Steve Price

Late-Summer Bass Fishing Tips: Where and How to Catch Largemouths

Online Editors — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:03:42 -0400

By late summer, bass fishing is not for the faint of heart. Largemouths are often deep and lethargic, and they’re also frequently starting to relocate and suspend at middepth ranges as forage begins to move. This is when professional anglers start following the ABCs of summer fishing. • “The ABCs stand for aquatic vegetation, bridges, and current, three shortcuts to finding fish,” says veteran tournament pro and Lake Fork guide James Niggemeyer. “In summer, bass need shade, cover, oxygen, and food, and the ABCs always provide that.

Three Spinnerbait Tips from Bass Pro Alton Jones

T_Mac — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:57:00 -0400

Bass tournament pro Alton Jones won the 2008 Bassmaster Classic with jigs, but the Texas angler is equally skilled at using spinnerbaits. At this time of year, he carries more spinnerbaits than jigs in his tackle box because they may be the most versatile bass lures of spring and early summer. Here are three tactics and modifications that the champ relies on to get the most out of a spinnerbait.

Vary the Retrieve

Tweak Your Bass Lures to Create Effective Custom baits

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 31 May 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Most Ordinary bass lures will catch fish straight out of the box. But only a few minutes of tweaking can make a bait much more effective for specific situations. Here are the two modifications my buddies and I use most often on our home water of Lake Fork, Texas. Since I've tried them, my catch rate has gone up considerably. For deep-water crankbait modifications, go to fieldandstream.com/crankbaitfix.

HOW IT'S DONE

The Clear-Water Spinnerbait

Tune a Crank-Bait

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 06:25:00 -0400

The effectiveness of a crankbait depends primarily on how straight and deep it runs during a retrieve. Because anglers often bounce crankbaits off rocks, logs, or other bottom cover, these lures frequently get out of tune-which means they'll begin running to one side, rolling over, vibrating improperly, or simply staying too shallow. Some lures even need to be tuned right out of the box. Here's how to get that crankbait into fish-catching shape:

[BRACKET "Step 1"]

With a pocketknife, scrape the paint away from each hook holder (and the hook if it's a particularly sloppy paint job). This ensures that the trebles will swing freely from side to side, which allows maximum vibration of the lure and will help prevent it from rolling to one side.

[BRACKET "Step 2"]

Replace the round split ring on the line-tie eye with an oblong one. Available in tackle shops, oblong rings prevent your line from sliding into the split, which can keep a crankbait from diving properly. Some pros (and manufacturers) also use oblong split rings to attach the treble hooks, ensuring complete freedom of movement.

[BRACKET "Step 3"]

If the crankbait runs to one side, say to the right, hold the lure with the bill facing you, and with a pair of needle-nose pliers, gently rotate the line-tie eye clockwise, so that the bottom of it (the edge facing you) moves slightly to the left. Don't bend the eye; rotate it-and only a very little bit. Make a short cast and retrieve quickly to see if you've corrected the problem. Repeat, if necessary, until the lure runs straight and true. Then use your perfectly tuned crankbait to catch some summer lunkers.

Tossing Frogs

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 06:05:00 -0500

Topwater baits are not the most versatile of lures. But at this time of year the rules are different, with bass in various stages of the spawn concentrated in and around the shallows. Right now, you can fish a variety of situations with nothing more than a plastic frog-and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. Here are four situations where frog lures work best in spring:

Sight-Fishing Beds
Frogs, and other floating lures, offer a distinct advantage for bed fishing: You can position one directly over a bed and let it remain there. Start by casting beyond the bed to avoid spooking the fish. If the spot is close to shore, try to cast your lure onto the bank, then gently slide it into the water. Swim the frog slowly over the target and let it stay on the surface where the bass will notice it. Be patient. After a minute or so, a slight twitch is often all it takes to get a strike.

Blind-Fishing Cover
Even when you can't see the beds, cover such as downed trees, stumps, weeds, and lily pads are all excellent places to catch spawning bass, as well as fish preparing for or just finishing the process. There's almost no cover too thick or too gnarled to fish effectively with a weedless frog. Here, experienced fishermen commonly use a stiff flipping rod and 50- or 65-pound-test braided line. With this setup, they "walk" a frog over weeds or around wood by twitching the rod just enough to make the lure "sashay" from side to side.

You can also skip a frog across the surface to get beneath docks or overhanging branches. Try to goad a bass into striking by letting the lure sit for a while before retrieving it.

