Finding them PT 2

[MattStrykul]

I'm with RW. I need to put some of this information to the test, and then ask questions. I'm really happy with where this thread is going, and have learned so much already. Can't wait to get fishin.

[Catt]

Some times it makes you scratch you head when people ask for help, we answer, and then the FBI can't find em. It's not that we need the praise but as for myself I'd like to know if it did in fact help or do I need to explain it differently. I've given dozens of people help with Toledo Bend, Texas Rigs, or jigs and I get no reply back. 2 or 3 have actually sent me a PM commenting one way or the other.

I guess the important thing is not to stop questioning  

[Matt Fly]

What's fascinating is everyone asks How do y'all find em but when we have outstanding anglers like Matt, Fish Chris, & Raul explains how to no one comments or asks questions.

Either they all totally understand it or it when straight over their heads

I think the posts have been somewhat overwhelming and totally comprehensive. We have to get out on the water and try to experiment with an overload of information. With this fundamental format, almost everyone can "kick it up a notch".

Next on the agenda, let's address fishing a river, current and brown fish.

On that note, I'll be on vacation, brown what????    

I can point you in the direction of some good rope swings on numerous Texas Rivers, but catching small mouth has been mainly on accident in the past.

Matt

[foul hooked]

OK, here comes a question or three.

I've done my home work and done some scouting without wetting a line. I've narrowed down the lake to several spots that meet the previous posts criteria. How do you to begin to  fish?

Would you gurus suggest this method?

Tie up a couple rigs with search baits. One rig to work the bottom, one rig to work the middle and if conditions merit one to work the top. If you don't like this approach what would you do?

How long do you work a spot without finding fish before you move?

If your spot yields a ton of dinks how long do stay there? What are the chances that bigger fish are hanging out with the dinks?

Thanks for all the input fellas. I really appreciate you fellas sharing your ideas. I know you guys have spent lifetimes putting the pieces together and really don't have to share, but choose too share.

[BackOnTheWater]

I use several "keys" to locate bass. I'm not even close to being an expert.

20-25 years ago, we used birds and sight to locate baitfish on my home lake(s). For some reason the birds have gone away, but we now have better electronics.

I take note of baitfish balls, which show up as "clouds" on my fishfinder. This gives me a general idea as to what depth is most comfortable for the fish at the time, based upon water and weather conditions. I then look for structure and/ or cover that intersect that general depth range.

Other than that, 99% of the bass that I catch are never "seen" on my fishfinder. Other than vertical spooning/ jigging, they are not under my boat, which is where my fishfinder is looking. I've spent a great deal of time trying to catch "graph" fish, to little or no avail. I have spent a lot of time trolling around an area without seeing bass or baitfish on my electronics, but still catch fish with good casting patterns.

Bottom line is, I use the fishfinder as a tool, and factor it into my patterns, but I catch more fish that I don't see than those that I do see. One good point that was made was to learn how to distinguish the various types of bottom and what various types of cover look like on the graph. This can be valuable knowledge when you start targeting pre-spawn and spawning fish, for example. Or to find smallmouth, for another.

If you fish from the bank (as I do, quite often) or if you do not have modern electronics (I've just had mine a couple of months), you can judge depth by counting a t-rig down to the bottom. You can also get a feel for the type of bottom you are working and any cover that you might find there.

Happy hunting!

[BackOnTheWater]

OK, here comes a question or three.

I've done my home work and done some scouting without wetting a line. I've narrowed down the lake to several spots that meet the previous posts criteria. How do you to begin to fish?

Would you gurus suggest this method?

Tie up a couple rigs with search baits. One rig to work the bottom, one rig to work the middle and if conditions merit one to work the top. If you don't like this approach what would you do?

How long do you work a spot without finding fish before you move?

If your spot yields a ton of dinks how long do stay there? What are the chances that bigger fish are hanging out with the dinks?

Thanks for all the input fellas. I really appreciate you fellas sharing your ideas. I know you guys have spent lifetimes putting the pieces together and really don't have to share, but choose too share.

A: I usually have 2 top-water lures, 2 mid-column lures, and 2 bottom lures tied on...but yeah, that's the right idea.

B: As I am still exploring a large home lake, and I don't like to fish tourneys, I spend a LOT of time when working new areas, whether I can any fish at all, big or small. And I'll work the same area with different baits on different passes. Now, on an established spot that I have gotten to know well and depending upon the size of the "prime" area, I'll give it 30 min. to an hour before I move on. As an example, this past SAT I went to a slough that I had only been to once before. I caught 3 fish in the first hour, then the guy with me (who had not caught any) talked me into moving. We only caught a couple of dinks in the next 5 hours. I went back on SUN with another guy. we stayed in the same slough for 3 hours. I caught 7, he caught 2, and we had quite a few that we did not get to the boat. AND, I learned one side of that slough extremely well.

As to whether or not you can pull out larger fish after nailing a few dinks...sure you can. Most experts say that schooling fish tend to school with fish their same relative size, but that big bass (5 lb and up) are pretty much loners. I have found that when you are on schooling bass, most of them will indeed be the same general size between dinks and 4 lb. You can pull the larger ones out by pulling lures through the bottom of the school. Also consider that it's the smaller ones that move quicker and will out-run the larger ones to get to your lure. There are generally larger ones there, but they must expend quite a bit more energy to chase a lure than the smaller ones. I've pulled quite a few dinks off cover before I got to the larger bass...but they were there...

But what do I know? Just my $.02...

[Matt Fly]

Remember that in Texas our fall may not have progressed as far as say Minnesota's fall has at this time.    Our surface temps are in the 70's and minnesota's may be in the lower 60's as of now, I don't know for sure.

