Bass fishing has been good. This time of year there is very little change in pattern. Fish have committed to deep water cover and will remain there for the next few weeks. Once the sun is high, focus on docks and laydowns near the mouth of pockets with a green pumpkin Z-Man floating worm. The Z-Man floating worm will stand up on a 1/8 or 3/16 ounce shaky head so do not be afraid to let this bait soak to catch larger fish. You can catch several fish off of one lay down so make several cast to productive cover. The shakey head has produced numbers for me, but not as many quality fish. For bigger bites use a Texas rigger Zoom Ole Monster or a Z-man Saw Tail worm with a 3/16 ounce weight. The deep crankbait bite is  on fire in the afternoon during generating schedules. Look for fish to begin stacking up on long points and roadbeds close to the main river channel. Crankbaits are working best with multiple casts on cover close to the river channel. The new Strike King 6XD in a sexy shad pattern has been producing very well on these locations. Once I locate cover in the twelve to eighteen feet depth I turn back to fish these locations with a crankbait. It takes time to find this ideal habitat, but once you do several fish can be caught in this area. The best points to search are from the 109 bridge north going up the river. During generation periods use deep diving crankbaits on humps and road beds. You can load the boat quick with some really heavy weights during these periods of generation.

Hybrid and striper fishing is slow. There has been some topwater action early in the mornig down lake at the mouths of creeks such as Wehadkee and Maple. Use popping corks and flys making long casts over schooling fish. Do not use your outboard to approach these fish because they are very spooky. Use your trolling motor on a consistent speed to get within casting distance. Once the topwater action has slowed the best bites have been coming from down lake on deep flats, humps, and road beds during generation periods. Some the best areas to fish have been from Glass Bridge Park south. Using your electronics use your trolling motor to search out schools of fish. Shad have been really hard to find this year so use bream and chicken livers dropped into schools of fish. Watch your graph closely to locate large schools of fish.  I have caught some trolling fish this last week. Trolling a Norman Deep Little N in a lavender shad pattern near the main channel to catch suspended fish. You will have to cover a lot of water before getting a bite but they will normally be better fish. Be sure to check the generation schedules for the best feeding times.

Crappie fishing has been slow. This is the time of year to beat the heat with some night fishing. The most consistent fishing for crappie seems to be at night. This time of year bridge pilings will produce best.. It will take some time to attract bait with your lights, but once you do the fish will be directly behind them. Use live minnows dropped down about twelve feet. The best bridges have been the 109 bridge and Yellow Jacket bridge.