Outside Edges
Perhaps the most common way to fish a plastic frog in spring is with a slow stop-and-go retrieve along the outside edges of shoreline cover. You may pick up bedded bass here, but these are prime areas for prespawn fish, especially in slightly deeper water. Make a long cast, then slowly twitch the frog back. Be sure to work any small sections of isolated cover near the edge, even tiny weed patches.

Use the same slow stop-and-go retrieve across grassy and rocky points, especially those leading into spawning coves. These often serve as staging areas for prespawn bass, as well as for fish that have just left the spawning beds.

Open Water
Finally, you don't need visible cover to use a frog. On clear lakes, bass often stage and even spawn in deeper water near steep-falling shorelines and bluff banks. Cast your frog parallel to the bank, then work it back with a steady retrieve. Generally, it's best to get the lure close to the bluff. You may be surprised at the depths from which a bass will come to nail a floating frog.

Make a Splash

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 11:25:00 -0400

As summer winds on, bass begin moving to shallower water and feeding more aggressively-and topwater lures become choice baits. Here are five tips for better success on the surface:

1. Match the "Hatch" When bass begin feeding on larger shad in late summer, big, propeller-type lures get their attention by creating extra commotion on the surface. Bladed topwaters such as Heddon's Wounded Zara Spook, Smithwick's Devil's Horse, and Gilmore's Go-Getter are top choices.

2. Fish Deeper Water Cast to shallow water, of course, but don't forget that some bass haven't gotten there yet and will instead be suspended near the surface over deeper structure. Target these fish over points, breaklines, creek mouths, ridges, humps, and old roadbeds.

3. Watch the Weather Breezy conditions typically call for a faster, noisier retrieve, whereas calm conditions require the opposite. On especially calm days, consider switching to a lure with a more subtle action, such as a Zara Puppy or Strike King Spit-N-King. Under clear skies, which typically push bass tighter to cover, target stumps, stickups, and other objects, fishing each one thoroughly. Bass tend to roam under cloudy skies; so if the sun's not shining, cover more water with a faster retrieve.

4. Use the Right Rod Most topwater lures are worked by twitching the rod downward. With a long rod, you can end up hitting the water with the rod tip. Instead, use a 51/2- to 6-foot rod with a flexible tip.

5. Be Patient It's all too easy to miss fish by yanking back on your rod the second you see one surface near your bait. Wait until you feel the weight of the bass, then set the hook-and hold on tight.

Where the Pros Fish

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 18 Mar 2004 05:25:00 -0500

The first hint of spring's warming weather gets bass anglers going because it gets bass moving toward shallow water, where they're more accessible. However, they're not necessarily easier to catch.

Even pros admit they often have problems locating and catching spring bass. That's why most of them keep notes on how they do it. Here, four of America's best bass anglers offer a page from their springtime playbooks:

(1) Gary Klein: Shallow woody cover. "Even in March, when water temperatures are in the low to mid-50s, I look for bass around stumps, flooded trees, laydowns, and brushpiles in coves where the fish will later spawn," says the Texas pro. "This type of cover provides enough protection that the bass can suspend near the surface, where the water is warmest." Without such places to offer security, the fish will often stay deeper.

"I usually target the northwest shorelines in protected coves, using either a buzzbait with a slow retrieve or a jig, depending on how the fish are acting. Frequently, the bite gets better as the day progresses."

(2) Mark Kile: Points. "Bass often stop at points during their migration into shallow water," explains this Arizona pro, "especially if it's the last structure they encounter before reaching their spawning flats. If a point features good cover, it will be even more attractive to them, and you may find several bass in one spot."

Kile fishes plastic worms, lizards, and tubes, letting the lures just fall to the bottom before picking them up right away for another cast. What's surprising, he says, is that the fish are often in water less than 10 feet deep.

(3) Larry Nixon: Ditches. "Bass use small drainages as migration highways," notes Nixon, an Arkansas pro who competes in both FLW and B.A.S.S. events. "These routes may be only a foot deeper than the surrounding flat, but that's all the fish need."

To find ditches, Nixon slowly crosses potential spawning coves while closely watching his depthfinder. "Once I locate a ditch, I'll typically follow it toward deeper water, but if I don't catch anything, I'll turn and head shallow. I concentrate on bends, intersections, and depth changes. Jigs, plastic worms, and even crankbaits can score well," he says.

