Ross Barnett Reservoir Fishing Spots

Ross Barnett, probably the best-known bass fishery in the state of Mississippi, and home to several bass tournaments each year. When anglers think of Ross Barnett, the first thing that comes to mind is the river system, and the second being the vegetation. Ross Barnett is a known bass fishing factory full of different vegetation, all of which holds big Largemouth Bass. Ross Barnett is predominately full of big Largemouth, and anglers that are fishing tournaments in the early spring, will want to relate to the vegetation and the large population of baitfish that swim around in Ross Barnett. Make sure to read to the end to see How Revital Outdoors Premium CBD Products can help anglers fishing the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

Fishing Tip: Understanding the Lake Vegetation

The first piece of the puzzle in breaking down Ross Barnett, is understanding the vegetation. Ross Barnett is full of lily pads, pad stems, hydrilla, and gator grass. There’s some other species of vegetation in Ross Barnett as well, but historically this is the most seen vegetation in Ross Barnett. In order to start breaking down the lake and how to prepare for a tournament on Ross Barnett, an angler will want to think about baits that fish well in vegetation. Swimjigs, spinnerbaits, frogs, soft plastics all get the node for fishing Ross Barnett in the springtime. Ross Barnett is known to predominately have more dirty water in it, so it warms up a little bit faster in the springtime, forcing the fish to want to go shallow earlier in the year to get ready for the pre-spawn pattern and eventual spawn. So, when the Major League Fishing BFL Mississippi Division kicks off its tournaments in the state of Mississippi on Ross Barnett, the fish are typically caught anywhere between 6 foot or shallower.  

Bass Fishing in the Spring

When anglers start looking at the right baits, they should start by knowing the right color patterns to throw on Ross Barnett. In the early spring the fish are feeding up and getting ready to go into the pre-spawn movement. This means they’re relating 100% to shad. So, color patterns that are predominantly white, which are the most common, are very successful on Ross Barnett in the springtime. Many anglers are throwing white spinnerbaits, white chatterbaits, white swimjigs, white swimbaits, and other reaction baits in a white shad pattern. But for fishing the vegetation on Ross Barnett, Baits such as swimjigs and spinnerbaits, as well as soft plastics; get the best results. For soft plastic colors many anglers will relate to the darker, or black colors. These darker color patterns of soft plastics show up better in Ross Barnett with the stained water. It also can mimic some of the crawfish that live in Ross Barnett. Although the Largemouth Bass in Ross Barnett are not predominately feeding on crawfish, they’re not going to pass up an easy crawfish meal either. Crawfish also contain many of the essential proteins that help the blood flow of Largemouth Bass, and their strength for preparing for the spawn. 

When breaking down the vegetation in the springtime and trying to locate schools of fish on Ross Barnett; this can be very tricky for anglers fishing tournaments. Many anglers fishing Ross Barnett and fishing tournaments are going to go up the river system on Ross Barnett. These areas hold more bait, are shallower, hold more vegetation, and the other essential elements that fish will be relating to during the early spring. Again, fish are thinking about going up shallow and spawn, so these essential elements to the areas of grass are important for locating the schools of largemouth and Ross Barnett. To get this done, anglers will start fishing the edges of grass and lily pads with a spinnerbait. A spinnerbait is a great search bait and gives off a lot of flashes, just like the shad that the Largemouth Bass are targeting. Anglers can twitch the bait during the retrieve, slow it down along the bottom, or reel it fast and keep it high in the water column. Also, anglers can bump the spinnerbait into the lily pads and pad stems to trigger those bites. If anglers want to move deeper into the grass, or lily pads they will want to fish something a little more weedless, but still mimicking the shad in the lake. A white swimjig is a great option here. However, anglers who fish the swimjig to bumping into the pad stems and grass will trigger more reaction bites. If the bait isn’t pumping into the vegetation, the chances of getting bites decrease. If anglers get into these areas and are seeing bait, but still not getting bites; than anglers will want to pick up the soft plastic baits and slow down their presentation around these areas. Because if the bait is there, the Largemouth Bass are too, but will be reacting different and want a slower presentation.  

Breaking down the right areas of grass, or right areas of lily pads is very essential here- and the last piece of the equation. Again, its early spring, the fish are thinking about spawning. So, the anglers that find the vegetation areas that are in the backs of the feeder creeks going into the river system on Ross Barnett, shallow spawning bays, or flats; are magnets for the Largemouth Bass in the Ross Barnett in the springtime. For tournaments this spring, hopefully these tips will help you more when fishing tournaments on Ross Barnett. Make sure to stop in a local tackle shop on Ross Barnett to pick up a Mississippi fishing license and get a few other tips from locals to have better days on the water.  

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