Author: Lake Havasu Guide

Black bass: The bigger fish have been concentrated near the creek mouths and have been hitting an assortment of lures. But be careful getting to these areas especially up north some of the creek mouths are blocked off by sandbars because of the low water level. Most of these fish are relating to shoreline structure in one to ten feet of water. Flipping Texas rigged worms and craw worms around shoreline cover has been one of the most productive presentations. Black/chartreuse, black/blue, red shad, and tequila sunrise plastics have been the most effective baits. Shallow to medium diving plugs in fire-tiger cranked around shoreline cover has also produced strikes. Early and late the buzzbait will draw them to the surface.

White bass: Large schools of whites have been common on the main lake. Main lake points, Penwaugh slough, the tram, the 190 roadbed, the 190 flats, the Banana ridge, and Pine Island have been prime areas for the action. Once you locate a school spoon with a 3/4 oz Cobra jigging spoon, white with silver sides. Stripers have been abundant this year so don’t be surprised if you hook up on a fish that rips line off of your real and gives you a real war.

Crappie: Many of the marinas are set up to accomodate crappie fishermen. They brushed the areas for years and have strong concentrations of crappie right under their boat docks and piers. These marinas provide some of the best crappie fishing on the lake. Minnows around standing timber in White Rock, Kickapoo, Caney, and Indian creek will also get you hooked up with soc-a-lait.

Catfish: As always catfishing is excellent. Baiting areas with soured maze will have you catching catfish in large numbers. Shad, chicken live, and dough bait will all work well for whisker fish. Lake Livingston is one of the finest catfish lakes in the country and constantly produces monster catfish.

Bream: Panfish have been easy to catch around rocks, piers, shallow timber, bulkheading, and reeds. Night crawlers and meal worms are two sure bets for catching plenty of bream. All of the marinas have access for bankfishing and there are plenty of bream to be caught in these areas.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

The month of September is the beginng of some excellent bass fishing on Lake Livingston. The heat waves of summer are almost over and we will start getting mild cool spells from time to time which in turn get the fish out of their lull and biting.

Black Bass: Spinnerbaiting bass on Lake Livingston each Fall has become well known among the local bass fishermen. Running the shoreline and slow rolling spinnerbaits around laydowns, standing timber, rocks, reeds, and other shoreline structure is the ticket from now until December. This pattern works well all year long but is especially effective during the Fall. Also fishing buzzbaits, pop r’s, and zara puppies will draw aggressive strikes from black bass as the water begins to cool. Cooler water temperatures will create bigger strike zones for bass and make them easier to catch.

White Bass: The first few months of Fall sends the white bass in many directions. They tend to scatter and gradually push into some of the major feeder creeks and up the river. By October there is usualling some good schooling activity around Bethy and Harmon Creeks. However, there is always some whites on the main lake humps where we have caught them all summer.

Crappie: The old timers on this lake catch more crappie than anyone realizes. They usually fish standing timber and fish minnows and jigs. They are very secretive of how and where they catch them probably because they fish visible structure and know that without secrecy their spots will get pounded. Maybe one of these days someone will follow them and find out where they catch them.

Catfish: Trotliners are continuously catching numbers of catfish. There are regulars that fish out of Ed’s Marina that bring in fifty and sixty pounders everyday. For rod and reel action fish the main river channel on the north end or any of the bulkheading of the south end. Also most of the marinas have fishing areas and catfish can be caught there. Various prepared doughbaits, chicken liver, or fresh shad will get you hooked up with catfish day in day out.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

The month of September is the beginng of some excellent bass fishing on Lake Livingston. The heat waves of summer are almost over and with the rains we are getting the lake level is sure to be on the rise.

Black Bass: Spinnerbaiting bass on Lake Livingston each Fall has become well known among the local bass fishermen. Running the shoreline and slow rolling spinnerbaits around laydowns, standing timber, rocks, reeds, and other shoreline structure is the ticket from now until December. This pattern works well all year long but is especially effective during the Fall. Also fishing buzzbaits, pop r’s, and zara puppies will draw aggressive strikes from black bass as the water begins to cool. Cooler water temperatures will create bigger strike zones for bass and make them easier to catch.

White Bass: The first few months of Fall sends the white bass in many directions. They tend to scatter and gradually push into some of the major feeder creeks and up the river. By October there is usualling some good schooling activity around Bethy and Harmon Creeks. However, there is always some whites on the main lake humps where we have caught them all summer.

Crappie: Standing timber and brushpiles in 10-15 feet of water have been producing crappie. Minnows and jigs have been the best baits.

Catfish: Trotliners are continuously catching numbers of catfish. For rod and reel action fish the main river channel on the north end or any of the bulkheading of the south end. Also most of the marinas have fishing areas and catfish can be caught there. Various prepared doughbaits, chicken liver, or fresh shad will get you hooked up with catfish day in day out.

Remember the lake is low and be careful running the timber and also the creeks. The creek mouths up north can be difficult to enter because of the sandbars that build there. Some of these sandbars are exposed and some just below the surface. The lakes are easily navigable if you pay attention to water color(looking for shallow sandbars) and watch your flasher.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass: Bass have been very aggressive and this will continue through the Fall. Spinnerbaits fished around laydowns and standing timber has been a hot ticket. Also firetiger crankbaits fished around rocks, timber, and reeds has been effective. Early and late a buzzbait is very effective-chartreuse and white skirt and fish it just fast enough to keep the bait on the surface. Zara puppies and pop r’s will also work. Also look for bass schooling in the backs of the creeks.