(4) Terry Baksay: Rocks and riprap. Baksay, an FLW pro based in Connecticut, says, "I fish rock piles, old rock fences, and long riprap walls because they give bass the option of vertical movement as water temperatures change. Normally, I can find fish within 15 feet of the surface."

He recommends hitting the outer points of rocks (such as those commonly found near dams or bridges), or wherever the rocks form a sharp angle or indentation. His favorite lures include deep-diving jerkbaits, crankbaits, and plastic tubes, which allow him to cover different depths. He casts parallel to the rocks and bumps them with his lure during the retrieve.

Any of these four hotspots can remain hot from early spring right into the spawning period-so be sure to jot each of them down in your bass playbook.

Trophy Hunt

fieldandstream-editor — Sat, 06 Mar 2004 04:05:00 -0500

To catch a trophy-class largemouth, you've got to forget about the places you usually find fish and think deeper.

Experienced anglers and biologists agree that when a bass grows large enough (usually between 4 and 8 pounds) to become the dominant fish in its immediate environment, its lifestyle changes dramatically. Most important to fishermen, big bass move into deeper water-on average, 4 to 5 feet deeper than smaller bass. Mature fish become wary, like mature whitetails, and use the deep water as a sanctuary. Although a big bass may feed and spawn in relatively shallow areas, the time they spend there is minimal, often under cover of darkness, and they rarely go far from access to deep water.

Here are seven key places to consider when targeting big bass. As you fish, try to find places with multiple factors that together make a spot even more attractive. And remember, the best part of finding big-bass hideouts is that they tend to produce monsters year after year.

1. Steep-Sided Points
Points hold bass because they offer a natural movement corridor from deeper water to the shallows used by forage fish. The presence of cover like flooded timber, stumps, or rocks also helps attract and hold baitfish. On lake maps, look for points that fall into a channel, such as those at the mouth of a tributary. If you can locate these features near a spawning area, your chances of success increase, especially during the prespawn and postspawn. Big bass are more likely to use points that drop steeply into deeper water because of the vertical freedom it gives them. Tips and Tactics: Deep-diving crankbaits can work, but also try Carolina rigs with lizards and worms. If the bottom is relatively clear of brush, consider drop-shotting.

2. Isolated Weedbeds
Smaller weedbeds and hydrilla patches that stand alone frequently signal a depth change. For example, they may outline a high spot or hump that has deeper water around it. Big bass are often loners and will take over a piece of prime habitat like this. The mouths of large tributaries are excellent places to check, but you can find isolated weedbeds anywhere. Think in terms of quick deep-water access. Tips and Tactics: Spinnerbaits, floating frogs, and soft weedless jerkbaits work well near the surface. For a slow presentation on the bottom, try rolling a spinnerbait or crawling a jig.

3. Channel Bends
Forage fish migrate down channels, and brush caught along the outside of a bend provides good ambush opportunities. Study a lake map that shows the primary river channel. Bends of 45 to 90 degrees that come after a long, straight stretch are best. Tips and Tactics: Crankbaits and soft plastics normally cover the water most effectively. Cast across the bend from all angles; every piece of structure like this contains one key feature, which may be only a single stump, that attracts and holds the largest fish.

4. The First Breakline off a Flat
Breaklines, or sudden dropoffs, provide a depth change that attracts baitfish and other forage. For bass, these represent not only feeding areas but also safety zones. The best ones are close to places where the depth varies very little over a large area. A map offers you your best chance to find a flat. On the water, look for a large cove and idle straight out from it as you study your depthfinder. The mid- to lower-lake flats are usually best. Tips and Tactics: Keep your boat in deeper water and cast crankbaits or swim baits up on the flat at a 45-degree angle, then reel them across and over the edge. For slower presentations, hop heavy plastic spider jigs along the edge and over the drop into deeper water.

5. Outside Edge of Vegetation
The outside, or deeper, edge of aquatic plants frequently marks a depth change, a change in bottom composition, or both. Bass patrol this line to feed on baiitfish using the vegetation for food and sanctuary. Stay in the lower half of a reservoir and fish the main lake or the largest tributaries where the outside edges of vegetation, including hyacinths, hydrilla, or wiregrass, are well defined. Tips and Tactics: The deeper outside edge is best in summer and early winter and can be fished effectively with spinnerbaits, heavy jigs, and plastic worms. Look for points, indentations, or other different features along the edge.

