by Sugar Ferris

Turn to the sports page of any daily Texas newspaper when spring arrives, and chances are good that you'll see sportswriters making weekly forecasts as to which baseball teams they expect to win and lose games. Those who follow baseball know that a double play is sometimes critical to a team's success, and the triple play is one of the most rare accomplishments in the sport. In major league games, the double play, which might happen twice in one game, is usually guaranteed to make the highlight films.

Well, this article isn't about baseball - but there is a connection. We at Texas Sportsman are prepared to make our yearly bass-fishing forecasts. A double play is a chance for the catch of a lifetime on one or more of the 1.5 million surface-acres of water available to anglers across the Lone Star State. There are six lake regions within the state's borders, and all have large to small bodies of water that hold tremendous bass populations - and the potential for a record bass! From the large to the small in each region, here are the predictions for a bass-fishing double play in 2002.

O.H. Ivie, 55 miles east of San Angelo, has become a hotspot for catching both largemouth and smallmouth bass. Its 19,200 acres are normally clear in the main lake and the Concho River arm and turbid in the Colorado arm. The water, whose level fluctuates between 6 and 10 feet annually, abounds with aquatic vegetation.

Ivie's record largemouth, weighing 15.69 pounds, was caught in the fall of the year, but 7- to 10-pound bass are common. When water temperatures reach upwards of 55 degrees in the spring, asserts local expert Dave Caudle, the action's hot. "All you have to do to catch them is throw your hat over a limit," he said.

Statewide fishing regulations apply for all species with the exception of largemouth and smallmouth bass, which have an 18-inch minimum-size limit. Cover is predominantly standing timber. There are thousands of acres of flooded mesquite, oak and juniper trees in all parts of the lake, with native vegetation and hydrilla in the main part of the lake's upper river arms. Structure in the main reservoir is mostly rock. Mud flats are predominant off the river arms. Largemouth bass are caught on Carolina-rigged plastic motor oil- and strawberry-colored worms, shad-colored crankbaits, and crawfish-colored sinkers fished deep - 20 feet plus - off humps and dropoffs.

The impoundment has a history of producing numerous largemouth bass over 10 pounds; the current lake record, a 16.17-pounder, was caught in January. Shoreline areas of the reservoir contain a light to moderate cover of hydrilla; standing timber is quite thick along the creeks, with American lotus dense in the upper creeks. The opportunity to catch a trophy largemouth is greatest from mid-January through March.

Anglers are most successful fishing in the warmer areas of the lake near the heated discharge. Use a shad-colored crankbait and yellow-white spinner. During early-summer months, schooling bass can be found in deeper water over structure; the preferred bait then is a chartreuse/blue Carolina-rigged plastic worm.

Lake Texoma's 89,000 acres straddle the Texas-Oklahoma border just north of the Denison/Sherman area. Despite its being more than 50 years old, good catches of bass come from a variety of places on a variety of patterns with a variety of lures throughout much of the year. The record largemouth, taken in January 2000, weighed 11.82 pounds; the record smallmouth weighed 6.91 pounds. Weather, particularly the wind, is a great equalizer at Texoma. The two things really missing are abundant shoreline laydowns and weedbeds, although both are present in certain areas. Popular shoreline cover takes the form of boathouses; experienced anglers have learned to substitute rocks for grass. Cover being largely absent, the most productive springtime lures are those that cover a lot of water. That means spinnerbaits, topwater lures and crankbaits. This is not to say that bottom-crawlers like jigs, worms and grubs won't catch bass. Soldier Creek on the Oklahoma side has everything from boathouses and sandbars to the occasional laydown. Bass spawn off the rocky points of the midlake islands. Smallmouth bass have adapted well so that today that they're legitimate quarry. Bowman Point produces a good share of the bronzebacks there. You might also want to consider the steeper, rocky main-lake shoreline along the Texas side, where there's plenty of forage and habitat to keep the smallmouths proliferating.

