Elite

Dock Talk: Lay Lake

Posted on
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Fish the shad spawn …
… Or go down lake to the clearer water, find shad there too, and rocky habitat that differs from up lake. Those are the conditions in play this week at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lay Lake. 
Postspawn conditions prevail, with this playing field differing from anywhere else so far on the 2023 Bassmaster Elite schedule. Summer-like conditions are in the forecast, with slow-moving low pressure triggering pop-up thunderstorms and daytime highs in the low 90s. 
Welcome to Dock Talk, from Beeswax Park, where we ask what to expect, and you decide if the answers are truth or just dock talk. 
Seth Feider
“I’m tired of not getting bite; it’s been slow.”
“There is a shad spawn that begins at 5:30 in the morning, we blast off at 6:30, and I’ve got to figure out how to capitalized on that,” Feider said. “You have to plan your first-thing-in-the-morning plan around the shad spawn, then go from there.” 
‘I have one area that is good; I’m going to end up there and just camp out on it all day long. Beyond that, I don’t know. It will be fishing on the fly.”
Koby Krieger
“It’s my first time here, I’ve heard a lot of great stories about it, but now I hear the water needs to be six- or seven-inches higher than what it is now to make them really bite.”
“I’ve heard all this before at the dock, with the dock talk, and then come Thursday they get caught,” Kreiger said. “I know where there are some bass; I just need to drill down and find them.”
Cliff Prince
“I’m a shallow-water guy, of course, and there has been an early morning shad spawn, even a few bass still bedding, and the later morning into early afternoon after it finishes has gotten tougher.”
“They (Alabama Power Co.) have been dropping the water, it’s been more than one foot since we started on Monday,” Prince said.
“Falling water is not a good thing when you are fishing shallow.” 
Matt Robertson
“If I start out with 25 pounds this time, then I won’t even launch the boat on Friday (laughs).”
“I’m a river guy, yes, and I’m coming off the water early, so I won’t get locked into anything,” Roberston said. “I’m going to have five river baits tied on and go swinging.”
“it’s fishing tougher than I’ve ever seen it; I’m keeping a very open mind.” 
Ed Loughran III
“I started out the first day with nine, maybe 10 keeper bites, and it’s been lessening ever since. It’s a mix of largemouth and spotted bass. I don’t think the grass bite is working like a lot of people thought it might.”
“I think spotted bass are going to play some, for people who are trying to save themselves some (Progressive Angler of the Year) points, and just catch a limit to do that,” Loughran said. 
“I think that may be me; I’m hoping to just catch a limit. I might need spots to do it.”
Bernie Schultz
“Everything is changing; the first day they were shallow and in the pockets. There are now fewer of them shallow, and they are really spooky from the fishing pressure.”
“I don’t know the ledges here, and I’ve got a feeling the guys who will do well are going to be fishing the ledges,” Schultz said. “You can get around the shad, but can’t get anything going on them.”
“My better areas don’t have a shad spawn at all.” 
Buddy Gross
“Water is dropping and it seems to be moving the bass. Today, I went shallow and caught a few.” 
“The overcast skies will help the bite, and prolong the bass spawn,” Gross said. “When the sun came out, it stopped, so the more overcast skies we have, all the better.”
“Everyone sand-bags, but it’s tough.” 
Brandon Card
“I’m scratching my head; it’s been a challenging practice. I caught a five-pounder and then only got one more bite, so I guess that was just a random deal.”
“How I will start in the morning is on the shad spawn, just like everyone else,” Card said. “That’s the best bite to get on the board.”
“The guy who knows how to catch them after the shad spawn will be in play to win.”

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