.coM I SUMMER 2019