The first day I was there, I was working a bank being pounded by the wind, and I knew there would be fish roaming the tree-lined side. Were the fish there? No, on most of the lake, they were not, or at least I couldn’t find them. But when I rounded the corner and saw a heron chasing baitfish in a rock- and tree-covered cove, I wised up, matched the hatch, and the boat ran off about eight fish in about 10 minutes.

If the wind is too stiff for safety, or bank-fishing is how you’re starting from the get-go, you never have to leave the woody coves. Work these areas with single- and tandem-bladed white spinnerbaits right under the water. If your first cast comes back clean, allow your lure to go a bit deeper, and continue to do the same. With this, you will work an area from top to bottom. Create a line with the spots you are fishing, forcing yourself to put your spinnerbaits down these lines in order to fish the countless small points that infest this wonderfully complex, but fun, lake to fish.

Lastly, if I were going to bank-fish Gibson County, I wouldn’t spend too much time with crankbaits until I learned its obstacles, for as much cover as you see on top of the water, there’s a much larger amount under the water. Don’t lose a lure if you don’t have to.

The main thing to remember with Gibson County Lake is that there is plenty of fish-catching water available even with a multitude of boats on the lake. And don’t work single areas. With as many trees that fill that lake, and as many spots that look good, the fish are going to be somewhere. Start with my suggestions above and, combined with your imagination and your depthfinder, envision what the area looked like before it flooded.

DAVY CROCKETT LAKE
Davy Crockett Lake, on the other hand, is an older body of water that does not have a reputation for being a bass lake.

But I think I can change that.

When looking at 87-acre Crockett, head straight across from the boat ramp and begin fishing to the right of the major point directly across from the dam. This is one of the lake’s deep-water areas and you should fish it with 6- to 8-foot diving crankbaits by making casts within inches of the shore and pulling the lures off the sudden dropoff right next to the bank. Get precise with these casts and you’ll quickly see your fish numbers increase.

When I’ve fished it, the bass have held close, and we have caught several on crawfish and white. On that same side, I’ve seen bass over 6 pounds come off that ledge next to the shallow water. The shallow water becomes more prevalent as you get closer to the upper end of the lake, but don’t become too caught up in this water. Fish a 20-yard stretch of this back cove and see if the fish are in the ankle-high water. If not, quickly get out of there. For it’s the one place that has plenty of exposed trees and flooded timber, but it’s also the one place you can spend a lot of time fishing very shallow and, when I have fished it, very dead water.