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March 19, 2006

Fishing with Hupp on Lake Bob Sandlin

By Jerry Miller

Every spring I like to fish with a variety of fishermen who are skilled in the art of bass fishing. Some of these fishermen are older and have spent years developing their skills. Others are young and just beginning to hone their skills. It’s sometimes surprising how fast these young men become proficient with locating and catching bass.

One young angler I met a few years ago while he was working at the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine is Matt Hupp. We’ve only fished together a couple of times, but we’ve always caught fish.

About two weeks ago, I drove up to Lake Bob Sandlin to fish with Hupp. Hupp had just returned from Lake Sam Rayburn where in one day, he caught about 18 pounds of bass on a Lake Fork Tackle green & pumpkin Ring Fry.

“The bass are starting to bed up on Rayburn,” Hupp said.

Hupp caught his fish by targeting bass up in a creek arm.

“I was targeting a ditch area and fishing the edge of grass in six to seven feet of water,” he said.

We arrived at the Titus County ramp on Sandlin about 7 a.m. The air temperature was about 60 degrees, and a high of 79 was forecast. We had a heavy overcast day. Hupp was towing a Nitro 929, single console with a Mercury OptiMax 225 ProXS.

Hupp is soon at full throttle as we race up the lake toward the north end where he pulls into a big cove. We start at the mouth of the cove, but quickly move toward the back end.

We soon stopped and began fishing the back third of the cove. The water here is moderately clear and 58 degrees. There are stumps everywhere. The hydrilla is also present.

“There is a creek channel here and we need to fish the edge,” he said.

Hupp begins fishing with a Lake Fork Tackle, green pumpkin, Ring Fry. At about 8:20 a.m. a bass strikes the ring fry. Hupp swings and connects with a stocky four pound bass.

Hupp continues to fish his way up the creek. His boat is over the creek in about 6 feet of water. He is casting to the creek. In the next hour Hupp lands three more bass, and I caught one on a Sienko.

At about 9:30 a.m. we moved back up the lake to where a roadbed crossed the lake. Hupp’s cell phone rings immediately after we start fishing. While Hupp is on the phone, I managed to catch two bass on a stump line in four feet of water. One on a 3/4 oz. Gold Diamond shad and one on a Red Bomber crank bait.

Hupp works his way into the cove and heads into a shallow pocket. Hupp cast his ring fry to the middle of the pocket. A big bass strikes; Hupp swings and connects with a heavy weight that runs straight toward a big stump and pulls free.

“That was a really big bass,” Hupp exclaimed.

About 11 a.m. we moved again — this time to a smaller cove near the railroad crossing. Hupp and I both catch two smaller bass, one on an orange colored crank bait and the other on a green 6-inch lizard.

In the afternoon, Hupp targeted the back end of Barefoot Bay. This entire area above the bridge was loaded with hydrilla. It was difficult to fish. After scouting around the cove, Hupp finally located an area where there was a distinct hydrilla drop off. I connected with a two-pound bass on a green lizard in about seven feet.

Hupp moved around to a big pocket and followed the creek to the back end where he caught a 1-1/2 pound bass while pitching to the edge of the creek.

Eventually, Hupp fished his way to another roadbed with hydrilla. We both get several strikes in this area, and Hupp connected with two more buck bass.

“We’re still in the pre-spawn,” Hupp said as he reflected on the day. “Give this lake another week and it will be turned on. During the pre-spawn bite, try to keep it simple. If it’s overcast throw either a lipless crankbait or a spinnerbait and on those bluebird days fish soft plastics slow, like a weightless Lake Fork Tackle Ring Fry. The hardest part may be finding the correct depth the fish are holding to on that day.”

Two years ago, about mid-March is whey they started moving up in mass. A lot will move up this month during the full moon. We only saw 59 degrees in the shallows and they spawn in the lower 60s.

Hupp introduced me to a new hook that Daiichi has recently put on the market. It’s called a Copperhead™ Hook, Bleeding Bait Red. The hook has a special bend at the front that allows more hook to penetrate. This new hook is made specially for using “toads”, frogs and jerk baits. I’m eager to try it out on my new Mark Pack’s Lake Fork Frogs. This bait is very similar to a Ribbitt Frog. The Lake Fork Frog has garlic and salt impregnated in it.

“The one thing I like about the Daiichi hook is that the bait won’t double up on the hook,” Hupp said. “The screw top feature keeps the bait from balling up on the hook. You’ll land a larger percent of your fish on this specialty hook.”

Like most fishermen, I’m always interested in innovative ideas and products that help me put more fish in the boat.

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Jerry Miller can be e-mailed at gonefishing813@ev1.net

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