I fished both of the Hart Lakes on Friday, 16 March with new member Dave May. We started on Upper Hart around 7:30, and had very little luck. The water was still stained, with visibility limited to 10-12 inches. The water is still cold:  52.9° when we started and only 56.9° when we quit around 11:00. The wind started about 30 minutes after we did, and built up to a good 20-25 mph by the time we quit. There was virtually no emergent vegetation in the upper lake, although the hydrilla is close to the surface in many places. We only caught a few small males, all under 2 pounds.

While we were getting ready to move to Lower Hart, Mr. Cody showed up driving a tractor/flatbed trailer with a bulldozer on it. We talked with him for a while (a very nice and personaable man, if you've not had the pleasure of meeting him), and then - as we watched - he built a new road from where we were on the Upper Hart road to Lower Hart. That gave us immediate access to the upper (shallow) end of Lower Hart, right in the thick brush.

To reach the upper end of Lower Hart now, take the much-improved road to Upper Hart.  About 200 feet from the south end of the Upper Hart Dam, turn right onto the new gravel and chunk rock road to the lower lake. Go through one unlocked metal gate (be sure to close it behind you), and you’ll be at the new Lower Hart ramp in less than a hundred yards.

We fished the lower lake until we couldn’t take the wind any longer. It had risen to what I would guess was a sustained 30-35 mph, with a few slow-downs and some stronger gusts. It was almost impossible to manage the boat and/or fish in those conditions. We tried using brush hooks and anchoring with 2 mushroom anchors, but it was still difficult fishing. Any cast that was not either downwind or upwind resulted in a 30- to 40-foot bow in our line, making it virtually impossible to feel the bottom, even with a 1/2 oz slip sinker. The water conditions on Lower Hart are almost identical to those on the upper lake. Water temp varied from 56.9 to 58.9 by the time we quit around  5:00. We caught nothing deeper than 4 feet, and some in less than 12” of water. All seemed to be holding close to some kind of wood. We ended the day with a 2-lake total of about 12 bass – all small, all male. Dave “backseated” me, catching at least two for each of mine.

What worked:  white bladed jigs; black/blue, watermeloln/red, and green/multicolored flake Senkos; and an old, neon green back/chartreuse belly Bagley Baby Balsa B from the 70s.

What didn’t:  any bladed jig that wasn’t white; black/blue jig & 6” pork eel; black HB frog; T-rigged Pit Boss; Rattletrap (orange craw), either 1/2 or 3/4 oz; " Super Flukes in white or baby bass, either weighted or unweighted; buzz baits.

As we used to say in back in the 70s, we were "rushing the season."