White Bass: Whites are sporadically schooling with black bass up on the north end creeks. September 25 we got into schooling whites in Harmon and Carolina Creeks. There were also some black bass in there with them. The fish were schooled up on shad that have been in the creeks spawning and hit anything chartreuse. The whites are not real predictable this time of year so when you get into them you better stroke em’ because more than likely they’ll be off to some other creek the next day

Catfish: Trotliners are bringing in good catches with some really big catfish showing up in the river. Also rod and reel fishermen have been catching them early in the morning feeding around bulkheads. The best baits have been shad, chicken liver, prepared dough baits, and live earthworms.

Crappie: Many of the marinas who have their docks baited with brushpiles are preparing for Fall crappie fishing. A cold spell or two will cool the water and get the fish active and biting. Minnows and jigs fished around the brushpiles is a sure bet for catching crappie this month.

Fall is Lake Livingston’s highlighted season for fishing. Overall fishing is excellent and the temperatures are mild so make sure to plan a fishing trip and enjoy the lake.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass: The cool front we had that last weekend of September gave a jump start on the Fall bass fishing. Bass have been very aggressive and this will continue through the Fall. Spinnerbaits fished around laydowns and standing timber has been a hot ticket. Also firetiger crankbaits fished around rocks, timber, and reeds has been effective. Early and late a buzzbait is very effective-chartreuse and white skirt and fish it just fast enough to keep the bait on the surface. Zara puppies and pop r’s will also work. Also look for bass schooling in the backs of the creeks.

White Bass: Whites are sporadically schooling with black bass up on the north end creeks. September 25 we got into schooling whites in Harmon and Carolina Creeks. There were also some black bass in there with them. The fish were schooled up on shad that have been in the creeks spawning and hit anything chartreuse.

Catfish: Trotliners are bringing in good catches with some really big catfish showing up in the river. Also rod and reel fishermen have been catching them early in the morning feeding around bulkheads. The best baits have been shad, chicken liver, prepared dough baits, and live earthworms.

Crappie: Many of the marinas who have their docks baited with brushpiles are preparing for Fall crappie fishing. A cold spell or two will cool the water and get the fish active and biting. Minnows and jigs fished around the brushpiles is a sure bet for catching crappie this month.

Fall is Lake Livingston’s highlighted season for fishing. Overall fishing is excellent and the temperatures are mild so make sure to plan a fishing trip and enjoy the lake.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass: The bass have positioned themselves from about half way back in the bigger creeks to the backs of the creeks. The bigger fish have been concentrated near the creek backs and have been hitting an assortment of lures. Most of these fish are relating to shoreline structure in one to five feet of water. A 3/8oz Stanley spinnerbait(white with a silver Colorado blade) is one of the best baits this month. Flipping Texas rigged worms and craworms around shoreline cover has also been a productive presentation. Black/chartreuse, black/blue, red shad, and tequila sunrise plastics have been the most productive baits. Shallow to medium diving plugs in fire-tiger cranked around shoreline cover has also produced strikes. Buzzbait have been effective all day especially on overcast days.

White bass: White bass will be scattered among the upper end of the lake feeding on shad and preparing for the winter and their run next Spring. Look for sporadic schooling in the bigger Northern creeks and in the river.

Crappie: Many of the marinas are set up to accomodate crappie fishermen. They brushed the areas for years and have strong concentrations of crappie right under their boat docks and piers. These marinas provide some of the best crappie fishing on the lake. Minnows around standing timber in White Rock, Kickapoo, Caney, and Indian creek will also get you hooked up with soc-a-lait.

Catfish: As always catfishing is excellent. Baiting areas with soured maze will have you catching catfish in large numbers. Shad, chicken live, and dough bait will all work well for whisker fish. Lake Livingston is one of the finest catfish lakes in the country and constantly produces monster catfish.

The lake is still low so be careful when entering creeks. Be watching for sandbars and timber when running unfamiliar areas.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass: Bass have been biting a jig pretty well all year long. Here lately the jig bite has been on due to the cold fronts and cooler weater. The fish are still scattered throughout the creeks with the majority of them being near the creek mouths and closer to deep water. Trolling the shorelines flipping a 1/4 oz Stanley jig with a no.11 Uncle Josh pork frog has been the best bait for me for the last two months. The bait falls slow and this is what the fish are looking for this time of year. On warmer days the water has a chance to warm a little and you may need to go to a 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz jig for a little faster fall. Caney, White Rock, Kickapoo, Carolina, and Bethy are all good creeks to flip a jig this month.

White bass: Mostly scattered throughout the north end of the lake in creeks. They are slowly pushing their way north and feeding in the creeks on shad. Sometimes they will school around Caney and White Rock and also in Carolina Cove. The schooling is sporadic because the fish are always on the move. 1/4 oz chrome rattle traps are probably the number one bait for locating and catching white bass right now.

