Spring is a great time to gather the family and hit the water. However, not all fishermen in the area have access to a bass boat. For those who would like to catch a stringer of fish, but don’t want to invest thousands in watercraft, there are options.

One of these alternatives is Dallas County Lake. The lake, which is located 11 miles south of Selma off Highway 41 in Sardis and offers boat rentals, is a 100 acre lake stocked with bass, sunfish, bluegill and redear sunfish, crappie and catfish.

According to representatives of the lake, bass fishing is good year-round, with the biggest usually caught in February, March and April.

Bank and boat anglers  at the lake also catch bluegill and redear sunfish from late spring through summer. Catfish are caught year-round, but the summer months are best.

Crappie fishing is best in February, March, October, and November. Fish attractors have been added to Dallas County Lake and are marked for easy identification.

The lake, which is open from sunrise to sunset, has size and limits posted.

The lake is open Feb. 1 to June 30 every day except Monday and july 1 to Nov. 30 every day except Monday and Tuesday. The lake is closed on Tuesday Dec. 1 to Jan. 31.

More information is available by calling 874-8804.

A second option is Paul M. Grist State Park. The park features a 100 acre lake stocked with bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and catfish.

Jon boats are available for rent and fishermen are welcome to bring trolling motors.

Public restrooms and picnic tables are located within the lake area. Fishing tackle, supplies and artificial bait, as well as drinks and refreshments are available at the park office.

Both lakes offer bank fishing, which is fun for families who want to picnic, but requires a different strategy than fishing from a boat.

These tips are offered from www.bassresource.com to help up the number of fish on the stringer:

Wear suitable clothing. Sometimes to get to structure or cover you might have to wade into the water.

Try to find areas that look “bassy” such as reeds, bullrushes, water hyacinths, coontail moss, and lily pads. Pulling weedless soft plastics through and around the vegetation can produce big bass. Keep an eye out for trees that have fallen into the water. These are great bank structures for jigs, spinnerbaits, and shallow running crankbaits.

Points are a key bank structure too. Some have boulders, brush piles, stumps, and fallen trees. Even if the point doesn’t have any cover on it, the point itself is a structure and will attract bass. This is because the point can have a wide range of depths. A point also serves as an ambush point for passing schools of shad and other smaller fish.

These are just a few reasons why points are favorites among crankbait and Carolina rig fisherman.