Many people try to match their baits to the forage base. Gizzard and threadfin shad make up the main forage for largemouths; bluegills are the secondary menu choice. Crankbaits resembling shad and bluegills can be deadly in the summer; some anglers prefer soft-plastic baits.

Enid Lake has no marina, but 11 boat ramps are scattered around the reservoir. More information may be obtained by phoning (662) 563-4571.

SARDIS LAKE
The largemouth bass fishery at Sardis Lake is very similar to that of Enid: much the same numbers of bass in comparable sizes. However, Sardis feels much more fishing pressure.

Unlike Enid, Sardis is visited by a lot more anglers who predominately target bass. The lake really gets hammered hard before the St. Jude Children's Hospital Tournament on Memorial Day Weekend. Fishing pressure tapers some after that event, but recreational traffic on the lake is heavy on the weekends.

The best fishing is through the weekdays. If one must fish the weekends, the most successful angling occurs very early, very late, and at night.

Some good fish are there to be caught at Sardis. Most weigh less than 7 pounds, but biologist Keith Meals has weighed fish up to 8.4 pounds. A fishing tournament last year recorded a five-fish limit that weighed 26 pounds.

A thermocline sets up at Sardis during the warm months of the year. It's usually found between 20 and 25 feet, so anglers should make certain to confine the efforts to depths above the stratification.

Most fish are found between 12 and 20 feet throughout the hot months. The lake has no aquatic vegetation, so most fish relate to other structure and bottom irregularities. Look for bass along ledges and main-lake points.

A good bit of night-fishing occurs at Sardis during the summer. Most night-fishing seems to occur in the lower end of the lake. As at Enid, crankbaits and soft plastic baits are preferred by most of the local anglers.

Access to Sardis Lake is ample: It has some 27 boat launching ramps. Information on the ramps and other recreation areas may be obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by calling (662) 563-4531.

GRENADA LAKE
The water is much shallower and more turbid at Grenada Lake than at the two waters just detailed; in fact, it can be quite muddy at times. However, this reservoir in Grenada, Yalobusha, and Calhoun counties can boast some great bass angling.

According to Keith Meals, the bass fishing pressure at Grenada is extremely low, which offers anglers a unique opportunity. "Because the fishing pressure is so low," the biologist explained, "the bass are not as wise to angling as in other lakes. This makes the fish much more likely to bite."

The bass population is dense, but the size structure is very respectable, with plenty of fish in the 3- to 5-pound range. The top end of the size range here tends to run somewhat lighter than that at either Enid or Sardis; it's rare to catch a largemouth of more than 5 pounds at Grenada Lake. No size limit applies to the lake's bass, but a seven-fish daily creel limit is in force.

A lot of Grenada anglers fish the main lake and target points that lead out into deeper water. A couple of flooded roadbeds offer some structure great for attracting summer largemouths. Other hotspots: a couple of offshore humps east of Choctaw Landing.

Some 16 boat ramps give access to the lake's 35,000 surface-acres. More information on the reservoir is available by calling the Corps office at (662) 226-6090 or the Grenada Lake Visitor Center at (662) 226-1679.

ARKABUTLA LAKE
The fourth of the Corps' flood-control reservoirs in North Mississippi is characterized by Keith Meals as "kind of a sleeper." The lake provides good catch rates, but doesn't really receive a lot of attention from bass anglers. In fact, Meals said, Arkabutla Lake usually records the second-highest catch rate of these reservoirs when biologists perform annual electrofishing surveys. Still, the lake is more generally acclaimed for its large crappie than for its largemouth action.

Arkabutla Lake is in DeSoto and Tate counties 15 miles southwest of Hernando and about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The summer recreational pool is listed at 11,240 acres, but the lake can reach a maximum size of over 33,000 acres at times.

Largemouth bass don't usually get really big at Arkabutla, but the fishery is very healthy, and Meals describes its bass as "real fat and chunky." Good numbers of fish in the 3- to 5-pound range are present; some reach the 5- to 6-pound range. Occasionally a lucky angler hauls out a real whopper between 8 and 10 pounds, but these are pretty rare.

As Arkabutla isn't very deep, most shallow-water bass tactics work there. Owing to the shallow water, the lake typically stays fairly muddy throughout the summer, but it's usually starting to clear up by August.

Because of the lack of depth, temporary islands can form during high water, only to become peninsulas connected to the shore by a saddle when the water's lowered. Bass really stack up in such saddles when late-summer dam releases are pulling current across them.