Crappie: Crappie fishermen have been catching good numbers of crappie in 10-18 feet of water around standing timber and brushpiles. Minnows and jigs have been the best baits. Creeks with clear green water have been producing the most crappie. The standing timber in Kickapoo usually holds good numbers of keeper crappie this time of year.

Catfish: Fishing creek channels and the main river channel has been productive this fall for whisker fish. Chicken liver rolled in strawberry jello, prepared dough baits, nightcrawlers, and shad have worked well for producing catfish.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass: This month bass will be shallow as usual on Lake Livingston. This report probably seems a little redundant at times but the patterns are usually about the same only the fish locations change. Fish will move towards the bigger portions of creeks towards main lake. Main lake bass will pull to the points. A 1/4 to 3/8 oz black jig with a blue no.11 pork chunk will be a good choice this month. A slow rolled spinnerbait near shallow cover is another top choice.

Crappie: The brush piles and standing timber in 15-20’ of water will hold crappie this month. Minnows and jigs are top baits. Also the floating boat docks around some of the marinas with depth will also hold crappie.

White Bass: Sporadic action on the upper end will be common as the fish push uplake to the bigger creeks and river. Rat-L-Traps and model A Bombers in chrome and firetiger are top choices for white bass.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

My January column titled “Little Things” was about all the little steps you take as a fisherperson and how they all work together to make you a better angler. I am going to be writing about some of the little things that you can do that will make you a better angler, regardless of your experience level. Some of the “little things” I will be discussing may be tips that you already know, in that case it will be very valuable for you to read them and let your mind be reminded of these crucial tips that make you a better angler. Whether you know these tips already or not is irrelevant because touching areas of your mental arsenal with these tips will open your mind to new ideas and allow you to discover new tricks and tactics.

No one fisherperson dreams up all of the best ways to catch fish. You can be just as productive at discovering new tricks within your techniques as a professional fisherman. Great fishermen were not born great, they developed into great fishermen by years of on the water experience. Some excelled faster than others because they picked up on patterns quicker than others. And patterns being within techniques as well as within catching fish.

The guys you want to pay close attention to are the older, salty veteran pros that have been fishing professional tournaments for years and years. I shouldn’t even have to mention any of them because you already know who the “DADDY’S” are. The reason I use them as examples is because they are going to go about their work the easiest and most efficient way possible. They flow through situations and travel the path of least resistance even if the situations they are in are unpleasant. They subconsciously flow with their surroundings because that is their home, they have been there for thousands of hours. They don’t have to react to weather and pattern changes they act with them.

There are allot of “little things” within this article but I am going to pinpoint one of them in particular. Watch two television shows. One hosted by Larry Nixon and the other by Shaw Grigsby. Both of these guys are tournament champions of the past and present and every single move they make and attempt to teach you is one they learned through years of tournament fishing. If you don’t trust baits they are throwing is what they really throw in the tournaments that’s fine, sometimes I am skeptical of that, IGNORE the lures they are throwing. Watch their mechanics, every single move they make. You will learn from their mechanics, pick out one thing that they do and practice it next time you are on the water. You must master your fishing mechanics.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Dewey Kendrick, the B.A.S.S Tournament Director, walked into the Jasper High School gym and slammed the door telling one of his staff members to fine anyone else who walked through the door. It was 7pm and in B.A.S.S. you are fined for being late to the meetings. This was a pre-tournament meeting for the Texas Invitational at Sam Rayburn, February 12-17, 1996. There were over 300 hundred of us sitting with our eyes on Dewey waiting for him to start the show so that we could hear all of the rules of the tournament again and get our partner pairings for the next day(the first day of competition).

There is plenty of anxiety for the B.A.S.S. rookies in the house(like me at the time) and some of the other fisherman who are relatively new to fishing national tournaments. You are sitting in the same room with veteran aces like Rick Clunn, Gary Klein, Denny Brauer, Tommy Martin, Zell Rowland, Dion Hibdon, and Larry Nixon to name a few. Some of the anxiety stems from the fact that you could very easily draw one of these “big namers” for a day of fishing(only you cannot draw someone from your home state).

Dewey started reading off the pairings and in the third flight I heard my name called, I stood up and said “Yo” extremely loud, because if Dewey doesn’t here you say “Yo” he gets mad and makes a fool out of you, as I learned the hard way previously at the Arkansas Invitational. He looked up and found me, then looked back to his pairings and said “Larry Nixon”(no doubt, one of the biggest names in fishing). Larry and I left the gym and went outside where there were dozens of pairs of guys who had drawn each other for the following day. We were all huddled in pairs exchanging secret locations and baits quietly so that no other pair would hear.

Larry said he had fish in about the same area that I did and we agreed to go to the area and spend equal time on each other’s fish. We discussed tactics and baits so that I would know exactly what to bring. I could quickly tell by talking with Larry that he was a genuinely nice guy and sincere in everything that he said about his fish and the area.

