When February rolls around in eastern Texas, Sam Rayburn largemouths always get into a prespawn frame of mind. Some of the heaviest sacks of the year will be caught from the 114,000-acre fishery during the short month, and many of them will be anchored by lunkers taken on Rat-L-Traps.

“It happens just about every year,” said Lendell Martin Jr., an EverStart Series pro from nearby Nacogdoches. “You can catch fish doing other things, but most of the springtime tournaments held on Sam Rayburn are won throwing lipless crankbaits, usually in a red or crawfish pattern.”

The main reason lipless crankbaits are so deadly on Sam Rayburn is grass – lots of grass. Lush hydrilla beds can be found in many large bay systems and main-lake areas just north of and south of the State Highway 147 bridge.

The depth of the grass will depend entirely on how much rain has been dumped into the massive watershed over the last few months. Sam Rayburn was about 4 1/2 feet low in mid-October.

“If it’s full right now, there should be about a 4 1/2-foot window above the grass – perfect for throwing lipless crankbaits,” Martin said. “But if the lake gets high, it’ll put some water into the shoreline bushes (willows and buck brush), and some flipping and pitching patterns could start to come into play.”