Time to take it up a notch

[NCgreenheads]

I consider myself a decent bass fisherman.  I've fished numerous tournys doing decent.  I love to bass fish, it's my passion.  I feel though it is time for me to take it up a notch.  I have a few fishing buddies but it's them asking "Hey what do I do now?  What do I throw?"  Which I don't mind at all.  Regardless.  Piers, laydowns, shallow brush, bushes......I fish all the shallow stuff good and catch a decent limit.  I need to go deeper I believe to catch more quality fish.  I've fished points and some breaklines without a lot of luck.  I have a good arsenal of deep "stuff" but to where I put them is the problem. I see a lot about channels, roadbeds, etc. and "find their path find the bass."    I've read all the articles on bass resource concerning deep bass.  I apologize about rambling on...................greenheads on my mind.  any advice, tips tricks???

Thanks in advance!

[Sam]

Look for underwater grass, humps, brushpiles, rocks and holes.

Dropoffs are a must, too.

Read articles about fishing deep on this site and on the various pro's web sites.

Use deep diving crankbaits and the drop shot rig.

Other guys will give you some helpful hints, too.

But please read, read and read about fishing deeper and when to fish deep during each season.  

[NCgreenheads]

I dug out my topo map of the lake I fish the most.  I see where the "river channel" runs on the map.  Do I need to try and follow the river channel on the map?  I have seen a very well known fisherman fish a certain part of this before not realizing what he was fishing.  I guess I know now.  Also found some sumerged roadbeds.  What do I look for on my graph once I get in the general area of the roadbeds and channel.  I'm assuming this is where I need to rely on my electronics.  Another quick question.  The map is showing "railroad grades".....Whats that?  Thanks!

[5bass]

Yes, good electronics are a must for locating fish and strucure out deep. Once you've found some spots on your map, get in the area and idle around watching your finder real close. Its easier to run perpendicular to find stuff because your bottom depth will come up fast, level off and then drop down fast.....Thats a hump or possibly a roadbed.

Get yourself some buoy markers and when you come onto something, throw a marker over and leave it. Keep cruising around the area and look for the roadbed somewhere else. When you find it, drop another marker. Get between your two markers and see whats there.....you'll most likely see more of the roadbed.

Dont be afraid to throw out several markers along what you find. I've probably had as many as 12 - 15 markers in the water at once, mapping out where roadbeds and humps are just so I could stand back, look at what I've found and burn the picture of the marker placements into my memory. Once you've got it laid out, I like to idle around over the roadbed or hump and look for any cover thats on it. That cover on structure is key. Its the spot on a spot. All this is called doing your homework. It takes a little time but once you find some spots and understand how they lay out, it will pay off big for years to come.

When you find a hump, be sure to drop your markers on the outsides of the humps where it drops back down. If you dont, you'll only be fishing the top of the hump when the fish may be hanging out on one of the sides in deeper water.

Dont forget to record it all on GPS and pick up your markers.

[Gatorbassman]

If you truly want to become the best offshore structure fisherman that you can be you need to study Buck Perry's writings. He is the father of structure fishing.

http://www.buckperry.com/

[Muddy]

Search out Catt's threads on structure, he is a student of Mr Perry and he shares what he knows here, good advice!

[Eddie Munster]

Here's an article by Buck Perry on structure. Found it searching Yahoo 'Buck Perry Structure' http://www.boats.com/news-reviews/article/buck-perry-on-structure

Use the internet and you'll never be able to read all the free info that's out there.

**EDIT** Here's another 19 page PDF file on structure. Just skimming it looks pretty good and the price is right. http://www.fishnmap.com/structured/Structure-Fishing-Guide.pdf

[mrmacwvu1]

When you catch a fish i would recommend that that you mark it in your GPS, then take down air and water temp. depth cloud cover, what kind of front it was,moon phase, lure, lure speed, lure depth, lure color, line weight and anything else that you can think of.

This sounds like a pain but often being a good fisherman is nothing more than being observant and replicating past success.

[Team9nine]

All of the above is very good advice, and should be read and followed. But if you really want to learn, the best thing you can do is find someone local who is already a really good deep water fisherman and spend some time in the boat with that person.

There is simply no substitute for a good learning day on the water with an expert, and no faster way to pick things up. Once you've done that, then you can go out on your own and modify or define your own style or approach based upon your personal preferences.

-T9

[Cableman]

Practice!

[5bass]

Team9 made a good point about fishing with a more experienced deep water fisherman....the only problem I see with that is actually finding someone who knows some honey holes that is willing to take you to them, show you how to find them, explain whats what when you get there and how to fish them. Those guys are really hard to find. Or real expensive.  

[NCgreenheads]

Just wanted to thank everyone for your input. I applied all I could today fishing. Caught them a little bit of everywhere today. Had roughly 16lbs. Caught a 5 pounder and a 4 pounder deep. The rest were flipping brush or schooling on windblown points. Great day of fishing...............FINALLY! To bad it wasn't a tourny. I honestly feel if it wasn't for Bass Resource and all I've read and gotten advice on, it wouldn't worked this well for me today.

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crestliner2008]

If you truly want to become the best offshore structure fisherman that you can be you need to study Buck Perry's writings. He is the father of structure fishing.

http://www.buckperry.com/

X2  

[Catt]

Buck Perry's writings are outdated; he never considered lake types, types of cover other than grass or even seasonal patterns.

"Take nothing for granted," Buck states flatly. "Never assume bass are shallow, because they may be deep. Never believe they will hit a fast-moving lure, not a slow one. You've got to work an entire structure from shallow to deep with lures that touch bottom [but do not gouge trenches in it], and at different speeds, to be certain the place has been completely checked. If no fish are found, move on to the next good-looking structure and repeat the process. By checking two or three or more structures in this manner throughout a fishing day it's a good bet an angler sooner or later will hit a school of active, feeding bass. When that happens, you can fill your limit fast, and you gotta work quickly, because a school won't stay on a break or breakline long.

Elwood "Buck" Perry