Destination: Sam Rayburn Reservoir

Texas' Sam Rayburn Reservoir

January 31, 2003 • Matt Williams • Archives

EverStart Series Central Division, Feb. 5-8

If Jim Tutt’s first love were bass fishing, his second would have to be Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

The 114,000-acre east Texas impoundment has been good to the personable Texas pro over the years, especially during the early spring.

That’s when the big Florida-strain largemouths that live there gather around lush hydrilla beds and become vulnerable to one of the most dangerous tools a bass angler can have in his or her arsenal – the Rat-L-Trap.

Tutt knows all about the Rat-L-Trap craze. The Longview, Texas, angler used a crawfish-pattern 3/4-ounce `Trap last February to walk away with $50,000 in cash and prizes at the 2002 EverStart Series Central Division opener.

Not surprisingly, the 42-year-old pro is hoping for a repeat performance this year when the popular circuit returns to Sam Rayburn Feb. 5-8.

“February is always a great time of the year on Sam Rayburn,” Tutt said. “The fish gang up around the grass, and you can really thump them with a `Trap when the conditions are right.”

Tutt said the Rat-L-Trap tends to shine the brightest when there is a 2- to 8-foot window of water above the grass. The key is to fish the rattling bait at a clip just fast enough to keep it “ticking” the top of the submerged vegetation. The narrower the window, the lighter the bait you should use and vice versa.

“The lake was down about 6 feet in mid-October, and the outside grass line was in about 8 feet of water,” he said. “How deep the grass is beneath the surface now will depend on how much the lake has risen since then. The Rat-L-Trap will be the key bait so long as there hasn’t been a major rise over 8 feet. About 4 feet would be perfect.”

Other February favorites are the Carolina-rigged lizard, the crankbait and the Yamamoto Senko. Some good areas to check out are Black Forest, Buck Bay, Farmer’s Flats, Caney Creek, Harvey Creek, Veach Basin and The Canyons.