April-21-2008 Fishing Report Reel um N Guide Service By Lynn Atkinson 04/20/08 Sam Rayburn is at 164.10 ft and began to fall this week. The water temperature has been around 67,rising in the afternoon. The water color is clear for the most part with a little more stain in the upper river and creeks. The Ayish Bayou has been a little more off color. The Lake has seen a lot of folks this week looking for that Big Bass to weighin at the McDonalds Big Bass Splash. I know there were two over 10 lbs weighed in . We've been catching a few fish in the 5 lb. range but didn't stay on them. We kinda left em for the tournament fishermen. Troy Stokes on the left, out of Grand Ledge, MI did some great flipping to pull this fish out the brush. Catch his video on the site of flipping the brush on "BIG SAM" and this is nornally pool. I've been under the weather this weekend but did get out for a few hours on Sunday. I ran down to another pond close to home and caught a few nice bass . Darrell on the right had a great day. We've been getting some top water action on "Big Sam" so that's how we started, my partner had two nice fish in the boat before I could even turn around. Then the turkey got another one, not that he would rub salt in a wound but OUCH that hurts . OK, I saw it was a color thing going on there, so after a little diggin in the 21 ft tackle box I came up with the right color. WHAM! I got one and was on the board at last. No pressure. Off I went, back to working a jig on the break and what do you know, not a monster but a good solid fish.. After a few more fish on the Stanley Jig we made some moves and had a nice bag of fish for 5 hrs on the water. It's funny how close one lake can be to another one. Its not always the same pattern but you have a place to start. It looks like post spawn for the most part. Is the color haunting you yet? Look at bluegill colors in your baits, Yellow, Orange and Blue. Don't rule out shad colors. You may find a few Bass that want to get even for all the harassment they got when they were on the bed. You should find some fish up shallow, a few moving to the outside grass lines and some moving offshore. Just a couple of things to check, one is the drag on your reels. Not that they are just tight but the they are working smoothly. Tie your line off to something that wont give, take up the slack and give the rod a smooth pull up. If the drag is smooth then it's ok but if it jerks it could lose you a fish. So check them out. You wouldn't want to loss that big one. I haven't replaced my quirky reel yet. Bass Strike Tackle here in Zavalla had just sold the last one. He will be getting some more in stock. "New Video on the website!!" This week we caught some big slabs on lipless crankbaits over the grass, in the flats, and a few in the brush piles. It seems they are moving in and should be ready in the next few weeks if the weather will stabilize. The "Contest for the Free Guide Trip On Big Sam" has been running this week so make sure you keep an eye out . Remember you have to check the website for your email address . You have a two hour window to catch it. If you can't check it have someone else check it for you. Good Luck and I hope to see you on the water. If you need to get away for the day, do a little fishing, or would like to check out The Bass Class on the Water and get some great tips give me a call. Learn some neat stuff to help find fish on any lake. God Bless Lynn Atkinson srayburn@rayburncountry.com www.rayburncountry.com Home 936-897-3400 Cell 979-220-0251