Like most bass fishermen, I have big bass fever. Each spring we go out and pound the water looking for that one big bite. Where do you go to have the best shot at a true trophy bass in the spring? There are a few lakes in Oklahoma that can supply you with the bass of a lifetime.

Lake Sardis near Clayton Oklahoma is my top pick for early spring bassing. Sardis is in the southern part of the state so the water warms a little faster than the northern lakes. It also has an abundance of aquatic vegetation and standing timber to isolate where the big ones should be. The other reason that it is my pick is because they just flat grow them big down there. I have seen more trophy bass caught in tournaments there than on any other lake in the state. I went down to Sardis Lake recently to fish a tournament and all I was thinking about was catching a ten pound plus bass. Well to make a long story short I was not successful. The biggest bass that I caught was five pounds and thirteen ounces. I did however have a nice limit of largemouth that went fifteen pounds and eight ounces. In that tournament the almost six pounder was only good for sixth place big bass. Nine pounds was the biggest with a couple of sevens. In the other tournament that went out of the same ramp it took a ten pounder to take big bass honors.

My next favorite place to go and catch big fish is McGee Creek. McGee Creek is also located in the southern part of the state near Lane Oklahoma. Although I personally have caught more big fish at McGee Creek than Sardis, most of them have been caught a little later in the spring. The main creeks that feed McGee are McGee, Panther and Patapa Creeks. They tend to muddy in early spring and there is only one thing tougher than fishing cold water, that's cold muddy water. This lake warms a little bit slower also due to its deep water. Even with these conditions, four to six pound bass are very common. One huge benefit to fishing McGee Creek in the spring is that the lake doesn’t get as rough from spring winds as many lakes do. You can always get out of the wind as well.

Lake Longmeyer is a city lake at Pauls Valley Oklahoma. Just an hour and fifteen minutes south of Oklahoma City it is an easy trip to make. Longmeyer is filled with trophy size bass and double-digit fish are caught regularly throughout the spring. This lake would easily come in at the top of my list if I wanted to just go and catch a couple of bass in a day. The average size bass that I catch is easily over four pounds. The problem is that four bites a day is sometimes a great day. The lake requires a special city permit and has a twenty six inch length limit. You need to be sure and take a camera with you so you can prove to your buddies how big the fish are there. Longmeyer is filled with standing timber and some years it has enormous amounts of grass in the water. What a great place to go fish and you don’t have to use a lot of fuel either. There is just not that much water to run.

Keystone Lake near Sand Springs Oklahoma is my fourth ranked big bass lake in Oklahoma. There is one thing that sets this lake apart from the others that I have named, Smallmouth Bass. Not just smallmouth bass but big smallmouth bass. I fished a tournament a couple of years ago that had several smallmouths weighed in over six pounds. I have always considered Keystone to be my best chance of catching a double-digit bass in Northern Oklahoma. It is an easy lake to fish as well. The other lakes that I named have so much timber that it is hard to run your big motor if you are not real familiar with the lakes. You can catch big fish on rock walls, huge flats or on flats with docks on them. It is a great lake to visit.

My final pick is Grand Lake near Disney Oklahoma. Grand lake offers the best jerk bait fishing that I have ever been associated with. In spring the bass seem to be so eager to bite. I am not the best Rogue fisherman in the world but even I can catch them there. Of course it is still fishing and every day doesn’t set the world on fire. I have seen numerous stringers of six pound fish weighed in the spring.

Spring offers so many opportunities for anglers to catch trophy fish, it is hard to go to work sometimes. But spring fishing is not without it’s drawbacks. Cold fronts, rain and wind are just a few. So when you get out this time of year, always bring warm clothes. It is a good idea to bring a spare set of clothes just in case you get wet. Anytime you are on the water you need a rain suit, but it is imperative that you have one in the spring. When the water is cold, you need to wear a lifejacket as much as possible. Even the best of swimmers can’t swim far when the water is below sixty five degrees.

Leave a few for seed,
Chris Roberts