Shearon Harris bass biting along shorelines

Shearon Harris bass head for the shoreline this month

The jury is still out on whether or not the loss of aquatic vegetation at North Carolina’s Shearon Harris Lake is a natural phenomenon or otherwise. Still, the fact is, the grass is in the past.

But the big bags of bass that Harris is known for are still there. And many fish are making a beeline to the shoreline as April approaches. Bass pro Jaime Fajardo of Fuquay-Varina, N.C.,will be there to roll with the changes.

“The patterns have changed at Harris over the last two years,” Fajardo said. “The typical pattern in April would be to target the primrose vine along the shoreline because it holds heat. But the primrose, hydrilla — even the black mat algae — are gone. Now the fish are roaming and cruising more than normal.”

The reeds or bulrushes that grow in the shallowest water at Harris are the least scathed of the plant species. Fajardo uses them to point to the first wave of bass on spawning flats in the backs of the creeks. Often growing in areas too shallow or too thick to fish, any spawning pocket containing reeds growing out into a point or fallen over and matted down in the pocket is a high percentage area in an otherwise featureless shoreline.

Watch for cold fronts this month

“For the shallow bite, I like a spinnerbait or Chatterbait if there’s any wind,” Fajardo said. “White with chartreuse is a good color. I try to fish south-facing banks where the sun’s been beating down on it. If it’s calm and slick, I like a Texas-rigged or wacky rigged Senko.

“But if a cold front comes in, those fish will back out of the 1 to 2 feet of water they’re in to the nearby secondary points in 4 to 6 feet of water. That’s when I’ll throw a jerkbait or a Rat-L-Trap in Sexy Shad or white.”

Fajardo’s next pattern is to target the second and third waves of bass following the creek channel on their way to the flats. The creek bends will be the hot spots, particularly those with stumps, rocks or any other cover. The preferred depth is 8 to 12 feet, but bass could certainly be deeper.  Bigger, slower-moving baits like a jig or a big worm on a shaky head jig or Texas-rigged that can be pulled through the obstacles is a winner. But a crankbait in a shad color to match the bait in the creeks can be deadly.