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| Key Feature Homepage Stories |
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| Summer Patterns for Logan Martin Bass |
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| By Chuck Burns |
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Originally published in the July 2009 issue of AON
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If the lake is full, Dell Oswalt fishes the grassbeds in the mornings for a fast and fun largemouth bite on frogs and swimming jigs.
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Logan Martin is at full pool, which means the morning grassbed bite is on, and even if the lake level drops a few feet, July is the time for great catches on the channel ledges.
Logan Martin Lake, located in east-central Alabama only about 30 miles east of Birmingham, boasts good bass populations, and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) considers the growth rate for both largemouth bass and spotted bass to be good if not excellent on Logan Martin.
According to the Bass Anglers Information Team (BAIT) report on bass-club tournament data, the 15,263-acre lake has been getting better in recent years.
“Catch rates have continued to increase and reached their highest level ever (4.36 fish per day) in 2008. Catch rates have increased each year from 2004 through 2008. The average size of bass (1.58 pounds) was equal to the 20-year average for this reservoir. Anglers averaged 6.87 pounds apiece at tournament weigh-ins in 2008, making it the best year on Logan Martin since the BAIT program began in 1986,” the BAIT report stated.
In May, the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries stocked 360,000 Florida-strain largemouth bass into Logan Martin’s Cropwell Creek. That brings the total to more than 800,000 Florida largemouths stocked by the state in the past three years for genetic enhancement.
Starting in late June and throughout the month of July, big bass can be caught in great numbers out of shallow-water grass flats, off of river ledges and under boathouses. But in order to hook up with these Logan Martin lunkers, you have to pay close attention to how the lake level fluctuates and know how to pattern fish based on changing weather conditions.
In an effort to nail down the best tactics for catching Logan Martin’s late June and July largemouths and spots, we sought out one of the lake’s best local tournament fishermen, Dell Oswalt. Dell has been fishing tournaments on Logan Martin for many years. He won the 1998 Team Jesus Tournament bringing home a $35,000 GMC truck, and in recent years, Dell has championed a number of tournaments such as the Grammer Marine Team Trail, Angler Choice Team Trail and the Airport Marine Trail. According to Dell, Logan Martin is “one of the best summertime lakes in the Southeast, and it is not uncommon to catch 30 to 40 bass a day.”
The normal patterns for Logan Martin bass are a bit skewed this summer. According to Dell, it seems that due to the abnormally cool weather we had over the spring months, the fish are three to four weeks behind schedule. This is great news for AON readers. Bass should likely stick to the patterns discussed here for a bit longer than normal, lending ample time for fishermen to hit the grassbeds for Logan Martin’s shallow-water largemouth bass before hot lake temperatures push the fish to deeper waters.
The first thing Dell considers before fishing a tournament is the lake’s water level. According to Dell, two distinct patterns develop toward the end of June and throughout July. If the lake level is within at least a foot of full pool (465 feet above mean sea level), Dell will target shallow-water flats near the main river channel that have grassbeds. Dell is accustomed to catching largemouth bass from 4 to 6 pounds out of shallow water when Logan Martin is at or near full pool. If the lake level drops more than a foot below full pool, Dell chooses to work boat docks or move out from the grass and work the edges of shallow-water flats where they fall off into the natural river channel.
Dell said largemouth bass in particular are accustomed to spawning as late as the end of June on Logan Martin. These bass will move into shallow-water flats with grassy cover and will, as long as the lake stays at or near full pool, continue to hold close to that shallow-water cover after spawning. Generally, the largemouths will feed from these vegetated flats between daybreak and 10 a.m.
Dale said the best place to find fish on the Logan Martin Lake river flats is between River Side near the Interstate 20 Bridge and up river toward Kiker’s Campground. As you boat out of the main channel and onto the flats, the water depth will shallow to around 5 feet and rise higher to about 3 feet when approaching the grassbeds along the bank. Aside from having model bass habitat, Dell explained that this stretch of Logan Martin Lake is ideal for catching shallow-water largemouths because the water is prone to being stained most of the time. Largemouth bass will almost invariably hold in stained water this time of year on Logan Martin. Too, this section of the lake experiences much less boat traffic than does the lower end of the lake.
Lures that have provided Dell a great deal of success while fishing grassy, shallow water during full pool conditions are Zoom Horny Toads on a wide-gap hook and 5/16- or 7/16-oz. Tom Sloan swimming jigs with a Zoom plastic twirl-tail trailer. Dell prefers to cast these lures parallel along the edge of the grass and across points for a surface bite during the early morning hours. To coax the surface bite, it is best to incorporate a fast retrieve that keeps your lure just below the surface of the water while rapidly twitching the tip of your rod to add movement to your bait.
After 10 a.m. on days with a lot of bright sunshine, Dell targets largemouth bass on the same flats but will move out from the grassbeds. The best places to find bass during the mid-morning hours are right along the edges of the flats where they drop into the main river channel. Dell has achieved fish catching success on the river ledge using crankbaits, jerkbaits and a Carolina rig.
When fishing under overcast conditions, Dell will stick with prompting bass for a surface bite along the edge of the grass beds. Dell explained that the largemouth bass will often hang out and feed along the edges of the grass all day long under cloudy skies or rainy weather.
