Shallow or Deep??

[Mich. St8 Spartan]

Been fishing in a club this year for the first time.  I usually fish shallow like docks, down trees, stumps, mostly because I have never felt comfortable fishing deep water.  This year in our club it seems that the biggest bass have been caught from 10+.  Now I know that weather, pressure and activity on the water all contribute to the fishes actions but do you fish shallow or deep?  Or do you tend to change as the year goes on??

[Shane J]

I tend to change as the day goes on, usually starting shallow, then moving off deeper if the bite slows in the shallow areas.

[Lund Explorer]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state!   ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline.  I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year.  I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'.  The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight.  Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

[Vinny Chase]

After fishing 90% of the time in deeper water i can tell you for a fact that you are going to get bigger fish on average then shallow water. I like to start in in shallow water in the morning and then work my way out. You said that you like to fish structure, so fish deep water structure the same way.

[Mich. St8 Spartan]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA! 

Thanks for the post.  Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

[aarogb]

I like fishing deep, but I love fishing shallow so I will usually start there. I will progessively get deeper as the days go on until I find what depth they are holding at.

[scrutch]

I want to go deep more often but can't locate structure well enough with my "antique" fish finder.  When I DO upgrade to HB SS sonar, I'll be fishing deep structure a lot more often.

OH BTW... I too love RichRod in AA!  GO IRISH!!

[Lund Explorer]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA!

Thanks for the post. Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

I normally start out with a 1/8oz sinker, but will up size to a 1/4oz or 3/8oz depending on he amount of wind.  The key is to stay in contact with the bait.

Toss it out and let it drop all the way to bottom.  When you pick up on the line, you should be able to just feel the bait.

Now just be prepared in case a CMU fan decides to post! 

[Catt]

I usually start the day off deep & stay deep

scrutch, how old your depth finder is or how much you paid for it not essential for finding structure, your ability to use it is.

[Mich. St8 Spartan]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA!

Thanks for the post. Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

I normally start out with a 1/8oz sinker, but will up size to a 1/4oz or 3/8oz depending on he amount of wind. The key is to stay in contact with the bait.

Toss it out and let it drop all the way to bottom. When you pick up on the line, you should be able to just feel the bait.

Now just be prepared in case a CMU fan decides to post!

:-[

Thanks for the help.  I guess I need to get some patience and start fishing a lot slower.

[Bass Fisher55]

It's kind of a fact that big fish tend to hangout in deeper water, that's not to say you won't find a big bass in shallow.  But if I were you I would fish both if you can.  If the fish aren't biting in the deep water, try the shallow water.  For the deep water I would have some heavy jig heads, deep diving crankbaits, and some rattle traps.

[Grey Wolf]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA!

Thanks for the post. Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

I normally start out with a 1/8oz sinker, but will up size to a 1/4oz or 3/8oz depending on he amount of wind. The key is to stay in contact with the bait.

Toss it out and let it drop all the way to bottom. When you pick up on the line, you should be able to just feel the bait.

Now just be prepared in case a CMU fan decides to post!

:-[

Thanks for the help. I guess I need to get some patience and start fishing a lot slower.

Why the sad face ? Who knows you may actually become a better angler by following the great advice you got here.

[Lund Explorer]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA!

Thanks for the post. Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

I normally start out with a 1/8oz sinker, but will up size to a 1/4oz or 3/8oz depending on he amount of wind. The key is to stay in contact with the bait.

Toss it out and let it drop all the way to bottom. When you pick up on the line, you should be able to just feel the bait.

Now just be prepared in case a CMU fan decides to post!

:-[

Thanks for the help. I guess I need to get some patience and start fishing a lot slower.

Why the sad face ? Who knows you may actually become a better angler by following the great advice you got here.

That long face is probably because that deep slow fishing can seem a little boring compared to pounding docks.  Dock fishing always seems to require some goofy sidearmed cast into an impossibly tight spot.  A good cast, even when it doesn't produce a fish is still a miniature victory of sorts.

But in the long run, the real victory that counts in tournament fishing, takes place at the weigh-in which is where deep fishing seems to get you there more often than the dock pattern.

BTW, would this be a good place to make a confession to Sparty?  That Lund parked in my garage is...... GREEN!   

[Mich. St8 Spartan]

I would tell you the secret Sparty, but first you'll have to drive to Ann Arbor, crate up RichRod, and ship him out of state! ;D

Seriously, you need to start spending more of your non-tournament time getting out on to the deep weedline. I'm a long time dock fisherman, but I know that the better fish are deep this time of year. I made the move 100% this year, and I've been having more luck than I ever did pounding the shoreline.

T-Rig a 7" power worm, and start looking about 16'. The only big difference is relying more on feel than sight. Once you've slowed down, the bites will come.

Go Blue!

First of all I think I like Rich Rod in AA!

Thanks for the post. Just curious, what weight do you use when TRing?

I normally start out with a 1/8oz sinker, but will up size to a 1/4oz or 3/8oz depending on he amount of wind. The key is to stay in contact with the bait.

Toss it out and let it drop all the way to bottom. When you pick up on the line, you should be able to just feel the bait.

Now just be prepared in case a CMU fan decides to post!

:-[

Thanks for the help. I guess I need to get some patience and start fishing a lot slower.

Why the sad face ? Who knows you may actually become a better angler by following the great advice you got here.

That long face is probably because that deep slow fishing can seem a little boring compared to pounding docks. Dock fishing always seems to require some goofy sidearmed cast into an impossibly tight spot. A good cast, even when it doesn't produce a fish is still a miniature victory of sorts.

But in the long run, the real victory that counts in tournament fishing, takes place at the weigh-in which is where deep fishing seems to get you there more often than the dock pattern.

BTW, would this be a good place to make a confession to Sparty? That Lund parked in my garage is...... GREEN!

Well first of all the sad face is actuially an embarassed face (we lost to CMU and Lund was getting a fun jab at my expense ) It is nice to know that you like green as well!!  Remember all good things are green, including Bass.

And you are right about the weigh in. On Sunday I had 4 fish that were outweighed by 1 (deep fishing of course) >