WHAT'S FOR SUPPER?
There are plenty of snacks for Sandy's bass to consume. Gizzard shad are widely available, ranging in size from 8 to 11 inches, although many 3- to 5-inch shad were schooled up this past fall in the upper lake, according to the Farmville biologist. Fat largemouths also have the dining options of sunfish and small crappie. Michaelson said golden shiners are common as well.

"Predators rely heavily on sunfish, since gizzard shad grow so fast and the bigger shad can't be used by any predator, except for large bass (because of the enormous size of the gape of a big bass' mouth)," he said. "Gizzard shad are abundant for the size of this reservoir."

He said largemouth recruitment in this lake is tremendous. Fall samples and age and growth surveys indicate one strong year-class after another entering the Sandy fishery. The outlook for this reservoir is excellent.

"VDGIF changed the size limit for largemouth bass from a 14-inch minimum to a 14- to 20-inch limit (the creel limit for bass is five fish with only two of the five over 20 inches) to let more 'trophy' bass grow and survive to reach the citation size range," Michaelson said. "The bass population is very dense and thus we allow harvesting of smaller fish."

A PRO'S POINTERS
John Crews, a Jetersville native and pro bass angler, is very familiar with Sandy River. Although the 27-year-old Yamaha pro relocated to Salem, he still fine-tunes his techniques at the Southside honeyhole.

"In late March at Sandy, I mainly look for fish to move shallow -- if they aren't already up shallow -- especially on sunny or warm days," the young pro said. "If that's the case, white spinnerbaits are an excellent choice when fished around shoreline cover in the middle to backs of main-lake or creek pockets. That's a great pre-spawn tactic at Sandy."

This Ranger pro likes to chunk jerkbaits at points and in the first portion of a pocket, and then pick up the spinnerbait for the remainder of the pocket. He likes to use both lures in this scenario, but only if a little wind is present.

"A flat, slick surface is better suited to throwing a light (1/4- or 3/8-ounce) Carolina-rigged lizard on main-lake and secondary points," he added. "As long as there isn't an extreme cold front in early April, a Gambler Ace or floating worm can be really good when fish are looking to spawn. Floating worms can be effective from early April through mid-May."

Crews advised that on sunny days, a more natural color (watermelon, green pumpkin and black) is more effective for floating worms, but on cloudy days, he opts for a white or yellow floater. As for the Gambler Ace, he always sticks with natural colors because he works it much slower and fish have more time to inspect the bait.

"I fish the Ace with a wide-gap, 'Tex-posed' hook and regular offset shank worm hook for the floater," he explained. "I throw the floating worm on a spinning rod with 10-pound-test line. I like to use 15-pound Triple Fish fluorocarbon line on a baitcaster for the Ace. The fluorocarbon helps because I can detect the subtlest of bites because of the sensitivity of the line."