If a bass fisherman died and went to heaven, Sam Rayburn Lake in Texas is what heaven would look like, said Rob Digh, veteran tournament angler from Denver, N.C.

“This is the most beautiful lake you have ever seen,” he said while practicing for the FLW Rayovac Series Texas Division tournament on the lake this weekend. “But the fishing…..,” his voice trailed off.

Well, the fishing is kind of off the normal springtime pattern because Rayburn is uncharacteristically high right now, Digh said.

“The lake is five feet higher than normal and they are moving a lot of water through the lake,” he said. “Most of the fish have spawned out and they are really scattered because the water is so high.”

While Rayburn is a big structure lake, Digh said, most of the normal offshore structure is 7 to 8 feet deeper than normal for this time of year.

“Mainly, we are just flipping bushes, willows, pines –and yesterday we fished a deer stand in the water,” he said.

“There is also a lot of hay grass. The lake has not been this high in the past seven years so the banks have really grown up. It seems like there are some fish in that grass, but there are miles and miles of it,” Digh said. “You will flip a half a mile and not get anything, then you will flip and catch one. It’s just hard t find a concentration of fish.”

The water temperature had been in the 70s, but is down to about 65 degrees right now, Digh said, due to a couple of cold fronts that moved across the area.

“We hope the water temperature will warm up and the fish will bite a little better for us,” he said.

“I don’t know if the tournament can be won away from the banks or up on the banks. This is the first time I have been here. But in a BassCat tournament last week it took 32 pounds to win for two days, so I think 15 pounds a day will be good.”

Digh is out of his normal fishing element – he is ranked 11^th in the Rayovac FLW Series, Southeast Division after placing 55^th at Lake Okeechobee in January, but charging back up to 7^th place in the Lake Guntersville tournament last month.

“I am fishing the Texas Rayovac tournament because I have a sponsor, Just Brakes, which is headquartered in Dallas,” Digh said.

Just Brakes is an auto repair business specializing in automobile brake repairs, with 160 locations in eight states. While their specialty is brakes, ASE-certified technicians also perform routine maintenance and repairs such as oil changes, factory maintenance services, batteries, belt replacement, and fluid services.

The Sam Rayburn tournament is Digh’s first venture into the Texas Rayovac Series – he did not fish the season opener on Lake Amistad in February – and he is not sure if he will fish the Texas final on Lake Texoma April 30. A lot will depend on how he fares this week on Sam Rayburn.

“I have not decided on the Texas Rayovac schedule yet,” said Digh, who also fishes the North Carolina BFLs and will fish the Anglers Choice tournament trail double-header on Kerr Reservoir next weekend, “but I will definitely fish the Southeastern Rayovac tournament on Lake Seminole next month.”

 

FLW Rayovac Series

Apr 9-11, 2015

Sam Rayburn Reservoir

Umphrey Family Pavilion

www.flwoutdoors.com