TAKING 'EM TO SCHOOL September on scenic southeastern lake is prime time to catch those big bass September on scenic southeastern lake is prime time to catch those big bass
McGEE CREEK LAKE — It seems silly for a grown man to lose sleep over catching fish, but I was tossing and turning in bed Wednesday night at the prospect of getting into some schooling bass on McGee Creek.
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Fishing guide Chuck Justice, perhaps Oklahoma's most famous angler next to Jimmy Houston, called last week to report that the bass had started schooling on the scenic lake at the southwestern edge of the Ouachita Mountains.
The chance of catching schooling largemouth bass in the same kind of frenzied action that most anglers are accustomed to catching surfacing sand bass couldn't be passed up, so I made a bee line to Atoka County at the first opportunity.
Summertime and in the fall when bass school most often, chasing shad all the way to the surface. Warm water and a large amount of small bait fish will drive bass into a feeding frenzy.
I've heard stories about McGee Creek's famous schooling bass, but have never seen it.
Justice says the schooling activity is not like it was when McGee Creek was a new lake, but it's still better than anywhere else he has ever fished.
"The only other lake I have ever seen that had very many schooling bass on it was Broken Bow,” Justice said. "And Broken Bow compared to this one, well, you can't compare ‘em. Here, when they are schooling, it gets noisy. It gets loud.”
McGee Creek is arguably Oklahoma's best trophy bass lake. Impounded in 1989, it is well-stocked with the Florida-strain of largemouth bass, which grow faster and larger.
State wildlife officials learned from nearby Sardis Lake, which was impounded four years before McGee Creek, that the Florida-strain of largemouths needed to be added each year, otherwise the strain became diluted.
The mistake was not made on McGee Creek.
McGee Creek produces trophy bass (8-pounds are better) more often than any other lake in the state.
At least a half-dozen 10-pound-plus brutes have been pulled from McGee Creek this year, including one by Justice just two weeks ago.
In fact, Justice contends the summer and winter — especially winter — are the best times to go bass fishing on McGee Creek because the weather is more consistent.
"Bass like stable environments,” said Justice, who at one time had four largemouth bass on the state's top 20 list at the same time. "They don't care whether it is hot or cold. They just want it the same way day after day. The more days it's that way, the better they bite.
"People have a misconception, I think, that all big bass are caught in the spring. My four top 20 fish. None of those came in the spring. They came in September and July.”
And September is schooling time on McGee Creek.
"September should be the best month of the whole year for schooling bass,” Justice said.
"The schools will get bigger. They will stay up longer. The fish in the schools will get bigger, and typically the best days are the calmer, brighter, stiller days. The more days you get of that in a row, the better the fishing is going to be.”
I arrived at McGee Creek late Wednesday in time for a couple of hours of fishing. The serpentine boat ride with Justice through the standing timber up the Potapo Creek arm of the lake was worth the drive from Oklahoma City alone.
Justice has made the winding journey so often around the numerous stumps and logs that he could probably get there blindfolded.
We fished around the stick-ups until the sun disappeared, hooking a few bass and whetting my appetite for the morning.
Unfortunately, it turned out the fishing wasn't worth losing any sleep over. A storm blew through and messed up the schooling activity. At least that's we're blaming it on.
The bass just teased us Thursday, busting the surface at various times during the morning, but then quickly vanishing.
At a time of year where anglers are looking for a bite of any kind on other lakes, the McGee Creek largemouths and Kentuckies were fooled by Fat-Free shad crankbaits, Gene Larew double silver Hoo Daddy Juniors, Lucky Strike Jogger worms and Carolina rigs and drop-shots.
The water temperature hasn't been as warm this summer, so there are still several ways to catch ‘em, Justice said.
However, the main bite on McGee Creek at this time of year is usually schooling bass. I guess they were playing hooky Thursday.
But that's OK. It's only Labor Day. School has just started on McGee Creek.
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All-around bassman
Chuck Justice's television show, Trophy Bass Secrets, is now airing every Saturday at 6 a.m. on KSBI in Oklahoma City.
Justice, who went to East Central on a music scholarship, sings and plays the guitar at the opening of the show. He also wrote the opening song. The show's producer, Joe Scarbrough, plays the banjo.
To reach Justice, call (580)-889-6742 or visit www.trophybasssecrets.tv.com.
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