However, there are some tried-and-true tricks to tantalize brushpile bass and facts to keep in mind when they go undercover in thick vegetation.

STICK TO THE NORTH
If water temperature hasn’t yet reached the low 50s, bass will still be in their early stages of heading toward the shallows, relating to brush on points, or banks near deep water. As waters continue to warm up into the mid-50s, bass start to filter into visible brush in the shallows. Stick to northern shorelines that receive the greatest exposure to sunlight.

LURE PICKS
Spring bass like to roam when they first show up shallow, looking for a spot to hold their trysts. Use a lure that lets you cover lots of water. Spinnerbaits are great for their noise and flash. Buzzbaits or crankbaits with BB shot also do the trick.

When waters rise into the 60’s, topwater lures run by bushes in a twitch-and-wait fashion can produce powerful explosions out of the woody cover.

Let your imagination wander. Look through your tackle box for lures that attract attention -- stickbaits, poppers, propeller lures -- even that funny green widget you’ve never taken out of its wrapper. If it wiggles or wobbles, it could be enough to attract attention.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Predictions for the future are filled with optimism for fat bluegill, even-fatter black crappie, and big largemouth bass. “In the last year or so, bluegill populations -- especially the larger-than-hand-size mature fish -- found all the food and shelter they needed and became a surprise by-product for crappie anglers,” said Warnecke. “The slabsides’ (crappie’s) population continues to explode, and the dominant size-classes in the 12-inch category will grow another increment larger this spring, with males exceeding 13 inches and at least 14 inches for females.”

As for largemouth bass, “The future is rosy at Roosevelt,” according to Warnecke.

The lake dropped 25 to 30 vertical feet last year from its earlier historical high-water mark, but received over 5 vertical feet of rainfall from last year’s monsoon rains.

The extra water brought in more nutrients for faster fish growth. And there remains lots of brush in newly flooded coves as additional hidey-holes.

“All species should be healthy and happy. The future of fishing at Roosevelt continues to indicate ‘thumbs up’ for anything with fins, but especially bass and crappie -- the species Arizona anglers love to catch.”

Smart anglers are scheduling some Roosevelt Lake days into their 2007 fishing calendar. SRP’s Ester, calling himself “the fearless forecaster,” said winter rains have helped bring water levels back up a little.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that a wet winter could bring the lake back up to those historic levels we achieved in 2005. And if this turns out to be another wet year, we could actually hit the record high with a possibility that we’d have a good shot of getting up to 100 percent full.” l

Find more about Rocky Mountain fishing and hunting at: RMgameandfish.com