Hodges reopened Feb 4, and the bass bite had been tough overall, which is pretty typical early in the season. But the recent warm weather has sparked some better action over the last week. Water temps are now in the low to mid 60s, though clarity still isn’t great. More fish are starting to show up shallow, holding near cover or along transition zones.

Shad-colored rattle traps and crankbaits are getting the occasional reaction bite, but dark colored crawdad soft plastics and small jigs seem to be producing more and better fish.

Crappie action has been very good on jigs and small crankbaits, with quite a few fish running 2 to 3 pounds. Look for Hodges to improve substantially over the next week or two.