How do YOU choose cover to target?

[cheezyridr]

if there is a storm today, tomorrow, i'm on the lookout for downed trees that are still green.  i don't care where they are, there's fish in that tree.

[Boomstick]

On 3/21/2021 at 11:44 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Easy, there's none in our lakes so I don't have any to target ?‍♂️

No cover or no bass? 

[Bluebasser86]

50 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

No cover or no bass? 

Cover, sometimes it feels like neither though. 

[WRB]

What Catt is describing is different visual cover grows in different soils. Where different soils come together it creates a break line that continues deeper underwater.

Tom  

[geo g]

Things I look for in Florida waters.

1). Isolated clumps on a flat.  These work like magnets drawing fish from the flat, especially with bright skies.  They seek out the shade, on shallow flats.  May catch more than one fish off the same clump.

2). Clumps with two or more types of veggies.  Usually better than a clump with just one type.

3).Weeds close to significant deep ledges.  Early mornings and late afternoons these outside edges can be magical.  Especially good just after a significant cold front, fish the ledge deep.

4).Any weeds with signs of movement.  Often see pads suddenly move, a dead give away.  

5). The brighter the sun, look for the thicker cover.  Flip or pitch into the thick green stuff.  The greener the weeds the more O2 produced and released into the water.

6). Thick weeds beds with a tight opening between two big  clumps.  Wind driven current will often position bass ready to ambush bait fish in the opening.  This can be big on Okeechobee on windy days.

[Mike L]

9 minutes ago, geo g said:

Things I look for in Florida waters.

1). Isolated clumps on a flat.  These work like magnets drawing fish from the flat, especially with bright skies.  They seek out the shade, on shallow flats.  May catch more than one fish off the same clump.

2). Clumps with two or more types of veggies.  Usually better than a clump with just one type.

3).Weeds close to significant deep ledges.  Early mornings and late afternoons these outside edges can be magical.  Especially good just after a significant cold front, fish the ledge deep.

4).Any weeds with signs of movement.  Often see pads suddenly move, a dead give away.  

5). The brighter the sun, look for the thicker cover.  Flip or pitch into the thick green stuff.  The greener the weeds the more O2 produced and released into the water.

6). Thick weeds beds with a tight opening between two big  clumps.  Wind driven current will often position bass ready to ambush bait fish in the opening.  This can be big on Okeechobee on windy days.

This kinda says it all!

 

 

 

 

Mike

[crypt]

On 3/22/2021 at 8:16 AM, Catt said:

Structure is the cake, cover is the icing 

 

Look for structure according to seasonal patterns, sometimes cover isn't necessarily needed.

I Like cake with frosting..........just saying.......

[the reel ess]

When it's muddy, I'm pitching the jig or T rig to every piece of wood cover. I'm of the opinion that bass will find some stump, laydown, dock, etc. and hang on to it until the water clears up a bit. If the water is high, fish in the shallow "new water".

 

They will start biting reaction baits sooner than you think as it clears.

[Choporoz]

1 hour ago, geo g said:

 

4).Any weeds with signs of movement.  Often see pads suddenly move, a dead give away.  

There is something incredibly satisfying about sitting dead still in the middle of a pad field just waiting for that movement....and getting bit on the next perfect cast.  More like hunting than fishing.

 

 

Of course, up here it is often snakehead, bowfin or carp that suck up a bunch of my time and attention 

 

[fishwizzard]

19 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

There is something incredibly satisfying about sitting dead still in the middle of a pad field just waiting for that movement....and getting bit on the next perfect cast.  More like hunting than fishing.

 

 

Of course, up here it is often snakehead, bowfin or carp that suck up a bunch of my time and attention 

 

 

That is my favorite part of yak fishing, parking myself in a huge pad field and throwing at anything that twitches.  I am less picky though, if it will hit a lure I am happy to catch it.  

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

There is something incredibly satisfying about sitting dead still in the middle of a pad field just waiting for that movement....and getting bit on the next perfect cast.  More like hunting than fishing.

 

 

Of course, up here it is often snakehead, bowfin or carp that suck up a bunch of my time and attention 

 

I've often seen a bass chasing bait in a patch of lilies and I cast the ol' Pad Crasher in and got it. Those fish have a false sense of security.

[TriStateBassin106]

On 3/22/2021 at 8:47 PM, DitchPanda said:

Well alot of the lakes and ponds I fish don't have a ton of cover so.that makes it easy. Few trees here and there...maybe a short stretch or two of rip rap. The plus side to that is when there isn't much cover when you do come across some it usually has fish on it.

