Why Uphill

[Gonzo]

Why would an uphill worm presentation catch more bass than a conventional down hill approach??

[senile1]

If the wind or current was flowing in the uphill direction the baitfish would also be traveling that direction so the bass might turn their bodies to face the dropoff or channel bank to watch for the oncoming food.  If you drag your lure downhill on these fish the lure will be coming up behind them.  Usually, you want your lure coming from the direction the bass are looking.  There could be other reasons.  This is just an example.  

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

There are in fact many factors, probably mostly totally unknown to us why even with no wind or current a worm taken only one direction catches, then two hours later the angle reverses. Just stay on top of it, don't get in a rut always swimming a bait one direction. If'n we ever learn to interpret the 'bassese' language maybe we'll get some insight into those mysteries. Meanwhile they communicate through the bite, so let them tell you what they want based on that.

Jim

[Shad_Master]

What I have come to learn (especially this year) is that in the summer months, bass will hold in "deeper" water and then move to "shallower" water to feed.  If the bass are holding on the edge of the break then they are looking for somthing to eat but will ready to move back deep either when they are fed or when they are spooked.  I don't that an up hill presentation will catch more bass on a consistent basis and sometimes you have to move to the other side and try it that way.

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

I would rather bring the bait across a slope. That way you have a good chance of getting the bass' attention regardless of which way she is positioned.

[senile1]

Welcome aboard!

I would rather bring the bait across a slope. That way you have a good chance of getting the bass' attention regardless of which way she is positioned.

I like going across the slope the best too. On most channel banks, going across the slope will drag your lure parallel to the stumps or treeline if one exists. Of course, you can't rule out the other directions. I just feel I can cover more fish holding territory in this way.

[5bass]

Welcome aboard!

I would rather bring the bait across a slope. That way you have a good chance of getting the bass' attention regardless of which way she is positioned.

Yep,me too.Whenever I'm fishing points,I always fish across them first.

And to your original question about "uphill"......if you know or have a good feeling that fish are there but cant get bit,at least try it uphill.If nothing else,it will give them a different look.Not everybody fishes uphill,lots of people just pull up,make 25-30 casts around a point or area and are gone to the next spot.I'm guilty of that sometimes.

[Gonzo]

Thanks for all your advice & help...........here's more details, in a small club tourney on a small 200 acre lake; water temp. mid-80's; light to no wind. the winner used a T-rigged worm dragging it uphill doubling the weight of the 2nd place winner. I'm wanting to learn from this one.........why is the bass positioned this way? Why did the fisherman do the uphill presentation?  I've not ruled out luck or keen obsevation of the fisherman, but the winner is not revealing more info.

[Mattlures]

Ok Gonzo I'll tell you why up hill. IMO it has nothing to do with how the fish are positioned. It has to do with the fish being aware and scarred of your presence. You can not pull your boat into the back of a cove and catch fish casting twords the shore. They feel the baot aproaching and they feel trapped so they take off around you. Have you ever seen that happen? i have many times. When you work uphill the fish might know your there but there escape route is not blocked and they dont have to leave. Its not that they dont know there is a boat around its just not as big of a threat so they are more likely to eat. I fish swimbaits 70% of the time and 70% of my bites are coming up hill with about 20% in flat areas or over and accross humps and points. and 10% of my bites come from down hill. I am targeting big bass so my numbers are more exagerated because bigger fish are more sensative to boat pressence than smaller fish. If I do fish down hill I cast ahead of the boat where thye fish are not trapped.

[senile1]

Ok Gonzo I'll tell you why up hill. IMO it has nothing to do with how the fish are positioned. It has to do with the fish being aware and scarred of your presence. You can not pull your boat into the back of a cove and catch fish casting twords the shore. They feel the baot aproaching and they feel trapped so they take off around you. Have you ever seen that happen? i have many times. When you work uphill the fish might know your there but there escape route is not blocked and they dont have to leave. Its not that they dont know there is a boat around its just not as big of a threat so they are more likely to eat. I fish swimbaits 70% of the time and 70% of my bites are coming up hill with about 20% in flat areas or over and accross humps and points. and 10% of my bites come from down hill. I am targeting big bass so my numbers are more exagerated because bigger fish are more sensative to boat pressence than smaller fish. If I do fish down hill I cast ahead of the boat where thye fish are not trapped.

Good point, and this is something I didn't think of.  If this guy was fishing a mid-lake hump or mid-lake channel-bank I guess this wouldn't apply.  

[Gonzo]

Ok Gonzo I'll tell you why up hill. IMO it has nothing to do with how the fish are positioned. It has to do with the fish being aware and scarred of your presence. You can not pull your boat into the back of a cove and catch fish casting twords the shore. They feel the baot aproaching and they feel trapped so they take off around you. Have you ever seen that happen? i have many times. When you work uphill the fish might know your there but there escape route is not blocked and they dont have to leave. Its not that they dont know there is a boat around its just not as big of a threat so they are more likely to eat. I fish swimbaits 70% of the time and 70% of my bites are coming up hill with about 20% in flat areas or over and accross humps and points. and 10% of my bites come from down hill. I am targeting big bass so my numbers are more exagerated because bigger fish are more sensative to boat pressence than smaller fish. If I do fish down hill I cast ahead of the boat where thye fish are not trapped.

Thanks Mattlures !!!  for the explaination !! With more & more fisherman pressure this makes sense to me. Do you think the type of structure really matters when you cut-off the fish's escape route??

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I could agree with that theory if a boater blundered into pockets and always had bass rush past him on their way out to deep water. However, I don't have that happen often, fishing ahead and quietly, catching plenty of bass in those places. How would you get into a main lake pocket without going over the bass first so you could fish a lure uphill from the shoreline at the back of it? How about fishing a narrow creek? They only bite when casting downstream? I almost always fish lures upstream in tributaries.

Bass are simply picky like most animals are. A squirrel will run through a carpet of white oak acorns in favor of a couple of scattered red oak acorns, then when those are gone return to the white oak and eat those like there's no tomorrow. Picky. The best approach to fishing for bass is to try all angles, sticking with whichever works best any given hour. You don't know whether bass forage is crawfish or shad, crawling or swimming up or down hill or along a contour, so you have to let the bass tell you which way they are expecting food to come from.

Jim

[senile1]

Ok Gonzo I'll tell you why up hill. IMO it has nothing to do with how the fish are positioned. It has to do with the fish being aware and scarred of your presence. You can not pull your boat into the back of a cove and catch fish casting twords the shore. They feel the baot aproaching and they feel trapped so they take off around you. Have you ever seen that happen? i have many times. When you work uphill the fish might know your there but there escape route is not blocked and they dont have to leave. Its not that they dont know there is a boat around its just not as big of a threat so they are more likely to eat. I fish swimbaits 70% of the time and 70% of my bites are coming up hill with about 20% in flat areas or over and accross humps and points. and 10% of my bites come from down hill. I am targeting big bass so my numbers are more exagerated because bigger fish are more sensative to boat pressence than smaller fish. If I do fish down hill I cast ahead of the boat where thye fish are not trapped.

Thanks Mattlures !!!  for the explaination !! With more & more fisherman pressure this makes sense to me. Do you think the type of structure really matters when you cut-off the fish's escape route??

The type of structure wouldn't matter but where it is located might.  A hump in the middle of a lake has plenty of escape routes in many directions.