Bass fishing is good year round on Larto, according to the Mitchells.
Very early in the year, when it’s still cold and water levels are high due to discharge from the Red and Black rivers, the best tactic is to flip jigs in the bushes. A lot of bass are caught at this time of the year in the lower end of the lake, near the spillway.
Once water temperatures rise, the best approach is to use buzz baits and Chug Bug-type lures over grass beds. Lipless crankbaits are also productive in spring.
The Shad Lake area and its bayous to the northwest of Larto is productive.
As spring gives way to summer, worms on Carolina rigs and frogs come into their own. Fishing is still best around Shad Lake.
The dog days of summer — June, July and August — mean warm water. Fishing shifts to the main lake, and the lures of choice are finesse worms and soft plastics. Colors are kept simple: green pumpkin, watermelon and red melon.
“I used to use a lot of colors,” Gerald said, “but don’t any more.”
“Zoom really expanded the color chart,” Stephen said, “and a lot of it is unnecessary.”
Even during dog days, the men stick to fishing shallow waters.
“It’s amazing what you can catch in 1 to 2 feet of water,’ said Stephen.
Early fall brings on a different kind of fishing: Bass anglers start chasing the shad migration.
These baitfish will move to pockets in bayous and into drains. Lipless crankbaits like Rat-L-Traps are productive. So are flukes, like the Zoom Super Fluke, fished weightless. Some topwater lures are used early in the morning and late in the day.
Wintertime fishing is done in the main lake, mostly by flipping jigs in the cypress trees on the island side (the inside of the oxbow) of the lake.