We met the next morning and launched the boat with all of the other competitors and spectators and made our 3c flight out and headed up the lake. We pulled up to Larry’s area, a big flat with a creek running on one side of it and lots of timber. Larry had three keepers in the boat before I even had a bite, fifteen minutes later he had a limit. The fish
in this area were “easy” Larry said. They were all two pound fish just as Larry had told me the night before. I finally scrambled up three of the two pounders by around 9am. We had been working the same area all morning, Larry was waiting for me to limit before we proceeded to an area that had bigger fish. “We’re not leaving this area until you limit”, Larry kept saying. Not many guys would have been as patient as Larry was, most would have gotten their limit and went on to bigger and better things. He knew that if he waited I would definitely limit which was extremely critical on the first day of a three day tournament. Larry continued catching two pound fish left and right, I could not get bit. We were standing shoulder to shoulder on the front of the boat. I was at no disadvantage except that maybe his twenty five years of B.A.S.S. tournament experience had kicked in. Larry was on another planet catching fish one after another and telling me everything he was doing. My confidence never lowered for an instant because I was so impressed just watching someone “smoke fish” the way he was.

At times I thought Larry wanted me to catch the rest of my limit worse than I did, he was doing everything in his power so that I would. He even stopped fishing at one point. Finally I told him that we could just head to the bigger fish and I would just act like I had a limit. He reluctantly agreed and we moved on through the timber flat to a spot we had both caught big fish in practice.

We pulled into an area and Larry said, “This is it, this is the spot. Flip over by that big stump.” I flipped in there three consecutive casts, nothing. I picked out the next stump and flipped over to it, Larry flipped into the stump I had just fished and set the hook. He wrestled about a five pounder to the boat. He culls a fish and joins me back on the front and we continued. He caught two more solid fish that culled and said, “We need to go back and fish that big stump.” We eased back over to the stump and he tells me to flip in there. I flip in there about eight times; on the sides of the stump, around back, and a couple of times to the front of the stump. Larry flips in behind me and sets the hook on a “horse”. He fights the fish around for a while and finally lips a giant. On his computerized culling system he weighs the fish, 9.15 pounds.

Words could not describe the show he was putting on, it was truly a work of art.

It was almost time for us to head out of the creek and timber and head down the lake to weigh in. I still had three fish. I quickly fished my way out of the timber as Larry sat behind the steering wheel eating a Mars Bar and drinking a Diet Coke. He looked up just at the edge of the timber and said, “Make sure you flip into that stump right up there.” I saw the one he was referring to and flipped into it, automatic hookup. The fish was small but a keeper anyway, and Larry had called it sitting down not even hardly paying attention.

We ran back to weigh in and we had about five minutes to spare. Larry suggested I make a few casts but he was going to remain seated behind the wheel. Without lowering the trolling motor I jumped on the front deck and hurled a rattle trap with the wind about fifty yards. I reeled it in radically trying to catch my fifth fish for a limit. I cast out again with no success. A small mudline was within reach near the bank, I had seen it but not thrown at it intentionally. Just as I was about to make my third and probably final cast Larry said to bring my bait through the mud line. All in one motion I adjusted my cast and sent my rattle trap into muddy water. As I got the line tight I could feel a fish on the other end. I was so amazed I could hardly turn the handle to reel the fish in. I got the fish to the boat which gave me my limit at the very last minute and we quickly entered weigh in. We bagged our fish and walked through the crowd. I weighed first, my five babies weighed 9.15, exactly what Larry’s big fish weighed. Larry weighed in, the scales registered over 24 pounds and the crowd went wild.

I walked over to part of tournament headquarters where the partner pairings for the next day were posted. I found my name, looked out beside it-Ken Cook…..that’s another story.

I still analyze that day and learn something new each time that I carefully think the whole day through. What I probably learned most from that day fishing with such a great fisherman was that there is absolutely nothing that can replace experience, especially the many years that Larry has put in.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

I hit the snooze button a couple of times before I finally realized that it was actually my alarm clock telling me to get up this morning. My small camper on the back of my truck sleeps well when I am on the tournament trail, equipped with a heater and an electric blanket it is quite cozy so long as I am plugged in at a campground somewhere. I managed to make my way outside and began to adjust to the sudden temperature change, from a nice and warm 70 or so to the cold outside air that was 35 degrees. This was my first day of pre-practice for the Mississippi BassMaster Invitational on Ross Barnett Reservoir.

I was here about 13 months ago for the same tournament last season. The lake was muddy then and it is muddy now. The lake has an enormous amount of bass and proves to be an excellent fishery year in and year out even with heavy fishing pressure. We have just hit it again when the Pearl River is really flowing bringing in run-off and turning the lake off color. There is still some good areas to fish but all the tournament fishermen will be piled on top of each other fishing what clean water is available. These conditions usually make a lake fish small during big tournaments.

When I put my boat in this morning the water temperature was 46 degrees, water temperature of 50 or less should always remind you to be extra patient and fish extra slow, especially when the water is muddy.
I pulled out two rods, one with a 3/8 Stanley Platinum Wedge Spinnerbait (chartreuse) and one with a 7/16 Stanley Jig. I added a pork chunk to the jig and up the river I went. I started looking at pockets off of the river, protected water from the current and also the fresh muddy water the river was bringing down.

The water was cold everywhere, mostly 46 and 47 degrees. I did find some clear water way back in some of the pockets but that also put me back in the woods where there was so many trees that the sun would hardly be able to penetrate to warm the water. I fished the back pockets until around noon and then decided that I could come back to these areas during the official practice just before the tournament.