Toledo Bend, the largest inland lake in the state at 185,000 acres, is 24 miles northeast of Jasper. Straddling the Texas/Louisiana state line, its waters are clear in the middle and lower lake, to slightly turbid in the upper regions. Residents of Texas and Louisiana who are properly licensed in their state can fish in any portion of the lake and its rivers. On the Texas side of the reservoir, most fish are regulated under existing statewide regulations. Exceptions include a bag limit of eight for spotted and largemouth bass combined. An excellent year-round largemouth fishery exists at "The Bend" in that good habitat consists of a variety of aquatic vegetation, standing timber and flooded terrestrial vegetation. Hydrilla is the predominant plant species, and bass are normally found around vegetation edges, flats, humps and creek channels. Anglers will be most successful at catching bass during late-winter and early-spring months on a variety of baits and techniques. Cranks and spinnerbaits are the preferred choice for putting bass in the boat. The lake record of 15.32 pounds came last year. Spring and summer lures are good topwater choices during low-light conditions. Jigs and plastic worms in crawfish and shad colors fished in or around vegetation edges, deep ledges and creek channels should net anglers limits of bass.

Falcon Reservoir (78,300 acres) is 40 miles east of Laredo. This mainstream body of water rests on the international boundary between Texas and Mexico. All species of fish in this lake on the U.S. side are managed under statewide regulations. It is essential for all anglers to check with park personnel or at bait and tackle shops in Zapata to determine current regulations for fishing Mexican waters. As with all South Plains region lakes, Falcon is highly susceptible to severe water level fluctuations, and this lake can sometimes vary by 40 to 50 feet or more. Falcon has long been regarded as one of the best largemouth bass lakes in the state. To win a bass tournament at this particular lake, it often takes a 5- to 6-pound average per fish for your stringer. It is a relatively shallow lake, with gradually slopping banks found in the majority of the reservoir. At low lake levels, rockpiles and standing timber provide the majority of fish-holding structure. At conservation pool level, strong growths of terrestrial vegetation provide excellent cover and structure. Bass anglers are normally more successful in the spring months when spinnerbaits, crankbaits, Texas- and Carolina-rigged worms are used around standing hardwoods, rock piles and outcroppings, as well as along the channel dropoff. The same lures may be used with some success during the early-summer months along with buzzbaits. The largemouth record weighed 15.12 pounds and came in late spring.

Just a few miles northwest of Austin, Lake Travis is a clear to slightly off-colored lake noted for producing good numbers of bass, with trophies running in the 6- to 8-pound category. But to catch them, you'll have to work at it. The lake record weighing 14.21 pounds came during the month of January. The water fluctuation can run 10 to 20 feet. The lake has no aquatic vegetation to speak of, and all fish are currently regulated under statewide rules. Travis is dominated by rocky banks, steep cliffs and the water clarity typical of a highland reservoir. The water tends to become more stained as anglers move up the lake. Floating boat docks, rockpiles, ledges and steep dropoffs provide cover for game fish. When the water is high, largemouth bass concentrate on the flooded terrestrial vegetation that lines the banks. Numerous creeks enter the lake and hold game fish year 'round. Success for a bass angler will come mostly during the spring. Fishing from June through August can be difficult for even the most experienced angler. Topwater baits such as Zara Spooks, poppers, and suspended jerkbaits are the artificials of choice. Double willow-leaf spinnerbaits with metal-flake blades are also good. Look for suspended fish over points, along dropoffs, and around the major marinas. Often a topwater, jerkbait or spinnerbait pulled near the surface will call them to the top.

At 67,000 acres, Amistad Reservoir, 12 miles northwest of Del Rio, is the big one! The lake's water is clear to slightly stained. Fluctuation is dependent on rainfall and downstream irrigation demands. Annual fluctuation can be 5 to 10 feet. The lake record came in March and weighed a whopping 15.58 pounds. The lake is managed under current statewide fishing regulations. Bass is the most popular and abundant sportfish in the reservoir. This lake is dominated by rocky structure, abounding in rock ledges, steep rocky dropoffs and rocky points and shorelines. Additional structure is provided by isolated flooded timber. Approximately 1,000 acres of aquatic vegetation, mainly hydrilla, can be found in creek channels and along shorelines. Anglers are most successful during winter and spring months using topwaters, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, in early-morning and late-evening hours. Crankbaits are effective along rocky shorelines, points and dropoffs, along with Texas and Carolina rigs or grubs in the deeper waters near vegetation or rocky structures.