This is pretty much the answer I was gonna give, one lake I fish from the bank has an overdose of the type of cover you mentioned, there's plenty of downed limbs and bushes all over the place. I actually find it pretty difficult to fish in those situations because you don't know what to target. 

[galyonj]

12 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I've often seen a bass chasing bait in a patch of lilies and I cast the ol' Pad Crasher in and got it. Those fish have a false sense of security.

 

Much like my cats, they assume that they are completely undetectable if they can't see you.

[scaleface]

  I'm usually fishing for a minimum  of eight hours , so I fish a lot of different cover . Stumps , weeds , docks , rocks , ramps .., trying to discover a pattern .Large bodies of water give me more trouble than small bodies  because its easy to make wrong choices and  fish areas where the fish  just  are not cooperating and it can become intimidating .If I'm struggling in the main lake , running up lake or up a creek arm ,  to where there are a lot of flats and shallower structure like channel ledges , it  becomes more like fishing in a  small lake and easier "for me"  to break down  .

 

  On  small bodies of water  I can hit it all  and eventually  be fishing where the bass are . Put the trolling motor down and do some junk fishing , hitting all cover encountered. Throw in a deep water point or two and  I'm confident bass will be caught . Some days bass will prefer one cover over others and some days they seem to have no preference.  I'm not very good at predicting their behavior , so putting in enough hours  is key to my success .

[fishingtx]

I look for a change in grasses or a different type of tree. I also look for places where there is a dramatic change between 2 or more different types of cover.  Also find structure that is isolated or on a drop off. For example: I am pitching willows and button bushes when I encounter hydrilla or any vegitation. I will always fish the edge where the 2 structures meet.

[Indiana Bass Angler]

I don't fish with any fish finders or any equipment like that so it can be a challenge determine depth but I personally like to fish any kind of cover (lay downs, stumps, Lilly pads etc). If its a hot sunny day I look for shaded areas. My thinking is if I was a fish I wouldn't want to be baking in the sun lol. Of course that could be completely wrong but it works good for me at my normal fishing spot. I cruise around on the boat until some piece of cover is well shaded and give it a go. Accuracy and patience play a big role for me when I think ive found a good hole they might be hiding in. 

[papajoe222]

1 hour ago, Indiana Bass Angler said:

 If its a hot sunny day I look for shaded areas. My thinking is if I was a fish I wouldn't want to be baking in the sun lol.

This time of year, in our area, a hot sunny day is prime.  The water is still warming and sunny areas will draw fish.  I can't count how many times I've seen bass sit motionless in shallow water on a sunny day. Later in the day, those fish will be active and in close proximity to the area they were getting a tan.

[Indiana Bass Angler]

22 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

This time of year, in our area, a hot sunny day is prime.  The water is still warming and sunny areas will draw fish.  I can't count how many times I've seen bass sit motionless in shallow water on a sunny day. Later in the day, those fish will be active and in close proximity to the area they were getting a tan.

I agree. Same where im at too. I was referring more to summer hot days I should have clarified. You said it best when the water is still warming up the sunny areas can be good spots to find bass

[Boomstick]

If I can find cover that matches any of the following, it's probably worth targeting.

• Cover near any notable structure, such as on a point
• Cover with quick access to deep water (often a prime target for big bass!)
• Cover that is unique to an area - ever see a lake with 20 fallen trees on one side of the lake but just one on the other side? I'd bet that one holds fish.
• Cover with the wind blowing into it
• Cover in an appropriate depth of water for the time of year. Usually I like at least 2.5ft of water, but sometimes cover in a little over a foot can also hold bass.

[BassNJake]

The past few years I have been fishing a lot of isolated targets.

My lake has a ton of rock, bluff walls, gravel all the way to boulder size rock transitions

Your best bet for catching a fish? find a clay bank with a few scattered rocks or a single laydown.

You could fish miles of rocky shoreline without getting bit or by the time you cast to your 4th or 5th isolated rock you'll get a bite. 

 

In the middle of the day I'm going to the sunny bank looking for the few isolated targets providing shade, instead of going to the side where every target is in the shade.

 

One of the last MLF/BPT events KVD moved spots with about 5 minutes left.

He was just out of the cut line and needed a bass.

He turned into a creek arm and fished down the sunnyside.

 

So see, I was able to cherry pick 1 example to prove my genius hahahahaa