Fishing has been great at Lake Varner this year. Sadly this may be the last year we will experience this. Plans are to add 4000 grass carp this coming spring. The grass had alot to do with the lake coming back after a couple down years to probably be the best public big bass lake per acre in the Southeast. Most of these photos are from just two days of fishing and there were plenty of fish we didn't photograph. Most of the fish were caught on a High Power Herring swimbait and different flipping tubes.

A few more

A few more

I will stop now and that is probably less than 1/4 of what was caught and almost everything we caught was three pounds plus. Theres even a couple big fish I didn't photograph because we got them on video. Most of the strikes on the swimbait were on or near the surface where you could often see the fish coming and the strikes. One of the guys fishing with me had to stop a couple times because he was hurting from reeling in fish. ;D

Great Fish!!  Leave some for the rest of us!!!

Looks like they're loving that swimbait!!

Fanstatic fishing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Those are some fine fish Randall  and I haven't figured out why the folks can't understand the need for grass in many of our lakes...Maybe it's not the bass fishing they're interested in when they make those decisions.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Those are some fine fish Randall and I haven't figured out why the folks can't understand the need for grass in many of our lakes...Maybe it's not the bass fishing they're interested in when they make those decisions.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Thanks. In this case we have a situation that you will probably face too. This lake is a water supply reservoir. The managers of the lake have wanted the grass gone for a few years. They have found help in getting it removed since a lady studing eagle deaths at the University of Georgia has decided the grass is responsible for the death of Bald Eagles. http://www.lincolnjournalonline.com/news/2009-10-29/front_page/001.html

They have already wiped out the grass at Santee Cooper in SC with grass carp and Lake Varner and Clarks Hill are thier next targets. Once they show a reduction in Eagle deaths on these lakes no doubt they will be coming after grass on all other lakes in the South in the name of saving the eagles.

Here we have a propaganda campaign started with the lake managers going to media outlets and telling them things like they have seen 1000's of dying birds in the lake and that the lake is 70% covered in grass. I am on the lake this time of year more than they are and have seen only a few dead birds (some had been shot) over the past three years and the lake is more along the lines of 10%-20% at the very most covererd in grass. My guess is more like 5%. Add on top of that that the one pair of resident eagles are doing fine. Looking in to see what can be done but it being a being a smaller reservoir makes it an easy target.

Here are a couple videos from last week. This is what I love about surface swimbait fishing I can see the fish and then trigger the stike by the way I move the bait.

Thanks for shareing. All around epic post.

Yeesh, Randall. You've been posting some ridiculous fish lately. Way to go. I may finally need to jump into hard swimbait fishing if thats what it produces...

Just like the results I got out there last Sat and Sun!

Riiiiiggggghhhhhtttt......

Yeesh, Randall. You've been posting some ridiculous fish lately. Way to go. I may finally need to jump into hard swimbait fishing if thats what it produces...

It doesn't always produce that way. Some times the fish hit other baits better but when it's on it on and you get a lot of good fish. Those days the fish were feeding on four and five inch shad in the middle if the  day and the shad were up in the water near the surface. When the shad moved back deeper we were pitching tubes into grass walls and that's all we could get bit on.

Wow, great pics! Looks like an awesome trip!