Anglers looking for some easy fishing for some big fish should try tailwaters below major dams for white bass, striped bass and hybrid stripers. Tailwaters are major concentration areas for these fish in the spring, and anglers who know their secrets can literally wear themselves out fighting them. Pro angler Mark Menendez of Kentucky describes fishing these areas as a "free-for-all."

 

Here's why. In late winter white bass, stripers and hybrid stripers make spawning runs upstream in many major rivers around the country. When they come to dams, their travel is blocked, so these fish build up in big numbers in the tailwaters. Anglers who know how to work these tailwaters can be highly successful.

Menendez says the secret to success is casting to eddie pools and current breaks where these fish hold. They like to linger in areas of still water adjacent to moving water. When baitfish swim by in the current, the predators rush out to feed.

Menendez says it's also important to use baits that closely resemble their natural prey. "Crankbaits are my number one choice because I can cover a lot of water with them, and crankbaits are a close match for these fish's natural prey," he says. "A Strike King Series 3 is a crankbait that runs 5-6 feet deep. It's very weedless; it bounces off cover very well, and it usually is a close match to the size baitfish that are below the dams most of the time. Shad colors are my favorites unless the water is dingy, and then I go to chartreuses."

Menendez adds that he also likes to use lipless crankbaits in shad patterns: solid chrome, chrome and blue, etc. He says he can also cover a lot of water quickly with these baits, and he can work them high in the water column when fish are feeding near the surface. He says a ¾ oz. lipless crankbait fished adjacent to rocky banks in 2-3 feet of water will sometimes produce non-stop action.

So, check out tailwaters below dams in your area. Try these baits and techniques that Mark Menendez mentions, and get ready to enjoy a lot of action from these hard-biting, hard-fighting fish.