Fishing Humps

[Trailer]

With air temps in the 80's and the spawn over, would you guys start targeting off shore humps in deeper water?

[Pleiades]

I think that's more of a traditional summer pattern.  Just my two cents.  You fishing this weekend?  I'm going to try Ouachita.

[Gatorbassman]

If you have any humps back in main creeks of the lake then I'd hit them but it takes a little while before they get on main lake humps. 

[Trailer]

I think that's more of a traditional summer pattern.  Just my two cents.  You fishing this weekend?  I'm going to try Ouachita.

I may get to fish tomorrow. I was running a 101 fever Thursday night so I didn't go yesterday morning. One thing that has worked for me was pumpkin trick worm on a shakey head 2 weeks ago.

[Crestliner2008]

Scout out the bait fish schools with your sonar. Where the food is, is where the bass will be, regardless of whether or not they are relating to humps, points or channels. If I can find bait, I can usually locate some active fish.

[YakenMax]

Yes I would they leave the spawn flats and go deep for a while so fish the humps

[WRB]

I guess it depends on what you call a hump. If the humps you plan on fishing are isolated underwater islands not connected to any other structure feature like a major point or nearby island, then I wouldn't bother with it unless baitfish are there.

However if the "hump" is a underwater island that is connected to the river channel, another island or point, fish this type of structure year around if you meter fish on it.

Tom

[gobig]

I have to agree with Tom. One of my best big bass spots is a hump near a creek channel and there are fish on it year round.

[Catt]

Hump Defined: An isolated high spot in a body of water that is shallower on top than the surrounding area; usually a small piece of structure less than 30 yards across.

Hump Logic: Among the best offshore bass structures. The most active bass are usually found on the top of the hump, while less active bass relate to the deeper sides or ends. Humps are most productive during summer and fall, when water levels on most impoundments are at their lowest.

The Best Humps: Productive humps can be among the most difficult forms of structure to find because the best humps are usually the smaller ones, no more than 20-30 yards in diameter. Some may be marked on lake maps, others not. Key ingredients are proper water depth and cover: The ideal hump would be 8-15 feet on top and fall off gradually into deeper water. Humps with sharp breaks are better suited for winter fishing. Isolated patches of cover such as brush, Hydrilla, stumps make it all the more attractive to bass.

Fishing the Hump: One of the best techniques for locating bass is to use a Carolina rig. The key is to pinpoint the cover, once you find the cover switch to a Texas-rig or Jig-N-Craw and fish it vertical, straight up and down in the cover. A vertical presentation reduces the odds of hanging up in the cover and subsequently spooking the fish.

 

Don’t mistakenly think of summer as June, July, or August but rather as the season following post spawn

[GoneFishingLTN]

On 5/27/2013 at 12:32 PM, Catt said:

Fishing the Hump: One of the best techniques for locating bass is to use a Carolina rig. The key is to pinpoint the cover, once you find the cover switch to a Texas-rig or Jig-N-Craw and fish it vertical, straight up and down in the cover. A vertical presentation reduces the odds of hanging up in the cover and subsequently spooking the fish.

If the hump is top is about 6 foot do you still think a c-rig is a good way to fish it since you will probably get consistently snag or are you just going lighter in weight?

[Catt]

On 5/27/2013 at 12:32 PM, Catt said:

The ideal hump would be 8-15 feet on top

 

6-12' would be good as would 10-18'

 

Those numbers are not written in stone 

 

[papajoe222]

Depending on the cover a C-rig can be an excellent choice, even for a hump that tops out at six feet.  I would work it up the hump. There are a couple of other options I would try before going vertical in that situation, for soft plastics that is.  A drop shot can keep your bait above vegetation as can a split-shot rig with a floating soft plastic.

For humps that top out at 10ft. or more, most any presentation that works for that type of cover can be used as long as it can be presented at a targeted depth.  The advantage of using a type of weighted soft plastic is that you can work the drop from its deepest to its shallowest without changing baits and then switch to a faster presentation once you find the depth to target.