Fishing the Channels

[bassinhound]

Thoughts on fishing the channels.

I got a tournament in Tennessee this weekend (temp air: 90 water: 85). I think I'm going to stick to working the creek channels in this heat. I worked this pattern in a tournament last weekend and produced a few keepers. My main success came off a shaky head finesse worm. Any thoughts on working a good creek channel pattern? Work up? Work down? Parallel? Stick to the channel? Flats off a channel? Just curious on your thoughts as I put together a game plan. Great forum by the way. Tight lines to y'all.

[BiggerWorm]

I usually work a jig or plastic worm on the edge.  This is where bass tend to hold.  Depending on water depth and cover I will throw a crank bait to cover some of the flat.  Stumps line many channels and are great for bumping crank baits into.  Plastic worms are still my favorite though.  Good Luck!

[bassin4life]

Drop-shot, deep crankbaits....10 inch worm if carolina riggin in deep water...good luck

[Chris]

When I fish channels I try to look for something different. I look for channel bends or where the channel swings close to the shore or points anything different. This will narrow down your search for fish. Bass will use different parts of the channel throughout the day. Early morning they might be on the edge or on a flat next to the channel. Later in the day they might be suspended out on the edge or somewhere either above the channel or along the side of the channel. When you develop your game plan use your depth finder to figure out what part of the channel they are using durring the time of day your fishing it. On flats try a carolina rig you can work the area fast and cover water. When they get on the edge of the channel position your boat out in the channel and bring your crankbait so that it dumps off into the channel. If they are suspended up use the right crankbait to reach that depth. If the fish are hanging down in the channel on the edge use a jig and work it down to them. You can use a worm in the same way. When you narrow down what depth they are hanging at on the channel then you can position your boat parallel and crank down to them. Make sure you give your bait enough room to reach the depth they are hanging at.  A countdown bait can work great in this situation. If your talking 20ft depth then you need to get more creative with your crankbaits because most crankbaits don't go any deeper than 16ft deep. What I do is rig them on a carolina rig (light one). this will help you break the 20ft mark or you can put a worm weight on your line then tie onto your crankbait.

[boiler_animal374]

Chris: Thanks for the tips on getting your crank baits down deeper I used one of them last night and the landed more fish in one hour of fishing than i had all day.

[Phishn_Phool]

Here in Florida where the water temp is about 90, we have been catching alot of fish and catching some real nice ones as it took 66lbs to win a team tournament Sunday.  We are catching them on c-rigs where ever there is water running into the lake.  We have had a lot of rain in the last week and the fish are stacked where it is running in.  Good luck

                                       CPR ;D

[Nick]

If water is running into the lake or their is pretty strong current, fish the points nearest the channel. I look for a good spawning area in a large cove or bay near the channel point. Bass exit the nursery and set up summer homes on the ledges, channel swings and points nearby. I would throw a deep diving crankbait particularly in practice to cover lots of water.  The DD22 is good if you have faith in this way of fishing. Also a heavy jig will do the trick and I would recommend an Eakins 7/16 oz. with a craw trailer hopped along the bottom. Cover as many places as you can looking for those sweet spots from 10-20 feet deep for starters.