Churning water as a tactic for bass?

[BigAngus752]

Glen Lau, Doug Hannon, and Tom Mann have all mentioned using a tactic of churning up a shallow cove with your outboard to lure bass into feeding.  The idea is that you find a shallow area near deep water that contains some vegetation.  You drive through repeatedly using your outboard to churn the water and chop up some of the vegetation and then you anchor nearby, eat your lunch for 30 minutes or so, and wait.  The theory is that you have started up the food chain by dislodging the small organisms in the vegetation and the baitfish and bluegill will soon arrive to eat with the bass coming along shortly after.  You are essentially creating your own personal feeding opportunity for the entire food chain of fish.  Glen wrote that this is especially useful in the heat of summer during the day when the food chain is lethargic.  

 

I'm curious if anyone has tried or regularly uses this tactic?  I'm always eager to hear the opinions of everyone on this board anytime I read something that piques my curiosity.  

[scaleface]

Tom Mann had a short run TV show {here anyway} and he did that . He didnt catch any fish .

[Logan S]

I haven't done it...But there's been many times on certain lakes where boat traffic churns up shorelines mid-day and I find active fish there.  Makes sense.

[Spankey]

You could be right. I’m not interested in experimenting with it. Fish don’t like dirt and debris in their gills. Don’t know. Doesn’t sound logical to me. 

[BigAngus752]

28 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Tom Mann had a short run TV show {here anyway} and he did that . He didnt catch any fish .

LOL!  "60% of the time it works every time".  

[scaleface]

In a related scenario  , I use to fish rip rap banks on the Mississippi river from bank . When a barge would go by the giant wake it caused would stir up whatever critters hiding in the rocks and game fish , including bass , white bass , walleye would move in and feed . I dont doubt that stirring up vegetation starts a feeding chain reaction .

[BigAngus752]

25 minutes ago, Logan S said:

I haven't done it...But there's been many times on certain lakes where boat traffic churns up shorelines mid-day and I find active fish there.  Makes sense.

I've never even thought about it.  I'm usually too frustrated with the skiers and wave runners to think straight.  With Labor Day approaching I'm going to watch for this opportunity.  

[WRB]

Jay Yelas fishing a Classic had a boat on plane run past him then along the bank he was fishing. He said did you that.....then made a cast into the wake bubbles next to the bank and caught his winning 6 lb bass!

Tom

[JustJames]

I have heard it work especially around launch ramp area why bass hang around. Personally I hate those boat traffic, since where I live is like vacation Lake. When they (water skiers) come out my fishing time is ended. It might be good for once awhile churn up but this lake is like every 5 mins for hours.

[Mike L]

During tournaments it is done all the time when things get tough and running out of time. 
 

However, there is a trick to it in location, how much and how it’s done. 
 

Big difference than just doing donuts in a hydrilla mat expecting big results every time. 

 

 

 

Mike

[Defiant Clone]

This does work on offshore fish, so I could see it working on fresh.

 

Few times I have been out, we would target floating seaweed/grass patches and run by them turning to churn them up. This has brought up some big Cobia when we have done it. 

[frogflogger]

On the everglades canals we had boats flying past us at high speed all the time. When the wakes hit the pads we would immediately cast into them and often caught fish - sometimes large fish.

[Bankc]

You never know.  I can say that it doesn't work in the lake I normally fish in.  Usually, just before noon, the wave runners come out, and for whatever reason, they love to do doughnuts around me.  I fish from a kayak, so it's not only annoying, but it's a bit dangerous for me with the waves.  I used to yell at them, but they either can't hear me or don't care.  So now, I just pack up and head in.  It's almost noon anyway, and the bite has usually been over for a while, so it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.  Let them have the lake in the heat of the day.  

 

In any case, it definitely scares off the fish, and they don't come back.  My lake doesn't have much for vegetation, so that might be part of the reason why.  There's nothing to stir up but mud.  Lots of experience with this tells me that once they've spun around in an area for a while, the fish head elsewhere and don't come back for several hours.

 

Having said that, I do remember going out with a guide once as young kid, and he pulled up to a sandy bank and grabbed an oar and beat it all around the water.  He said that it would scare away the fish, but then they'd come back curious and start biting.  He was right.  We were fishing for white bass and hybrids though.  Don't know if it applies to black bass.

 

 

[TOXIC]

Watched an old Elite series tournament where Mike Iconelli repeatedly caught fish by starting his big motor and doing doughnuts in a cove he was fishing.  The bite would die off and he would do it again.  Worked for him.  Many times I have fished the mud line created by heavy boat traffic by throwing a wide wobble crank horizontal so that it wove in and out of the muddy water.  World a lot of the time.