I went down the river a few miles until it opened up to the lake. I then checked the back of some of the bays where the sun could really pound if it were to ever come out from the overcast skies. I ran flat weeded banks for a couple of hours before I finally caught one on my spinnerbait, the fish was very light in color and weighed about two and a half pounds. Considering the conditions catching one fish in an area could mean there is a whole bunch of fish there. I didn’t catch anymore fish in that bay but I will certainly look at that spot when I come back.

Before I finished out the day I caught two more on the spinnerbait to bring my bass tally to three. Not much for nine and a half hours on the water but believe me it could have been worse. I talked to three competitors on the ramp who all said that they never got a bite all day. Fishing is very tough and if east Mississippi does not get some warm weather before we come back in two weeks it will be a very tough tournament.

Mother Nature always has something to dish out and this particular week it is cold weather and rain. For a very shallow lake like Ross Barnett that is a tough combination. But as usual one of us will figure out how to catch them better than anyone else and will walk away with forty thousand bucks, hopefully me!

The tournament is February 12th, 13th, and 14th. You can check the results daily on the internet by entering BASSMASTER into a search.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

As you well know if you have read anything about Lake Conroe this year is that the crappie fishing is premier. I think that it is safe to say that Lake Conroe is one of the best crappie lakes in the state this year. Many of us Lake Conroe fishermen have spent a lot of time fishing for the papermouths. We have all got our little tricks of the trade honed up for this crappie fishing. There is definitely plenty of ways to load the boat full of crappie and who is to say which way is best. Some of the crappie fulltimers will tell you crappie jigs under the 1097, minnows sunk around timber, or a minnow-jig combination in the creek channels. All of these methods will work. I have spent my fair share of time on the water “crappie guiding” and come up with a rig that works wonders for catching crappie.

The crappie rig that is used on my boat takes several principles and applies them to crappie fishing. Anytime that you are fishing around the bottom, brush, or standing timber the rig you use must be somewhat weedless. If not you will spend all of your time hung up and retying. When fishing off-colored water a noise making devise within a rig will help attract fish. Taking this into mind a crappie rig that is weedless and makes noise most certainly is the way to go.

This rig requires a one ought crappie hook, two 10mm Top Brass glass beads, and a Top Brass 3/8 oz brass weight. To rig it up slide the line through the eye of the hook. Next slide the line through the brass weight, then through both glass beads. Tie the line to the second glass bead. So now you have line through the

hook, weight, glass bead, and the line tied to the second glass bead. Now take the hook and slide it up the line away from the weight and glass beads about a foot. Pull the hook to the side so that it doubles the line. Take the doubled line and tie a knot in it about three inches from the hook. Make this a double knot. Now take the hook and pull it away from the knot. Make another knot between the eye of the hook and the double knot.

To fish the rig drop it down to the bottom or the desired depth. If the hook becomes hung up don’t pull tight on the line simply lower your rod tip and let the weight fall, it will dislodge the hook. The brass and glass when engaged makes a clicking sound that attracts fish. When fishing the rig simply jig it occasionally or shake the rig. Many times your strike will occur immediately after the brass and glass have engaged. The brass and glass clicking resembles a crawfish kicking its tail for propulsion.

This will be a good month to fish this rig since the water is off color due to the flooding. Be on the look out for floating debris or floating logs caused by the floods. Good luck fishing.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

For the past for years Marshall Brown, a top fisherman and former guide of Lake Conroe, has been organizing a fishing school that has helped hundreds learn more about Lake Conroe. This school is designed for amateurs as well as veteran fisherman. Top tournament pros and guides from Lake Conroe come and share many of their secrets of success and convey their knowledge to you in a classroom setting.

Many techniques will be discussed like: Structure fishing, verticle jigging, carolina rigging, cranking deep structure, flipping jigs, reading your electronics, and many more.

These super-informative adult classes will be held for four weeks beginning FEBRUARY 20TH and ending on MARCH 7TH. There will be two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 – 9:30 pm. Classes will be held in Willis at the Adult Community Education Center.

For registration call the Director of Community Education, Ruth Castlescholdt at (409) 856-1210.
Registration for the entire four weeks of class is $50.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

How often are you fishing a lure and know that you are not throwing it on the right pound test? Too often probably if you are like me, and simply don’t want to strip all of that line off to replace it with smaller or larger line. If you know the line size is not ideal and you fish it anyway your conscious is at war because it knows that optimum utility is not taking place. Each bait has a line size that allows it to perform with the perfect action, whatever that line diameter is for each bait is what you want every time you fish a different bait.

Before I explain how to choose the correct line size for lures remember that you are looking for long term results by amassing a whole lot of “little things” that characterize your style. No one thing that you do or learn or change is going to make you an ultimate fisherman, but by learning one “little thing” at a time and putting them all together you will become an ultimate fisherman.

A little bait needs little line to be fished properly. Small crankbaits perform best when fished on tiny line because the line does not hinder the lures action. Line creates resistance in the water like friction, the bigger the line the more resistance it has. A small bait cannot compensate for the resistance and looses action because of it. A Model 3A Bomber for example can be fished on 17# test and will dive to about 4 or 5 feet and have moderate vibration. On 12# test the same bait will dive about 6-8 feet and have considerably more action. On 8# test the bait will give you everything it has to offer. Depths of 10 feet or more and more action than with any other pound test. The more action a bait has the more noise a bait makes. Noise because of the rattles and also because of the vibration.

