GRENADA, Miss. – We’ve reached the midway point of the season for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Mississippi Division, with Grenada Lake set to host the third event of the year on April 25. The lake only makes the schedule every so often – it’s been two years since the last visit – but the fishing should be solid with bass in the postspawn phase and feeding up.
What to expect
Although he lives a few hours away in Louisiana, Dakota Fleming has a knack for Grenada in the spring. He’s notched an April win plus a third-place showing in BFL competition in recent years. He says the lake is low due to a drier-than-normal spring, which could affect which areas are accessible.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of rain this spring, and that’s going to make it pretty low in some areas,” he said. “The lake has a ton of timber and is really hard to get around. There’s not necessarily any channel markers or anything like that. A lot of the best areas will be hard to get to with the lower water but might still be the winning area if the water clarity is right.”
Fleming, who’s not going to be able to fish this year’s event, said one of these zones is the left arm of the lake, including Turkey Creek.
“There are some good pockets on that side, and I’d imagine those areas are going to shine,” he said. “There’s some deeper water once you get in, and the water clarity is usually better because of the vegetation.”
The early morning bite could be critical, especially if there’s a shad spawn like Fleming expects.
“That’s something you can take advantage of early, trying to get a quick limit fishing around hard structure that the shad are spawning on,” he said. “Then there will be a lull for a few hours, and typically after lunch, they’ll get back to feeding.
The lake has fish throughout, but typically certain zones seem to hold more fish. Fleming advises staying put once you find some bass activity.
“There’s not just fish everywhere for the most part, and you don’t usually just go down the bank and catch them there; it’s really area specific,” he said. “If you catch a few, you should probably hunker down when you run into those little magic spots. It’s also not a place where you run around to many different areas in a day, because it’s hard to navigate.”
Baits to bring
Fleming predicted that a topwater walking bait, a spinnerbait and a standard walking frog should all catch fish. With so much wood cover in the lake, he says a flipping bait like a black-and-blue Yum Christie Craw could be another player.
What will it take?
Recent history on the lake shows fairly consistent top-end weights, and Fleming expects the same this year.
“It usually takes around 16 pounds to win, but it could be a touch more,” he said. “You’ll probably see someone catch a big one and then have four more solid ones to go with it.”