Lure color plays a very important role when fishing the grass flats for largemouths. When fishing a Zoom Horny Toad, Dell prefers using white while the sun is low, but as the morning unfolds and the sun becomes bright, Dell switches over to black, watermelon or pumpkinseed colors. The same applies when throwing a swimming jig with a plastic twirl-tail trailer. At daybreak Dell will start off with a white jig and then switch over to a brown or black colored jig once the sun becomes bright and by 10 a.m., move out to the river ledge.
A G.Loomis 7-foot heavy-action rod with a baitcasting reel that has a 7:1 gear ratio is ideal for fishing the grass flats. A fast gear ratio will take up slack line quickly and allow a quick and solid hook set. Too, Dell likes a quick-retrieving reel for running his lure speedily along the edge of grass to entice a reaction bite. Often, explained Dell, you will get many more reaction bites in place of feeding bites along the Logan Martin grass beds.
Fishing for largemouth bass in thick cover requires a tough line. Dell uses 65-lb. test Power Pro braided line when the shallow-water flats are stained but will switch over to a 20-lb. test fluorocarbon line if the water over the flats becomes really clear.
To catch spotted bass during full pool conditions on Logan Martin, Dell will target the same flats that he fishes for largemouth bass. However, the spots don’t congregate in the thick grass as do the largemouth bass. Dell explained that spotted bass hang out in about 5 or so feet of water around the ledges of the flats along the edge of the natural river channel.
During the early morning hours spotted bass are feeding on shad. According to Dell, one of the best ways to locate spots on the edge of the natural river channel is by trolling the periphery of the flats and paying close attention to the fishfinder. When the fishfinder indicates a pod of shad, Dell begins fan casting the portion of the ledge where the shad were spotted. Dell noted that when you hook into one spotted bass in a certain area, you will more than likely catch several in that same location.
Later in the morning, once the sun gets high, Dell concentrates his efforts on the stump beds strewn along the flats. According to Dell, the spots will move off the edges of the natural river ledge and will hold tight to these stumps around mid-morning.
A shad-colored Zara Spook or a Lucky Craft Sammy with a blue or black streak running down its back or side works extremely well for fooling spots running shad along the river ledges, and they’ll also pull spots up from the stumps along the flats. With these topwater baits, Dell tries to match their size with the size of shad schooling the area being fished. Dell said a constant twitching motion, also known as a “walk-the-dog” presentation for its side-to-side motion, works really well for triggering strong bites. Dell prefers using 20-lb. test monofilament for topwater fishing. The monofilament floats and therefore helps keep the lure moving across the top of the water effectively. Dell suggests using a 6-foot, 10-inch long, medium- to heavy-action rod with a 7:1 gear ratio reel for a “walk-the-dog” lure presentation. A fast-retrieving reel will keep the lure moving quickly while the angler is twitching the rod tip. It will also help achieve a quick and deep hook set.
One key condition that promotes an aggressive bite for both spotted bass and largemouth bass when the lake is at or near full pool is water flow. Dell said when Alabama Power pulls water from the lake, the fish bite much more aggressively on both the ledges and in the grass.
When Logan Martin’s water level is dropped a foot or two shallower than full pool, Dell has found that motoring downriver and targeting largemouth bass under and around piers and boathouses works well. Dell said that working a jig around piers and boathouses can be “a very productive pattern on Logan Martin year-round, but it can be especially good in July.”
There are a great deal of boathouses and piers to choose from on the lower end of Logan Martin, many of which have submerged brushpiles under them. This brush not only provides added cover for bass but will also attract baitfish. If you are not able to spot piers or boathouses that have brushpiles sticking just above the waterline, look for rod holders and lights. Often, if you can find a boathouse or pier that is decked out with rod holders and has lights that hang over the water, there will likely be a brushpile nearby.
Dell will stick with the same type of swimming jig that he uses on the grass flats at full pool, but he will skip the jig under piers and boathouses all the way to the back of the pier or boathouse. Once the lure has fallen to the bottom, Dell will work it back toward the boat much the same way one would fish a plastic worm — just pull the rod tip up, reel in the slack line and pull again until fully retrieved. One thing Dell likes to do when fishing around this type of structure is to try to get his lure in places other fishermen have missed. Skipping a jig in place of just pitching it affords him that advantage. Boathouses and piers that are constructed near deep water are worth targeting, especially if you can skip a jig under the pier or house, have it land in shallow water and then work it back to the boat in water that gets progressively deeper.
Dell noted one downside to fishing the lower end of Logan Martin — the jet skis and pleasure boats start running rampant after about 9 a.m., and you have to find an area that is at least somewhat sheltered from the rip-roaring pandemonium.
If the boat traffic becomes just too much to bear, Dell said that both largemouth bass and spotted bass can be found all day on the edges of the flats near the natural river channel when Logan Martin’s water level drops between 1 and 2 feet. When the water does get pulled down, the largemouth bass just move out of the shallow grass onto the river ledge and frequent the same areas the spots are holding on. Both the largemouths and the spots can be caught on the natural river ledges throughout the day. Oswalt simply walks the dog using a shad-colored Zara Spook or a Lucky Craft Sammy with a blue or black streak running down its back to catch both the spotted bass and the largemouth bass.
The core principal of Dell Oswalt’s July fishing strategy for Logan Martin is to know how to adapt to variable water levels and weather conditions. If the water level is low, fish river ledges and boathouses for spots and largemouths. If Logan Martin is at or near full pool, target the grass flats for bass upward of 6 pounds — Dell’s “kicker-size largemouths.”
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