Bass Fishing
ByI know you duck hunt Granger, but have you ever bass fished it? If you have, could you tell me anything about it? Where did you put in? Did you ever fish the river?
TPWD rates it poor for largemouths. See Fishing Granger Lake. I’ve never caught a largemouth there – only white bass. It’s an excellent crappie and catfish lake.
The entire lake is surrounded by Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) – Sorefinger, Pecan Grove (below the dam), San Gabriel, and Willis Creek and parks Fox, Taylor, Willis Creek, and Friendship (going clockwise from the dam). Here is a map of the lake – https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/granger/Brochures/Granger%20Lake%20Map.pdf.
The San Gabriel WMA has a lot of stumps and trees in the water and the Willis Creek WMA has a lot of trees in the water. Straying from the channel in the San Gabriel WMA and on the San Gabriel River is foolish. I usually hit six stumps on my way (at idle speed) to where we hunt in the dark and hit six more on the way back to the ramp in the daylight. I’ve seen bass boats blowing through the channel at 50 MPH, which borders on suicidal.
The lake’s water level varies considerably, so there are plenty of stumps that you can see when the lake is at its normal pool but if the lake raises a foot or two you won’t’ see them, and then – Wham!
Therefore, I recommend that you fish the Sorefinger WMA if you still want to fish it. It has a lot fewer trees and stumps. There is a 24-hour ramp at Friendship Park, which is on the east border of the Sorefinger WMA. It’s on FM 971, near the dam.
You would think that with all the timber that the bass fishing would be good, but that’s definitely not the case.
What depths do the lures in the below pictures run?
On the top are plastic worms with some brass and beads for Carolina rigging and what looks like spinnerbait trailer hooks. Worms will not sink unless you use a worm weight to make them sink. Here is an assortment – https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-xps-60-piece-worm-weight-kit?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&affcode_c=&gclid=CjwKCAjwyo36BRAXEiwA24CwGfb5QuvO-GMBTNJ-asJtcPPOy0vEZbXdRBdK7aq6VFFmFZfSUw_vehoCOuAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Rigging tips – https://www.wideopenspaces.com/4-ways-to-rig-a-worm-weight/.
Texas rig – https://shopkarls.com/blog/texas-rig-101-need-know-t-rig/.
Carolina rig – https://officiallakeforktrophybass.com/how-to-setup-a-carolina-rig/. Brass weights work best for Carolina rigs. See https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-carolina-weights.
How quickly they sink depends on the weight you choose, which depends on the wind and worm size/weight. They’ll eventually sink to the bottom. Worm fishing is a very slow way to fish. Be sure to use offset gap worm hooks in sizes 2/0 – 5/0 and not the spinnerbait trailer hooks that are in the picture.
The two square-bill crankbaits below the worms will run 4 – 6′ deep. They’re great to use around trees and rocks, as they bounce off structure. They, and round-bill crankbaits, only sink when you start to retrieve them. Fish them medium to fast. The faster you retrieve them the deeper they sink. Stop and go is a good technique for them. Stop the retrieve, wait for a second or two, then start it again. The stop and go method makes bass think the baitfish is wounded. They’ll often hit it when it stops. However, don’t stop it for too long as it will float back up to the surface.
The three lipless crankbaits on the top left will sink about 1’/second for 3/4 ounce, 9″/second for 1/2 ounce, and 6″/second for 1/4 ounce. Let them sink about 4′ and retrieve them medium to fast, like a fleeing baitfish. Also, be careful using lipless crankbaits around rocks. They will sometimes sink between two rocks and get stuck.
Below them is another square-bill crankbait.
To the right is a jerkbait. A jerkbait dives 4 – 7′ unless it’s a weighted “count-down” version. Those drop similarly to lipless crankbaits. Here is how to fish them – https://www.onthewater.com/how-to-fish-a-jerkbait.
The top left and middle are Jitterbugs. Below them are Hula Poppers. To the right are Pop-R’s. They are all topwater baits and don’t sink. They’re designed to make splashes on the top, like a fleeing baitfish. Fish then slow. Pop, wait for a second or two, and pop them again. Topwaters work best early, late, at night, and when it’s overcast.
On the left side, is a spinnerbait. It will sink similarly to a lipless crankbait. Fish them slow. If bass are missing them, add one of your above spinnerbait trailer hooks.
The others are jointed swimbaits. They’ll dive from 2 – 4′. Fish them like crankbaits. See https://youtu.be/K1cBq1QnC6U.
That’s a good assortment. All that you need are frogs, propeller topwaters (Whopper Ploppers or Heddon Baby Torpedos), dog walkers (zig-zag topwater baits), Buzz Baits, round-bill crankbaits, chatterbaits (bladed jigs), jigs, more soft plastics (crawdads, lizards, grubs, Zoom Super Flukes, and creature baits like the Zoom Baby Brush Hog, and soft 4 – 5″ swimbaits on a 1/4 – 3/8 ounce swimbait head, like this one.
Is smoke-colored or dark green fishing line OK to fish with? Is there a better color or “type” to use?
I wouldn’t hesitate to use either. The line will look different under the water than it will out of it. Also, a fish will see it differently than we will. When light enters the water, its intensity quickly decreases, and its color changes.
Fluorocarbon line is touted by line companies as the most invisible line on the market. It is said to have the same light refraction properties as water, making it as invisible as fishing line can get. It is well suited for all water clarities. This near-invisible quality of the line is the way to go in ultra-clear water and, theoretically, will lead to increased bites from spooky fish that are used to seeing line connected to lures. But Fluoro is expensive – often costing twice as much as equivalent mono, or more. It also sinks so you don’t want to use it for topwater lures.
There are many colors of mono. Besides the two that you mentioned you can find it in light blue, yellow, and even red. Supposedly blue is best for saltwater and yellow is best for muddy water. Red is supposed to be near-invisible under the water, but divers say that red objects look black, so I’ve never tried it. Green and smoke tend to blend in with water that is not ultra-clear or muddy.
Braided line typically comes in dark greens, smoke, or black. It’s as expensive as Fluoro or more so. It’s also tricky to fish with, especially using a baitcasting reel. In my experience, when I get a backlash with braided line it often results in me having to remove all the line on the spool, as it has a tendency to dig into itself. I use braided line for frogs and other soft plastics and umbrella/Alabama rigs.
More important than line color is line size, especially in clear water and for certain fish. For example, crappie are very adept at seeing line, so most crappie fishermen use 6, 4, or even 2 lb. test line. I have 12 lb. Suffix mono on most of my reels, but if I’m fishing in ultra-clear water or for crappie I’ll switch to 6 lb. Suffix mono. Trilene also makes good mono. I’m not a fan of Stren.