6. Submerged Roadbeds
Old roads inundated when reservoirs were formed provide big bass with a hard bottom surface, a feature they prefer. Such arteries often have depth changes and cover, and may be the first deep-water features bass encounter once they leave spawning flats. Study a good lake map to find roadbeds, then pinpoint them with your electronics. Roadbeds crossing the mouths of major tributaries or continuing off long points are among the best. Tips and Tactics: Crankbaits are effective to about 15 feet; plastic worms and sinking swim baits also work well. Cast across the road as well as along it. You can follow it with your depthfinder, putting out marker buoys if you need to.

7. Isolated Ridges or Humps
Ridges and humps that rise above the bottom provide that magic depth change and may also offer a change of cover and bottom composition. You might be able to identify these high spots if they rise close to the surface by the presence of weeds or brush. Good lake maps will also pinpoint them. Tips and Tactics: Carolina-rigged worms and lizards can be cast to the top of the hump and crawled down into deeper water. Water depth may limit crankbait use, but jigs might be productive.

Bass in the Grass

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 17 Feb 2004 06:00:00 -0500

Vegetation is one of the best places to start searching for largemouths in the spring. That doesn't mean the fishing is easy, though: Many grassbeds are vast and can extend from the shallows out to surprising depths. Fishermen who focus on one body of water will, over time, figure out where in the weeds the bass will be, but tournament anglers don't have that luxury-they have to find bass now.

"Milfoil, hydrilla, elodea, and even lily pads can be intimidating," says veteran Florida bass pro Shaw Grigsby, "but there are certain features bass prefer, and once you learn to recognize them, locating the fish is much easier."

Much of Grigsby's professional career-in which he's won eight Bassmaster Tournament events and nearly $1.5 million in prize money-has been based on fishing greenery.

Inside and Outside Edges
The most important features of any vegetation, says Grigsby, are its borders. The "inside" edge, where the growth begins, could be as shallow as a few inches, although it's usually several feet deep. The depth at the "outside" edge might be as much as 20 feet on some lakes if the water is extremely clear.

During the spawning season, from late February in the Deep South to May in the North, the key area will be the inner fringe. "Bass will use this for protection as well as a place to ambush prey," says Grigsby. "The females will also hold right on this inside line until they're ready to spawn."

The actual location of the inside edge of a grassline is usually determined by bottom composition or water levels. For example, if the shallow water is extremely rocky or sandy, weeds like milfoil and even hydrilla will have a tough time getting established. On other lakes, fluctuating water levels often keep vegetation from growing completely to the shoreline. This happens most on lakes that are drawn down several feet in the winter, then allowed to rise again in the spring.

"In either instance," says Grigsby, "a definite inside line is formed, and this is where you should concentrate your fishing early in the season, either with spinnerbaits, small crankbaits, or perhaps Carolina-rigged lizards."

When using a spinnerbait, Grigsby lets the lure sink to the bottom, pumps it once to start the blades turning, then slowly crawls it back just above the bottom. With lipless crankbaits, he may run them into the weeds, then rip them free with his rod.

Working the Line
Grigsby recommends two ways to fish these grasslines. One is to position your boat in the vegetation so that you can cast into the shallow open water and retrieve your lure back to the edge. The other technique is to follow the line of growth with your boat, make long casts directly ahead, and retrieve along the verge.

Edges of vegetation are rarely perfectly straight. They have cuts, indentations, bends, and points, all of which may attract bass.

"It's about opportunities that might give a bass an advantage," says Grigsby. "A bass that stations itself on a grassy point might be able to see as much as 180 degrees around it. That bass can dart out and grab a small minnow and be safely back in the weeds in an instant."

Grigsby casts parallel to the inside edge so that his lure remains in a potential strike zone for as long as possible. A slow but steady retrieve near the bottom, close to the border, is best. Points and bends in the vegetation should be fished from different angles, too.

Any additional type of structure, such as a ditch, a roadbed, or even a small creek channel, will increase your chances of finding bass. Isolated pieces of cover-stumps, rocks, fallen trees-may also become magnets for fish.

But the key is pinpointing the weedline. "As long as you can locate a definite inside line to the vegetation," says Grigsby, "you'll be able to catch bass."

Catch More Largemouth Bass in Weeds in Early Spring

fieldandstream-editor — Sat, 31 Jan 2004 19:00:00 -0500