OK so baits perform better with lighter line but what about cover? Well this is where your common sense comes in. If you are fishing shallow timber flats with stumps everywhere you may not feel comfortable with small line. Beef up in this situation then or you can use the small line and accept the fact that you could loose some fish if one wraps you up. You have to weigh the risks. If you think that you will get more bites with lighter line because the bait performs best with small line then fish small line and take the risk of loosing fish in the cover. Remember, you have to get the bites before you break any off. Sometimes line selection is the difference between getting bites and not getting bites, especially in high pressured areas.

Reaction baits don’t need light line to be effective. Vertically presented baits like jigs and crawworms need big line. The object is to drop the bait straight down onto a bass. Heavy line is not going to have much of an effect on the action of a jig falling straight down. Also the fish can only see the bait if the lure is being dropped right onto it and the fish won’t even see the line. Of course heavy line is need here because of the close range hookset and the heavy cover this style is used in.

Here are some matches that I live by in my tactics.

shallow divers 1-3 feet – 8-10#
medium divers 3-12 feet – 10#
deep divers 12 feet+ – 12#, ultra deep depths can be achieved by using 8# or 10# on big crankbaits

spinner baits 1/4 oz – 12#
3/8 and 1/2 oz – 14#-17#
3/4 and 1oz – 17# and up

rogues 10# and 12#

jigs around heavy timber 20#-25#
hydrilla 25#

small jigs (1/4oz) 12# – 17#
topwaters 12#, around hydrilla 20#

carolina rig 17#

I hope this helps you in choosing the right line and catch more fish.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

SPLITSHOTTING
One of the types of finesse fishing for black bass is called splitshotting. This rig is designed for fishing a worm through mossy areas. This rig consists of a worm rigged on a hook without a weight directly on the worm head. Instead of using a worm weight a tiny splitshot weight is attached to the line about a foot and a half above the worm. A splitshot is about the size of a BB. The weight has a split just big enough for the line. The rig can be fished across loose moss and other aquatic vegetation without being entangled and hung. Splitshotting gives a worm a very natural look because there is little weight used the bait has a good fluttering action.

The splitshotting rig should be fished with a spinning rod with eight to twelve pound test line. The rig is very light, weighing less than a quarter of an ounce. The light line is small in diameter and draws little wind resistance when casting. The rod should have a medium action and the hook should be extremely sharp. The light line will not stand up to heavy hooksets so a milder hookset must be used in order not to break the line. If the hook is extremely a mild hookset will get enough hook penetration to land the fish.
To tie the splitshotting rig run the line through the eye of the hook and tie a knot. Next rig the worm onto the hook like it was a Texas Rigged worm. Once this is completed add a splitshot weight about a foot and a half above the worm. Pliers will aid in pinching the weight in place on the line.
Fishing the splitshot worm is very similar to the Carolina Rig. Cast the rig across aquatic vegetation and start to work it back to you with the same rod positioning as the Carolina Rig retrieve. A slow retrieve allowing the rig to fall into the pockets of aquatic vegetation draws the most strikes. Once a strike occurs use a moderate hookset in order not to break the line. The drag setting on the reel should be set so that line may be automatically released before reaching its maximum stretch factor and breaking. Big bass can be landed using light tackle if they are allowed to run and not “horsed” back to the boat. Patience, once again, is the key to landing fish hooked on light tackle

WEIGHTLESS WORM
The weightless worm is very similar to the splitshot worm only this rig has no weight at all. This rig is designed for areas where the aquatic vegetation is so thick that a worm with any size weight becomes hung up. A worm alone will float and even when rigged with a number one or number two worm hook will still have enough buoyancy to be fished weedless across aquatic vegetation.

Dragging the weightless worm across aquatic vegetation has been a successful method of catching fish out of thick grass for years. There are not many techniques that will allow a lure to fished in such heavy cover. Fishing the hard to reach areas is often effective with the weightless worm because the fish in these areas have not seen very many baits. These fish are less likely to be conditioned to any type of lure. The more times a fish sees a lure and is caught or sees another bass get caught the more chances increase for that fish to become conditioned so that it avoids lures. In an area where not many baits have been thrown the chances of the fish in the area to be conditioned are very slim.

FLORIDA RIG
The Florida Rig is identical to the pegged Texas Rig except that the weight is a little different. Instead of using a worm weight and using a toothpick to peg the weight a Florida weight is used. The Florida Rig weight is a normal worm weight with a spring attached to the end of the weight that faces the worm. The spring attached to the weight is used to screw into the worm, holding the weight against the worm. This eliminates having to use toothpicks. The action and techniques to fishing the Florida Rig are identical to the Texas Rig.

DO-NOTHING WORM
The do-nothing worm is a method of worm fishing used when a cold front has occurred or when the fish are not feeding. Do-nothing worms are a finesse worm used when
a bass has little or no appetite and must be “force-fed”. The worm is a four to six inch worm rigged onto a tiny jig head usually weighing less than an eighth of an ounce. This method of worm fishing requires light tackle. Fishing the bait slowly and tight to cover is effective for catching bass even in the worst weather conditions when they are not feeding.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

December is one of the best months of the year to fish Lake Conroe. The lake is practically deserted this time of year which is a little ironic because the fishing is always hot this month. Most of the fish are on main lake humps and ridges that apex in 20-33’ of water.

