Fishing Alabama's middle and lower lakes

Edited by BOYD CAMPBELL

    I don't catch fish, but I certainly admire those who do.  Following is Alabama fishing guide Bobby Cagle's advice on how to fish what he calls the "middle ponds."  Folks around Tallassee and Tuskegee, Alabama, sometimes refer to Thurlow and Yates lakes as the "middle ponds."  Thurlow is the "Lower Pond," and Yates is the "Middle Pond."  Bobby's advice would probably hold up just as well for Lake Martin, which is the really big pond northwest of Tallassee in the middle of Alabama.

    "Fishing the Lower and Middle Ponds

    "1.  Tie a jig and a pig.  Fish blow-downs and rock walls.  Fish very slow and when in cover pick your bait up and down several times over limbs or rocks and be ready.  I use a black and blue jig three-eighths ounce or seven-sixteenths ounce with a number eleven blue or black pig.  The new Zoom plastic pigs work very well."

    "2.  Use your depth finder and find cover in teh 18- to 25-foot range and jig a spoon vertically.  I use a one-quarter ounce or three-quarter ounce Hopkins kastmaster or CC spoon.

    "3.  Use a small finess worm on a light Texas rig with 6- to 10-pound test line or on a Carolina rig.  Use on points, humps, and blow-downs.  I like to use a gree pumpkin finess worm and also a pumpkin seed, a cotton candy, or a blue pumpkin.

    "4.  Use a slider rig on 6- to 8-pound test line or on a Texas rig.  This four-inch worm thrown on light line works slowly along the bottom oor swimming it.  It will catch more bass than you think.  Although these bass may not be trophies, they taste mighty good.  I like to use a black with a chartreuse tail, or a pumpkin seed with a chartreuse tail, or a plum with a chartrueuse tail and a green pumpkin.

    "5.  Use a spinner bait.  Work over cover and around rocks.  Slow rolle it out from the bank all the way to the boat and use especially on overcast days.  I like to use a quarter-ounce willow leaf Colorado combination.  I prefer nickel blades or a new spinner bait just out calld The Blade by Hildebrant, which is a very good bait on these lakes.

    "6.  As the weather turns cools in October and November, use a pop-r or any other plop bait around cover and rocks.  Throw it, let is set, plop once or twice and then steady on to the boat and hang on.  I like to use the Rebel pop-r small and large in the chrome and black, and chrome and blue colors.

    "7.  During spring and summer use a lunker lure or a bass bait, especially on overcast days early and late.  Use Secret No. 1 and No. 5 during this time of the year.

    "8.  As spring and summer approach, bass gon on the bed.  Use a large worm or lizard rigged to float with a No. 4 or No. 5 hook.  Fish around stickups, grass, sandy banks, and twitch the lure along on top or just under the water and watch it closely.  I like to use a Zoom black, hot pink, yellow and white trick worm or any large lizard, as long as it is black or green pumpkin.  Use Secret No. 3 and No. 4 on slow days.

    "9.  If you want to catch big fish, use Secret No. 8 rigged Texas style with an eighth ounce lead and use black.  Also, rig the floating worm with a split shot size 4 or 7 about 12 inches from the lure, and fish slow.  Fish the banks and points.  Usually, the fish bite better when it is a dark night.  Also, use Secret No. 3 at night.

    "10.  Don't let weather and temperature bother you.  These waters are somewhat cooler than most lakes in Alabama.  Also, they are clearer, so use a light line when possible.

    To get to Thurlow Lake from Atlanta, take the Tallassee, Alabama, exit off Interstate 85 (Highway 229) and take State Highway 14 west.  After you pass Tallassee High School, look for Patrick Automotive.  That's your right turn to Thurlow Lake and the boat ramp.

    To get to Yates Lake and the dam, keep on going until you see the Amoco service station on your left and the Hardees on your right.  Turn right and go to River Road.  Turn left.  Then turn right at the "Yates Dam" sign to get to the boat ramp.

    To get to Lake Martin, just take a look at any Alabama map.  It's that big puddle of water in the middle of the state.

    Good fishing!

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