Swift Creek Reservoir Fishing Report- MARCH
By Charlie Machek
Owner of Swift Creek Reservoir Guide Service
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What a crazy Winter… or Spring…. or whatever this is we’ve been having so far. The last month has been crazy with huge temperature swings, and the fish have definitely noticed. As March comes in the fishing should continue to get better. If the water keeps warming up, we could have an early spring as far as fishing goes. Bass like to winter in the deeper parts of the lake, hanging out offshore on deep points, and in the creek channels. Many fish will stay out offshore most of the month, but with the real Spring right around the corner, the rest of the population will start staging on the edges of spawning areas. For the deep fish, look for drop-offs, and changes in the bottom composition. When you find areas like this, and they have baitfish present, there could be many fish to be caught. 8’ – 10’ diving crankbaits, heavy spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits are good search baits to cover water with, jerkbaits can work as well, but the water has continued to be dirty. After you find a productive area with fish, slow down with a jig, or texas rig fished slowly on the bottom. If you are continually getting snagged on the bottom, that means you are in a good spot. For the “shallow” fish, check the edges of shallow flats where they meet deeper water. Some fish may actually be up shallow on the flat, but the majority, and bigger fish, will be where it starts to drop into deeper water. There are many long stretches of 2’ – 3’ feet of water, that drops into 5’-8’ feet. There are so many lures to choose from for this style of fishing. Curly tail worms, lizards, shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, anything that runs 3’-5’ deep. Keep moving, and covering water until you find the fish. Bass are in full blow Pre-Spawn mode, and feeding up to reproduce this spring. The males will be the 1st ones to show up to the spawning grounds. We always practice catch and release, and encourage others as well, but this time of year, proper handling and release is even more important. Get a good picture, minimize the amount of time a fish is out of water, and let them go safely for the future of our fishery. If it stays warm, especially at night, we might see some fish start spawning before April gets here.
The Swift Creek Reservoir Guide Service will be open for business 7 days/week starting in April, so contact us, and let’s go fishing! Take a kid fishing, practice catch and release, and I’ll see you out on the water!
If you have questions feel free to contact me by email, or on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/SwiftCreekReservoirGuideService/?ref=bookmarks#
machekfishing@gmail.com – www.SwiftCreekFishing.com