01-17-05, 12:15 AM | #1 |
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Big water tips
Big Bass from Big Waters
You’ve read about, and drooled over, the incredible bass fishing that goes on at XYZ lake or reservoir, and decided that this year you’re going to spend your vacation traveling to that lake and then getting in on some of the action. Before you start making your plans, however, there are several things to consider about fishing a major reservoir or lake you’ve never been to. Sprawling reservoirs, big lakes, large river systems and, as bass fishing organizations such as B.A.S.S. and Operation Bass are discovering, even bays of the Great Lakes provide the majority of the bass angling in the country to the most anglers. Most of these are highly productive, and many, such as man-made reservoirs, are managed for bass. They offer tremendous fishing pleasure for huge numbers of anglers. They can, however, be tough. In big waters, as opposed to smaller waters, the key to success is finding the fish. The single best tactic when visiting a lake for the first time is to hire a guide for a day or two. It is money well spent, because he’ll give you the basic information you need to fish the lake. Otherwise you may fish for a week before you discover the bass locations, patterns, best lure choices and so on. Locating Bass: If you’re set on doing it yourself, the first step is to eliminate unproductive water and narrow down your fishing area. Otherwise you’ll spend your entire vacation aimlessly prowling the lake hoping to luck into a bass. The simplest method is to talk to the locals, especially the folks running marinas or resorts. They want anglers to be happy and will usually give good advice on the latest where-to and how-to. Local anglers can also help. Pro anglers often fly over a lake to discover potential hotspots or eliminate unproductive areas. This is done with a topographical or contour map in hand, highlighting areas that have potential. Most anglers don’t have the time, money or inclination to fly a lake, but a good topo or hydrographic map session is still the first step in narrowing down spots to fish. Maps used for this must show land contours, existing structure such as submerged towns, buildings, roads and railroads in reservoirs, and contour depths in lakes and other large bodies of waters. The best areas on any lake or reservoir depend on the season, but several key structure areas always hold bass or act as highways between prime holding spots. These include submerged roads and torn down buildings, submerged river and creek channels, especially their bends, main lake and secondary points, riprap areas, main lake flats next to river and creek channels, islands or underwater humps, bridge piers, and on some lakes grassbeds. If there is a lot of standing timber or brush and downed timber, ignore that cover in determining the best structure areas. If areas with good structure happen to have such cover, however, so much the better. The next step in locating bass is determining depth. Bass experts have concluded that some reservoirs may have three distinct largemouth bass populations: shallow water, deep water and mid-depth bass. Although the three may mingle at specific times of the year, such as during spawning, they usually inhabit their preferred ranges the majority of the time. Subspecies also offer this same “stacking” of depths, and it’s important to know what type of bass inhabit a lake. For instance, largemouths will normally be found the most shallow, smallmouths shallow to deep, and spotted very deep. Depth will also vary according to the lake and geography. Time of The Year: Most anglers have the most success when the majority of the bass are relatively shallow. Two seasons offer the best opportunities for shallow water bass: early spring to spawn, and mid to late fall. Actually, spawning bass can be difficult to catch, and is you hit the tail end of the spawn or the post spawn period, you’ll really have a good time. The best bet is to fish for pre-spawn fish. These bass feed heavily as they move about, looking for places to spawn, and are very catchable. Timing of this period will vary from early March through May, and even into June, depending on geographic location. Incidentally, if you’re looking for a real trophy bass, the single best time is late winter through the pre-spawn period, when the old sows are feeding heavily and holding eggs. Some states don’t allow fishing during spawning season, so make sure you check the regulations for the body of water you intend to fish. Regardless, it’s extremely important for anglers fishing at that time of the year, or specifically for spawning bass, to practice catch and release. Fall, when bass leave their lethargic summer patterns and begin to forage for the coming winter, also provides for good shallow water action, and often with little competition from other anglers. Early in the fall there is usually a short spurt of activity that coincides with the first cool weather, then a period of lesser activity as the reservoir or lake begins to turn over. Once the turnover period is complete, a strong pattern begins again. For this reason a fall fishing trip should be relegated to mid to late fall to enhance your chances for hitting the best action. A call to marinas and tackle shops can reveal the best time to plan your vacation around either of these times. |
01-17-05, 12:16 AM | #2 |
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Re: Big water tips