A 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoon is the number one bait for the deep schools of fish. Black bass, white bass, crappie, catfish, and most other game fish will be holding on the main lake humps and ridges. All of these fish will hit the spoons as it resembles a wounded shad when on the fall. Big bass will be common this month on white and chartreuse Cobra spoons. Every marina around the lake has photographs taken during the month of December of big bass caught on jigging spoons.

The main lake structures are easy to find and there are plenty of them with fish on them. Graph out the bigger main lake points looking for the edge of the point where it meets the river. The most distinctly breaking area of the structure will usually hold the most fish. Anywhere you have a bunch of bigger fish within three feet of bottom on top of a hump or ridge is a good spot to mark and spoon. Fish that are suspended on the edges of the humps say five feet or higher off of the bottom are not as active and harder to catch. There is usually allot more fish suspended out on the edges of the humps but you will usually do better if you fish for the few that you see close to the bottom on top of the hump because they are feeding.

The top of the humps is a constant feeding area for fish. Fish are continuously pushing shad up onto the humps. The lunar tables will prove themselves to you daily if you pay attention the highs and lows in the feeding times. Fish turn on and off to these tables almost like clockwork.

Well this spoon pattern carries all the way into January and will get better daily from now on until then.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

December is one of the best months of the year to fish Lake Conroe. The lake is practically deserted this time of year which is a little ironic because the fishing is alway hot this month. Most of the fish are on main lake humps and ridges that apex in 20-33’ of water.

A 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoon is the number one bait for the deep schools of fish. Black bass, white bass, crappie, catfish, and most other game fish will be holding on the main lake humps and ridges. All of these fish will hit the spoons as it resembles a wounded shad when on the fall. Big bass will be common this month on white and chartreuse Cobra spoons. Every marina around the lake has photographs taken during the month of December of big bass caught on jigging spoons.

The main lake structures are easy to find and there are plenty of them with fish on them. Graph out the bigger main lake points looking for the edge of the point where it meets the river. The most distinctly breaking area of the structure will usually hold the most fish. Anywhere you have a bunch of bigger fish within three feet of bottom on top of a hump or ridge is a good spot to mark and spoon. Fish that are suspended on the edges of the humps say five feet or higher off of the bottom are not as active and harder to catch. There is usually alot more fish suspended out on the edges of the humps but you will usually do better if you fish for the few that you see close to the bottom on top of the hump because they are feeding.
The top of the humps is a constant feeding area for fish. Fish are continuously pushing shad up onto the humps. The lunar tables will prove themselves to you daily if you pay attention the highs and lows in the feeding times. Fish turn on and off to these tables almost like clockwork.

Well this spoon pattern carries all the way into January and will get better daily from now on until then.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Going from Winter to Summer without having much of a Spring seems to be a common subject among fishermen. The intricate patterns of Springtime fishing were blurred by the prevailing twenty to thirty-five mile per hour winds that blew from the end of February through May. As of this writing(late May) I have counted only four days that the wind did not blow over fifteen or so.

Many portions of the lake have been totally unfishable because of the wind, areas that are in open water like some of the mainlake humps and ridges. Some of the mainlake brushpiles have been untouched due to the swells rolling over the top of them.

Water temperatures were on a quick rise through April, I was already recording temperatures in the eighties the first week of May. The fish have been responding to the warming water as if we were deep into the summer. I have been taking customers out to fourteen to eighteen foot brushpiles and dragging Carolina Rigs for black bass this month and pretending that its summer time. The early morning bite has been on, rocks and breakwaters have been giving up good fish on crankbaits and Texas rigged worms. Even the Caronlina rig has been producing early fish on the rocks and breakwaters. Later in the morning those deeper brushpiles are holding good numbers of bass in and around fifteen feet. Pumpkinseed, smoke/blue, chartreuse pepper, and watermelon colored french fries have been my number one Carolina rigged baits.

The crappie quickly recovered from their spawn and stacked up on the brushpiles. At times during the last few weeks I’ve graphed a brushpiles to mark and there will be so many crappie suspended over them that the depth will change from the bottom to the top of the school of fish. The crappie are so thick in numbers that they collectively have enough density that the sonar cannot penetrate. Unable to see the brushpile for the fish I’ll just throw a buoy upwind of the fish and start fishing. Crappie numbers are high again this year with alot of fish around the eleven inch mark. When measuring crappie or any other fish close the mouth and push it to the zero end of the measuring board and then sweep the tail for an accurate measurement. Also remember that if the fish is barely legal that it will loose a little bit of length when you throw it on ice or if it dies in the livewell.

Looks like we are in for a hot summer so be ready to fish those deeper structures in the lake.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

One of most effective ways of fishing shallow shoreline structures for largemouth black bass is using a Texas Rigged worm. The rig is designed for fishing shallow water with precision and thoroughness. Shallow water structures are any object in the shallow water that will hold bass. Some of these structures include: tree stumps, lay down logs, boat docks, bulk-heading, rocks, hydrilla lines, and drop offs.

