By Robert H. Cleveland

A huge swirl about 40 yards down the Lake Lincoln bank got Pete Ponds' attention, so, kicking the power up a notch or two on his trolling motor, he headed that way.

"Check your knot and check your drag," Ponds said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "If that's a bass and not an alligator, it's a giant - and apparently, it's in a feeding mood."

The electric motor hummed as it pulled the 21-foot bass boat toward the spot where the commotion had been. Ponds looked down at his collection of 10 rods, different lures tied on each, and considered his options. He switched off from a lizard to a spinnerbait, and then, just as the boat eased into casting range, changed his mind and went with soft-plastic jerkbait.

Turning the power on the trolling motor back to low, Ponds scanned the area to look for cover that might conceal bass. A few feet from the point at which the swirl had occurred, a small twig stuck up - an indication that a bigger piece of a brushpile was probably underneath the surface.

"That's my bet," Ponds said. "I bet that fish is living in that brush."

He threw the lure about 10 feet beyond the twig and began working it back with a twitch-and-reel action, giving the lure a darting motion left and right. Just when the bait passed the twig, we both saw a movement in the fishing line. Reacting before I could say anything, he set the hook on the fish.

"Got it!" he said as the surface of the water erupted. "It's a good one."

Ponds was soon holding up a 7-pound-plus largemouth for the camera.

"That's a big fish for this lake just being restocked and reopened to fishing," he said, in reference to the stocking in 2000 and commencement of angling in October 2002.

In a short time, the 550-acre lake that is the centerpiece of Lake Lincoln State Park has jumped up near the top of the list of Mississippi's best bass fishing holes. Completely renovated, the lake has been made user-friendly by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. And the users are catching a lot of fish.

But it's the potential for 2004 and the years ahead that puts it in this roundup of the top bass lakes in Mississippi for this year. All of the lakes included are very similar, in that each is either part of the MDWFP system of state lakes or situated in a state park.

The others: Lake Columbia, at the Marion County Wildlife Management Area in south Mississippi; Lake Ross Barnett, near Mize in south Mississippi; Kemper County Lake, near DeKalb in east-central Mississippi; and Trace State Park, between Pontotoc and Tupelo in the northeast corner of the state. You'll be wise to include all five of these in your 2004 bass fishing plans.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

"The Florida bass are just under 3 years old," he said, "but we've already started seeing some 4s, 5s and 6s, and even a few bigger, up to 8 (pounds). We've got a 14- to 18-inch slot, and we only allow people to keep one a day over 18 inches. We're hoping to recruit a lot of these Floridas into trophy range."

In 2003, bass fishermen reveled in catching big numbers of the protected-slot fish. "For entertainment, you can't beat it," said Billy Robinson of Jackson, a frequent visitor. "There were days when we were catching 30 and 40 apiece, and pitched them all back. When it's that good, you don't mind throwing them back - at least I don't."

Robinson added that any bass fisherman should be able to catch a bunch of fish within one or even two visits to Lincoln.

"They made the lake so user-friendly that you can't help but catch fish," he offered assuringly.

Those words make Skains pretty happy. "We did a lot of work in redesigning this place," the biologist said. "I can't tell you the number of trees we pushed down and moved out into the lake for fish attractors. And we just didn't push trees out there - we pushed them out to where they would do the most good. We've got brushpiles on the points, in the coves, on secondary points, on the edges of deep drops and around islands."

Plastic worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits have all been smart picks on Lincoln since it reopened; fish do hold tight to the thick timber cover on sunny days, and worms are required to root them out. But on overcast days, when the bass are free to roam, spinnerbaits and crankbaits work well.

During our day on the lake, Ponds caught fish with the plastic jerkbait until the sun got up past the clouds on the dawn horizon. Then he switched to an 8-inch worm and spent the rest of the day working the brushpiles. The result: The touring bass pro, who ranges from his Madison home to fish all over the country, left Lincoln impressed.

"What a great place to fish and have so close to Jackson!" he enthused.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see some fifteens coming from Columbia soon - and maybe some bigger fish," said Skains, who also oversees this lake. "I know there's been some 12s caught there in the last year."

Renovated and restocked in 1997 and 1998, the lake was reopened to fishing in 2000. Whispers about giant Florida bass swimming its waters, first heard in 2002, turned to hollers in 2003.

But numbers-wise, fishermen aren't bragging. On the other hand, they're not complaining, either - because they know that it only takes one cast to get a fish of a lifetime.

"It is not an easy lake to fish for a lot of folks, myself included, because the water tends to be so clear," said Tommy Sutton of Columbia. "I'm still looking for my big fish - but I think that's the lure of the lake. I haven't caught one of its trophies yet, but I've hooked and lost a big fish, and I've been there when big ones were caught. I saw an 11."

According to Skains, the most productive pattern for Columbia's lunker largemouths has been using live shiners. "There're a couple of guys who are going to Florida and getting shiners," he noted. "Golden shiners from south Florida They are bringing them back in aerators, using them on Columbia - and they are catching big fish. The good thing is that they are putting every one of the fish back. I am proud of them for that."

Skains and crew did a good job giving fishermen targets to fish, just as they did at Lincoln. A lot of brush was pushed into the channels and around other natural structure in the lake.

Sutton reports that a lot of his friends were having success with 12-inch worms fished in the deepest brushtops. "One of the great things about Lake Columbia is that it is small enough to fish in a few hours," he pointed out. "Being small also makes it easy for someone to learn. It only takes a few trips out there to know where every stump, top and channel is. I go out there looking for one or two bites, and I can make my circuit and be done in about two hours."

Skains says that the 14- to 18-inch slot limit in effect on the lake is letting the bass grow into trophy range, and the single-fish daily limit on bass of more than 18 inches should help protect that segment of the population enough to give the lunkers a chance to reach full potential.

If any public water in Mississippi is capable of pushing the 18.15-pound state record, it's at Lake Columbia. When? If not this year, very likely in the next two.