* Lure Choices: Choice of lures for big waters should be governed by timing of the season and water temperature. Early in the season, when the water temperature is still in the 45 to 54 degree F range, slow-moving baits such as the jig n pig, heavy, slow rolled spinnerbaits, deep running crawdad imitating crankbaits, or tiny crappie jigs worked extremely slowly are the best choices. When the water begins to warm up to the magic 55 to 65 degree F range, faster moving “locator” baits such as spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits, topwaters, and lipless rattling crankbaits are tops. The action can be fast and furious during this time. Spawn usually occurs at water temperatures of around 67 to 75 degrees F, and plastic worms, tube worms, topwater lures and a plastic lizard are the best choices, with tube lures and plastic lizards the top picks. Post spawn, the tough one, requires continual searching with lures such as jig n pig, plastic worms and grubs, tube lures, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The summer pattern with water temperatures 80 degrees F and higher, often finds bass either deep, or shallow but in heavy cover. For deep water bass, plastic worms, tube lures, grubs and deep running crankbaits are the ticket. For shallow water bass, topwaters, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits will often entice bass out of cover. Even with temperatures hovering in the 90s, bass fishing can be great on these big waters if you choose the correct pattern to match the lake. From early fall through mid and even into late fall, with temperature steadily dropping into the 40s, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits and noisy topwaters such as Zara Spooks provide some fast action. If you’re going to fish in very later fall and on into winter, with water temperatures 42 degrees F and lower, jig n pig, grubs, jigging spoons and jerkbaits provide the best choices for slow moving bass.
Period Surface Temp. Location Lure Early Spring 45 to 54 Degrees F South facing banks and coves. Upper ends of reservoir tributaries. Areas with material in the water, including turbidity and wood. Boulders, broken rock banks. Jig n Pig, black or brown. Weighted spinnerbaits. Deep running crankbaits in crawdad colors. Tiny crappie jigs. Pre-Spawn 55 to 65 Degrees F Shallow water. Migration routes between deep water and spawning areas. Shallow flats close to major creek channels. Shallow bays and coves. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater lures, buzzbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits. Spawn 67 to 75 Degrees F Shallow coves, bays and flats with areas of pea gravel. Chunk rock banks. Plastic worms, topwater lures, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, tube lures, plastic lizards. Post Spawn 75 to 80 Degrees F Migration routes between spawning areas and deep water. Creek channels and main lake points. Plastic worms, tube lures, grubs, crankbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits, spinnerbaits. Summer 80 Degrees F & over Deep: Underwater humps, islands, other deep structure. Shallow: Weeds, moss, laydowns, other heavy cover. Deep: Plastic worms, grubs, tube lures, deep *running crankbaits. Shallow: Spinnerbaits, shallow running crankbaits, buzzbaits, topwater lures. Early Fall 80 to 60 Degrees F Major migration routes between deep and shallow areas. Upper ends of tributaries. Buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits. Late Fall 60 to 45 Degrees F Shallow migration routes, shallow flats, shallow coves and bays, upper ends of tributaries and creeks. Buzzbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits. Winter 42 Degrees F and below Deep creek channels, bluffs, ends of long main lake points. Jig n pigs, grubs, jerkbaits, jigging spoons. Patterns: One advantage big water offers over smaller water is that once you determine a pattern for where bass are located and what they’re hitting, you can often find similar places on the lake and catch more bass. One typical pattern in many parts of the country is runoff from a recent rain, which concentrates bass in tiny runoff pockets that are located in the backs of coves. Fast moving baits are good choices here. Another pattern might be spinnerbaits off the edges of secondary points. During summer you might find spotted bass stacked up behind major lake points ambushing bait that is being swept by them by current generated by power plant dams and taking crankbaits like crazy. These are just examples of what can occur. Once you have determined the depth and type of structure that the fish are using, then it’s a matter of looking over the lake map to locate similar areas and using similar lure. Again this where your map and electronics can really pay off. Don’t let the size of large lakes and reservoirs scare you off of some of the best bass fishing in the country. Narrow down your search, choose the most promising fishing spots, use the best possible bait fro the season, and you’ll find you can catch big bass from big waters, even if you’ve never fished them before. Robby. * |
01-17-05, 12:18 AM | #3 |
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Re: Big water tips
ZILLA
I AM OLD AND FRAILE I AM HAVING A HARD TIME READING THE COLORED STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ZOOKER
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01-17-05, 12:21 AM | #4 |
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Re: Big water tips
don't let water depth phaze ya when fishing deeper rivers and lakes. look for major drops from shallow to deep the steeper the better.
zooker
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