The rig is very easy to cast with accuracy which is a must for shallow fishing. When casting at shallow water structure it is very important to lay the bait tight to the cover very quietly. The Texas Rig, when cast correctly, can be cast out near cover and land in the water without making a splash. Landing a worm around shallow water cover without making a splash can make the difference of catching fish or not catching fish. Black bass hide around the structure and will be easily spooked if a worm is not presented to the fish quietly.

Tying on a Texas Rig worm is very simple, however, there are a few tips that will give the bait better action. The rig includes a bullet weight, a number two worm hook, a toothpick, and a plastic worm. Start rigging the bait by running the line through the small end of the bullet weight. Slide the weight up the line and run the line through the eye of the hook. Tie the hook onto the line and clip the excess line with a pair of clippers. Next, take the weight and slide it down towards the hook. Take the toothpick and insert it into the big end of the bullet weight(the end facing the hook). Insert the toothpick as firmly as possibly and break it off in the weight. Use the clippers to remove any splinters that may be left.

Now it is time to rig the worm onto the hook. Take the hook and insert it into the head of the worm about a quarter of an inch. Bring the tip of the hook back out the worm and slide the worm up the shank of the hook. Now insert the tip of the hook into the body of the worm. Make sure that the tip of the hook is not pertruding the body of the worm. This will ensure that the bait is as weedless as possible. When the tip of the hook is protruding the bait tends to hang up on everything that it comes into contact with. Now that the bait is rigged onto the hook take the weight and slide it down to the head of the worm. The weight is rigged with a toothpick so that it is pegged to the head of the worm. With the toothpick inserted it will remain stationary on the head of the worm rather than sliding up and down the line. This gives the bait better action and also makes it easier to cast.

Keeping the weight pegged to head of the worm will make it easier to detect strikes. When the weight is allowed to slide every time the rod is lifted the weight hits the worm and it may feel like a strike at times. Pegging the weight will eliminate the false strikes and when a strike is detected there will no question that it is a fish.
Fishing the Texas Rigged worm requires extreme patience. The Texas Rig, like most other forms of worm fishing, must be fished extremely slow. “If you are fishing the worm slowly you are fishing the bait too fast”, is a phrase often used when teaching a beginner how to fish a plastic worm.

Suppose you just entered a small cove that you intend to fish by boat. In the cove there a several stumps that look as if they hold fish. Position your boat so that you are not too close to the stumps but also so that you are not out of casting range. Make your cast past the stump and let the bait fall to the bottom. Let the bait sit there for eight to ten seconds. Now lift the rod tip very slowly to eleven o’clock without reeling. If a strike is not detected, slowly lower the rod to nine o’clock reeling the up the slack line at the same time. Let the bait settle on the bottom for a few seconds and repeat the technique again. When the bait becomes close to the stump your concentration needs to be very focussed in order to detect a strike. The area around a stump or any other structure where a bass will be hiding is known as the “strike zone”. The strike zone is the area where a strike is most likely to occur. Keeping this thought in mind that fish will hit when the becomes close to a structure will allow you to put emphasis on the action of the bait when it is in the strike zone. When the bait enters the strike zone refocus your concentration on the bait and be very alert.

When a strike occurs a powerful hookset is necessary for landing a fish. Largemouth bass have a tough and hard jaw. A powerful hookset is necessary so that the hook
penetrates and does not become extracted during a battle. To perform a correct and effective hookset there are two rules that must be followed. 1)Reel up any slack 2)Set the hook with plenty of power. When setting the hook you need to reel up the slack in the line and jerk back with the rod away from the fish. The rod must be jerked hard enough so that the hook will get deep penetration.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Recently I was on the water guiding a father and son party on a fishing trip. We were fishing a couple of main-lake humps down on the south end of the lake and spooning up crappie, white bass, black bass, and yellow bass. The bite was good and even I sort of got caught up in the action. A bank of clouds had rolled in low from the northwest and they covered us before we had a chance to outrun them.

The wind turned from a southerly breeze to a powerful northwest wind and within about three minutes we were bobbing in three to five foot rollers. Quickly getting the tackle stowed beneath the decks I dug out rain gear for the three of us and we prepared for the worst. With life vests zipped and fastened we turned into the wind for the ride back to StowAway.

The waves were to far apart to get on top of them so we just took them one at a time. The Mercury motor groaned as we would climb each wave. To keep the bow up I had to goose it up a wave, let off the throttle and fall into the trough and goose it again for the next wave.

My party was probably thinking that they could have gone offshore and had better conditions than this and I was amazed again at how rough a lake could get. Had we been in anything less than a twenty footer I think we would have had a tough time getting back safely.

We took our time and made our way back up the lake to the marina. My clients were from Houston and don’t get out on the water very often. The afternoon was a real adventure for them and I must admit it was a rush to me as well.

Mother Nature deals out some tricky situations at times that can take you by surprise. Sometimes weather builds up and is easy to spot and avoid but weather can also roll in low and quickly before you are ready for it.

Changes in air temperature and wind direction are definitely factors to take note of when on the water. Especially, when the wind shifts one hundred and eighty degrees. Also clouds patterns can help you make on the spot weather observations. Low rolling clouds, thunderheads, and cloud banks are all indicators of possible bad weather.

Remember to always check the weather when planning a fishing trip. A small radio tuned to one of the many weather stations will also help you avoid unsafe weather conditions.

When fishing in unstable weather, rain gear and lifejackets are a must. Good luck fishing.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu