"Nearly every point on the creeks where they drop off into the river will hold good numbers of fish. When you find them, it's not unusual to catch 25 fish from one spot in about as many minutes," he continued.

"If you watch your depthfinder, you'll see tight balls of shad, which shows that the bass are working them. These shad are small -- less than 2 inches."

Dillard completes this fall pattern by casting deep-diving crankbaits along the edge of the drop. He uses green and chartreuse colors if the water is muddy, if not, he selects a lure color that resembles a shad.

"Once in a while the bass will drive the shad to the surface," Dillard offered. "When they do, you must be prepared and have a topwater stickbait tied on, ready to fish. Cast to the breaking fish immediately, and in about two cranks of the reel, you will have one on."

Dillard reported that most of the fish he caught last year from Point A weighed between 1 and 3 pounds, with his largest tipping the scales at 7 pounds.

The best access to the reservoir is at Point A Park on County Road 59.

Gantt Lake
Located adjacent to and upstream from Point A, Gantt covers 2,747 acres. Piers and boathouses along its highly developed shoreline represent a large percentage of available cover. They also form the foundation of Dillard's primary late summer pattern on the lake.

"Many anglers fish boat docks," Dillard observed, "but they often fail to fish the brushpiles that dock owners sink to attract fish. If you are fishing boat docks and not catching fish, just move out from the dock 10 to 20 feet. About 60 percent of the docks on Gantt have brushpiles, and they are productive.

"Windblown boat docks definitely offer the best fishing. Use a 6-inch Texas-rigged worm with a 1/4-ounce sinker to fish the docks and the brushpiles. Red shad with green glitter is a good color for this pattern."

Dillard also said the docks receive a lot of fishing pressure, and adds that the fish he catches weighs 1 to 3 pounds. Since Gantt has nearly as many skiers as it has boat docks -- or so it seems to anglers -- the best time to fish is early in the morning or late in day.

When the water cools, Dillard shifts his focus to dropoffs at the ends of main-lake points and those at the ends of docks.

"Look for boat docks built on a flat that end on the edge of a dropoff," he advised. "Fish the front of them like you would any dropoff. At times you will find them stacked up. It's a good way to win a tournament."

To find productive main-lake points, Dillard recommends maneuvering your boat in a crisscross pattern and watching your depthfinder to locate the dropoff. These are points that you can see originating on the shoreline. A 5-foot drop is enough to attract fish, as Gantt is shallow.

"After mapping the first point," he said, "map another and then return to fish the first one. In the fall, if the shad are there, you are not going to run the bass off. Seeing shad is the key to this pattern.

"Most of the fish you catch weigh between 1 and 3 pounds; however, my biggest fish weighed 7 1/2 pounds."

Dillard caught his big fish in the fall on a crankbait. He uses the same color patterns as on Point A.

Free boating access is available on Gantt in the Clearview Community on Alabama Highway 29.

Topographic maps of Gantt and Point A lakes are available from the Andalusia Chamber of Commerce. For current fishing conditions or tournament information on these reservoirs, visit Carolyn Morris at Stokes Sporting Goods on East Watson Street in Andalusia, or call her at (334) 222-1225.