“If you can find one of those ledges, and especially one near a stump field or a ditch that is lined with stumps, you can really hit the mother lode. A shallow crankbait is good when the big fish get over that first period of inactivity after the spawn. Once they settle on a ledge, they start to feed heavy again, and a crankbait is good.

“But in the past couple of years, I’ve added a swimbait to my post-spawn arsenal,” he added. “It is a big-fish bait. If you are into numbers, then you want to use a lure like a Bandit Flat Maxx crankbait or a spinnerbait and cover a lot of water.”

Shannon Denson, one of the hottest tournament anglers on Barnett, loves late spring on the upper main lake. “When they move out on the ledges after the spawn, you can hammer them in big numbers and in quality, too,” agreed the third-generation fisherman on the lake. “You can pull up to a ledge and catch 40 to 50 in one spot without moving. And a lot of them will be the kind you have to have to win tournaments -- you know, the 4- and 5-pounders.”