Fishing on Grand has been a little tough lately. The last jackpot tournament was won with 5.97 pounds for three fish. Weights are usually low this time of year but not that low. However, there are certain times of the day when bass seem to turn on. The problem is that time of day changes day to day. Monday evening I was able to catch 12 fish. The biggest being 5 pounds. Tuesday evening we had the 5.97 that won. That was a big surprise. We saw several large bass surface during the tournament but couldn't get any of them to bite. We didn't think we had a chance.

My theory is that the bass have too much food to bother with lures. Shad are thick everywhere. This happens every year but seems to have came early this year. The presentations that have been putting fish in the boat for me can be described in one word. Different. Anything different. I talked to a dock fisherman Monday night who said the bass were surfacing every night in his cove. He was catching them on a small Rooster Tail. Smaller than I use for white bass. More like a spinner I use for trout. He was right. Thirty minutes later and the bass surfaced. I caught them on a popper and he caught as many on his Rooster Tail.

The different lures I mentioned earlier have typically been soft plastics. By different I mean anything the fish haven't seen all summer. If you are confident in a certain plastic this time of year, throw it. Just make it different. Use a bright, ridiculous color or downsize to a smaller version.

They can be caught right now! Just keep chunking and winding and don't be afraid to move around. A lot.