Topwater heaven: Lake Gaston in April

If you really want to have some bass fishing fun during April, go to Lake Gaston with a handful of topwater lures.

That’s what bass guide Joel Richardson of Kernersville said this week.

“A floating worm in pink bubblegum or white will work good in 5 feet of water or less,” said Richardson (www.joelgrichardson.com, 336-803-2195, 336-643-7214).

The veteran FLW pro said he likes floating worms in those colors but also with differently-colored tails.

“Watermelon is a good color nearly any day,” he said, “but on cloudy days I like solid black and I also use a lot of Junebug colors.”

Also in the early morning hours, hard topwater lures such as Pop-Rs, Chug-Bugs, pencil-poppers, torpedoes or buzzbaits will draw strikes from the shallowest water.

“That topwater bite may last up into the morning if it’s cloudy,” Richardson said.

During sunny April days, Lake Gaston, which covers 20,000 acres and has 560 shoreline miles, also can feature a spinnerbait bite.

“I stay with white and chartreuse (spinnerbait colors) because of all the bluegills in the lake,” Richardson said.

Gaston is downstream in the Roanoke River chain from massive (49,500 acres) Kerr Lake, but Gaston’s water level — unlike muddy Buggs Island — remains mostly clear throughout the year because by law Gaston can’t fluctuate more than 18 inches. Kerr must hold spring rains and silt pouring into it from the Dan and Staunton Rivers, meaning Gaston’s waters remain clear.

“Unlike at Buggs, at Gaston you can sight fish (in April) and actually see the bass,” Richardson said. “They’ll be on (spawning) beds at shallow docks and at stumps in pockets. A favorite lure of sight-fishers will be a white or green-pumpkin tube lure. Tubes probably are the most-popular sight-fishing lures in the country.”

The pro angler said the favorite lure for anglers not topwater or sight fishing during April would be Texas-rigged lizards (a pegged bullet weight with a worm hook and lizard threaded onto the hook).

“Senkos also are popular, and I’ve found a Shaky Head worm works real good, using a finesse worm in watermelon, green-pumpkin or Junebug colors,” Richardson said.

“Although Gaston has grass, it won’t be a factor in April because it’s not growing out yet.”

His favorite bassy areas include from Peahill Creek to the dam because “it has the clearest water in the lake,” he said. “And the postspawn fish will be (hiding) underneath the docks and Peahill’s got plenty o’ docks.”