5 Spots for Bass Year-Round on Any Lake Anglers should always remember the words of bass fishing legend Bill Dance, who told me many years ago that “Sometimes they’re just not biting.” But, that doesn’t mean the fish have left the building. They’re still there in the water, and here are five spots on any lake where you can find bass year-round. NO. 1 – VEGETATION Although aquatic vegetation dies off in winter up north, nearly every lake features some type of grass. As long as it’s not brown and dying, that vegetation holds bass. Aquatic weeds are home to smaller insects that baitfish and other aquatic critters feed on. Crawfish and baitfish are attracted by the buffet and the safety the weeds provide. As top-tier predators, bass frequent weeds to eat the baitfish, crawfish and other prey. Several types of vegetation are important. Shoreline weeds and lily pads are anchored to the bottom by a root system. Floating weeds are normally attached to a root system originating near shore, but grow away from the bank on top of the water. Aquatic weeds like hydrilla and milfoil begin their life cycles beneath the waves but can “top out” to provide a mat on the surface. Shoreline weeds grow along the banks and stop when the water becomes too deep. This edge is often on the first drop-off away from the bank, another hotspot for bass. When feeding, bass move from the deeper edge into the weeds. Floating weeds that originate near shore and spread outward can grow over any depth. They attract insects and baitfish, but also provide shade attractive to bass during the warmer months. Floating weeds are strongest in late-spring, summer and fall. Aquatic vegetation such as hydrilla and others can dominate a lake, like it does at Alabama’s Guntersville and many natural lakes of the North Country, or it may come in smaller patches that can only be located via electronics. Regardless, from the moment it begins growing until it dies out, this vegetation can be key to bass fishing success. Lures for fishing shoreline grass include spinnerbaits and hollow-body frogs like the Booyah Poppin’ Pad Crasher. If the fish won’t take a moving lure or a topwater, flip a Texas-rigged YUM Wooly Bug. Mitch Looper, a lure designer and big-bass expert, turns on the speed when fishing shoreline weeds, especially during spring and into early summer. With the Booyah Swim’N Jig he designed, he catches giant bass working windblown weed patches at a break-neck pace. “Cast, point the rod at the jig and crank like mad,” he said. Keep the jig just under the surface and big bass hit simply out of reaction. Looper uses a Money Craw trailer and strikes are always violent. For aquatic vegetation that has topped out, a hollow-body frog is the best option. It may not look like it, but under that roof of weeds it opens up and bass hold there waiting to strike frogs or baitfish struggling on top. If no topwater fish are willing, “punch” through the vegetation with a 1-ounce bullet weight pegged to a Texas-rigged Big Show Craw. NO. 2 – WOOD COVER Wood is good. Laydown trees along the shore, brushpiles, stump fields, flooded buckbrush -- it doesn’t matter how it got there, it just matters that bass love it. Shoreline wood can be fished with any type of lure appropriate to season. Bass guide Brad Wiegmann says the most important aspect to catching bass from laydowns or flooded brush is repeating the same cast over and over to promising wood. “I was just saying to a client, ‘Sometimes you’ve got to hit a tree four or five times,’ when a big 4-pounder came out and ate the XCalibur Square Lip I was throwing,” he said. “That was the fifth time in a row I’d run the bait along that laydown.” Brushpiles can hold fish year-round depending on water depth. A crankbait that runs deep enough to dig into and ricochet off the wood is a good choice for brushpile bass, or slow down and work a Texas-rigged worm or a jig to really pick it apart. Stumpy flats hold bass and can be quickly fished with crankbaits like the Fat Free Shad. Bang the bait into the stumps to draw strikes. Depending on the size of the flat, anglers can slow down with weedless soft plastics and jigs. NO. 3 BRIDGE PILINGS/CROSSINGS When a toll road is the best way to drive somewhere, everyone stops at the tollbooth. A bridge crossing a lake is similar. It funnels fish down to a narrow area when migrating, but it also provides increased current and oxygen and features structure such as riprap and the pilings themselves. Quite often, wood cover gathers (or is placed by crappie anglers) along the pilings as well, further increasing the attractiveness to bass. Concrete bridge pilings and the “stuff” below grows algae that attracts baitfish, which attract bass. Quickly check the pilings for fish by pitching a jigging spoon like the Cordell CC Spoon and working the pilings from various angles. B.A.S.S. pro Cliff Prince rates bridges high on the list of bass hotspots anyone can find. During his rookie season on the Elites, he mined a Toledo Bend bridge to a fifth place finish. He’d never been on the famed Texas lake and didn’t even look at a map until he arrived there. He worked a Booyah Pigskin Jig along the pilings for his impressive limits. Prince says to use heavier-than-usual line when fishing pilings because they feature plenty of sharp edges. A point to remember – it was bridge crossings that led to the explosion of castable umbrella rigs. By locating suspended schools of bass near the crossing, anglers can count down a YUMbrella to the level of the fish and catch bass that likely cannot be caught with any other technique. NO. 4 – POINTS Every lake has points in one form or another. Points that extend out from the shoreline are easy to see, but even round, natural lakes have points – they’re just under the surface. Points create ridges under the water and fish can hold on both sides. One of the hardest lessons for many anglers to learn is that the point does not end where dirt meets water, but can extend a long way into the lake, and fish can hold any where along it or off the tip where it meets a channel. If current is present, a main-lake underwater ridge catches or disorients bait swept along and makes for a great ambush site. In very early spring, the point leading into a spawning cove is a stopping point for bass. A point that drops off into the main channel is especially attractive almost year-round because resting fish can suspend in the deep water and head to the buffet with a short swim. Lures for fishing points run the gamut from topwaters to bottom-bumping jigs. Let the water clarity, depth and other conditions determine your fishing technique. NO. 5 - CURRENT Current flow can be the most-important factor or of little importance, depending on a variety of conditions. Rivers and creeks flowing into a lake are prime areas to find current, but don’t neglect wind current or the increased flow in funnel areas. In summer, current flow is important for quality water as well as forage. On natural lakes, anglers are well served to check all inflows and outflows. The current in reservoirs featuring power-generating dams is controlled by the release of water from the gates. In this environment, it pays to check the release schedule and fish prime areas when the flow kicks in. Prime spots for these reservoirs are often associated with the main lake where the current is strongest. Shallow, rocky flats are perfect. Dig a big, shallow running square lip crankbait like the Cotton Cordell Big O or XCalibur Xcs300 across the rocks is while the dam is pulling water. Largemouth and smallmouth bass stay near current because it stimulates the food chain, bringing microscopic food for baitfish and keeping it stirred up. While largemouth may hang outside the main current, feeding smallmouth are often right in the strongest flow. In current areas, look for anything that breaks the flow. Seams and eddies also produce fish. In some rivers, dams or “low-water” dams exaggerate the current and these spots can be productive all day long any time of year. from our friends at Lurenet
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 09:58:38 +0000
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