Fall means that weather conditions are soon to change if they haven't been already.

    Fall means patterns change from one day to the next for awhile, that the bite may be good for a few days and be dead for 5 days due to foul weather.

REmember that metabolism drive a bass.      

I like your approach with numerous baits tied on covering different depths in the water column.

   Seasonal patterns should help you  pick some areas out to start with.    This time of the year, bass are chasing bait to fatten up for the winter and to promote egg growth for next year spawn.   I say that because there is no place that I fish on a lake in texas that doesn't have some type of forage bait.

What makes fall so interesting is, that some of the dead water I never fish may now be holding schooling fish during this time of the year.    

Once I have caught a few on cranks or spinnerbaits, and the bite slowed in that area, I'll then turn and work some plastics in the same areas more thoroghly.

Yesterday, the bass where 3.5 miles back in the creek, This weekend, they were on the main points and secondary points, they are moving every day,  The shad are moving that much and that fast.   So are the bass.

Until the water temps drop into the middle 50's, the bass are gonna be active, and then, bass activity to me is dicatated by warming trends through the winter.

matt

[MattStrykul]

Heres a few questions.....

When you want to fish a hump, what is generally a good depth to look for? Also when you are using your graph to find them do you want to fish the top of the hump or the edges?

[Catt]

Underwater islands, mounds, or humps are a deep water angler's delight; these spots are especially productive when power is being generated at the dam, causing a current in the reservoir. Bait fish will gather on the upper end of these mounds and the bass will bunch up to feed on them. When located near a creek or river these areas can be your big bass spot. A crank bait/Rat-L-Trap fished across the top or plastics can fill your stringer quickly; position your boat shallow and deep covering the entire structure from every angle.

The depth is not a requirement I use when selecting an underwater islands, mounds, or humps. There are other more important requirements desired like availability of cover, proximity to a river/creek channel, irregular features.

Many anglers ask how long do you fish new structure before you give up on it; if all the above mentioned requirements exist I never give up on a location. Some times I'll get bite immediately on the first try; other times it'll maybe after several tries.

[VekolBass]

I've really only been pursuing bass fishing seriously for two years now, and am still really learning. There are some things that I've observed in that time that I feel have helped me become if not a good fisherman, then at least achieved a basic competency (ie. I rarely get skunked.) The following applies specifically to the Potomac River, but may be applicable elsewhere.

I'm always looking for something "different." If I'm fishing the main river, I am generally confronted with miles of shoreline with grass, sometimes in heavy surface matts, extending miles in river length and over a hundred yards out from the shore. I look for irregularities in the weed edge, channels cut through it, or places where it is unusually well defined. I also pay close attention to areas where fast water borders slower water. A different scenario is fishing the creek tributaries that enter the river. These are often a series of connected bays. Each one of these bays has a "drain"-- an area where tidal current has created a bottom irregularity that presents both deeper water, and a bottom composition that is often gravel and shell rather than the usual mud. When the outgoing tide is moving water through the "drain," bass lurk in the generally broken vegetation on either side of it waiting for bait to be swept by.

Surface fish activity is also something to look for, baitfish jumping or bass breaking the surface indicate that the fish are feeding--always worth a few casts. If no bait fish are observed, either jumping or on the graph, I move elsewhere.

Looking for different temperatures than what is prevailing is also important. In the spring when water is by and large relatively cool in most of the river/lake look for the warmest water you can find. In the summer, look for the coolest.

[blanked]

Underwater islands, mounds, or humps are a deep water angler's delight; these spots are especially productive when power is being generated at the dam, causing a current in the reservoir. Bait fish will gather on the upper end of these mounds and the bass will bunch up to feed on them. When located near a creek or river these areas can be your big bass spot. A crank bait/Rat-L-Trap fished across the top or plastics can fill your stringer quickly; position your boat shallow and deep covering the entire structure from every angle.

The depth is not a requirement I use when selecting an underwater islands, mounds, or humps. There are other more important requirements desired like availability of cover, proximity to a river/creek channel, irregular features.

Many anglers ask how long do you fish new structure before you give up on it; if all the above mentioned requirements exist I never give up on a location. Some times I'll get bite immediately on the first try; other times it'll maybe after several tries.

doesnt the time of day dictate if bass are still in a feeding mode to be chasing shad? how about summer versus fall. in fall are bass in a constant feeding mode most of the day chasing shad all day long? so if you find a hump outside of the feeding times do you concentrate on reaction type lures only? or will bass still be at humps at all outside of feeding times

[Catt]

Question: Doesn't the time of day dictate if bass are still in a feeding mode to be chasing shad?  

Answer: The bass itself will determine when it's in a feeding mood

Question: How about summer versus fall.   In fall are bass in a constant feeding mode most of the day chasing shad all day long?  

Answer: I'm not aware of any season when bass are in a constant feeding mode; during pre-spawn & fall the bass will feed more but constant isn't a term I would use.

Question: So if you find a hump outside of the feeding times do you concentrate on reaction type lures only?   Or will bass still be at humps at all outside of feeding times

Answer: Depends on your definition of reaction lures; structure will hold bass 24/7, the key is to find where on the structure the cover is located and then you will locate the bass.

[Raul]

doesnt the time of day dictate if bass are still in a feeding mode to be chasing shad? how about summer versus fall. in fall are bass in a constant feeding mode most of the day chasing shad all day long? so if you find a hump outside of the feeding times do you concentrate on reaction type lures only? or will bass still be at humps at all outside of feeding times

Who says there 's shad ? in my neck of the woods there 's no shad. And I would approach that particular type of structural feature pretty much in the way Catt would.