During
the course of this writing, we're going to explore some of these
bassin' 'fables' and try and relate
them to bassin' 'facts.' My job is to express this exploration
in a reasonably coherent manner. YOUR job is to
read with an open mind and, THEN form your own opinions.
FABLE:
The fish weren't 'biting'.
FACT:
Catching bass is fairly simple; finding them is the hard part.
I'll be
the first to admit that bass do, occasionally, enter periods of
relative dormancy and, during these
times, they can be rather hard to entice into taking a lure.
This state is normally caused by one of three
factors: the passage of a cold front; the fish have recently fed
heavily and not being driven by the feeding
instinct; or, the water temperature is extremely low. Any one
can certainly slow a bass down.
However,
none of these conditions totally apply, at the same time, to an
entire fish population across a
given body of water. Feeding, in the fishy sense, occurs when
hunger manifests itself, or simply when the food
presents itself. 'When the food presents itself' is an important
statement. We all realize that, from his physical
characteristics alone, a bass is an 'eating machine'.
Mother
Nature didn't give him that big old mouth just to be pretty. He
is a predator, in every sense of the
word. It is an observed fact that surface schooling bass will
feed until completely gorged, spit up their stomach
contents, and continue to attack shad. We've all noted
half-digested shad in the live well. The bass that threw
them up certainly shouldn't have been very hungry, yet the
scoundrel took our lure offering a few minutes
earlier.
The
point to be made is that the presence of food, whether it be
real or our artificial, usually will provoke a
response from a bass. We might have to agitate him a bit, but he
can normally be made to strike, hungry or
not. One important point that Buck Perry told us was that the
bass will be in the shallows, in the deep water
areas, or somewhere in-between. Basically, that means we have to
learn how to find them if we intend to
catch them consistently.
This
knowledge is acquired through the study and application of
structure theory, weather effects and
seasonal influence on preferred holding locations and feeding
patterns. When we hear the sad song that
'they're not biting', it's fairly certain that the angler just
didn't present his lure in the presence of fish.
FABLE: You're whizzing down
the lake at full throttle and observe what would appear to be a
good fishing area.
You say to your partner, "Let's fish here--it looks like a
good spot."
FACT:
The selection of a potentially productive fishing location
depends on a rational analysis of what lies
UNDER the surface.
Just
because we see an area of stick-ups dimpling the surface or a
field of nice, big stumps running across
a flat, does not mean that we will automatically find bass
there. Certainly we've all, at one time or another,
attempted to fish one of those areas, only to find that the
water was six inches deep and the bottom was pure
bass-repelling muck. All that glitters is not gold, and that
saying, likewise, applies to possible bassin' areas.
Before
wasting any of your precious fishing time on a particular spot,
always determine if it actually has any
real potential. Ask yourself the following questions: Is it near
deep water, or does it have a definable structure
feature (sloping point, ditch, gravel bar) leading out to deep
water? Is the bottom composition reasonably hard
and clean, rather than mud or slime? Are the depth and cover,
given the degree of water clarity, sufficient to
provide the concealment and safety necessary to hold a bass?
Some of
the finest fishing locations I know of are a mile from any
shoreline and completely void of any
visible features to indicate their existence. Visible cover does
not guarantee bass, but it does draw a lot of
haphazard, time-consuming fishing effort.
FABLE:
Color is the most important aspect in selecting the proper lure.
FACT:
In priority order, the most important characteristics governing
lure selection are depth, speed and size.
At risk
of losing my semi-pro field-tester status, I must inform you
that lures are made to catch fishermen
first and fish second. That is a fact of profit-oriented
business in a capitalistic society. Of course, they must
also catch bass reasonably well in order to remain a successful
market venture for the manufacturer, and most
do so. The myriad of fishing lure colors available will all
catch bass at one time or another. However, color is
simply not a significant factor until we have first considered
those listed above.
Depth is
the all-important characteristic and, unless it is considered
first, we are doomed to being 'possibly
successful' rather than 'predictably successful'. The rationale
is quite simple--if we don't get the lure down to
the bass properly, we will not trigger a strike. If the fish are
gathered on a rock pile or drop off in ten feet of
water, a shallow running lure is not going to take them (unless
they are darn aggressive). Conversely, if the fish
are in two feet of water around stumps, a Magnum Hellbender is
more likely to scare them to death as it tears
up the bottom, rather than invoke a strike. These are two
extreme examples, of course, but we hope we've
made our point.
Speed is
the second most important factor governing lure selection and
comes into play in triggering the
instinct to strike in a bass. If the fish are active and
aggressive, a fast moving lure will immediately produce. If,
due to a weather front or cold water, the bass are lethargic and
relatively inactive, it often requires a slow,
teasing retrieve to finally get a response.
Once
we've gotten the lure in the strike zone (depth), it becomes
important to determine the retrieve speed
which will generate action. This is very important when we are
fishing for school bass, in that getting that first
strike usually causes a competitive spirit to arise in the
school and the other fish become more active.
Speed is
a trial and error aspect and must be determined by the angler.
The best advice is that in warm
waters the bass will normally be active and a fast retrieve is
preferred, while in the colder seasons (or after the
passage of a cold front with a sharply rising barometer) a slow
presentation is best.
Size is
a seasonal characteristic and is primarily a selection factor
that depends on water temperature.
Warm water means high body metabolism for a cold-blooded bass
and that means he must eat more to
sustain life. His mind must make rapid calculations as to
whether the food he is about to chase down will
give an appreciable return on the investment in energy expended
to catch it. Consequently, a large lure seems
best during the warmer seasons.
The
reverse is true in the Winter, in that he does not require the
bulk of food as before and will take smaller
lures. And, when the bass is cold and lethargic and relatively
inactive, it often requires a slow, teasing retrieve
to finally get a response. Once we've gotten the lure in the
strike zone (depth), it becomes important to
determine the retrieve speed which will generate action. This is
very important when we are fishing for school
bass,
FABLE: Hot Summer weather
drives all bass to the deep holes.
FACT:
While the surface temperature may be near 90, ten feet down it
will normally be between 72 and 78
degrees, well within the recorded comfort zone for a bass.
With a temperature probe, the angler
can easily prove this for himself. This fable probably has it
roots in the
fact that, after spawning, the bass generally leave the
shallows. The angler, now frustrated because he cannot
find the fish, notes that the weather is warming and blames it
for driving the bass to the deep zones.
In
actuality, two other natural things were the cause for leaving
the shallows. First, with the spawn
completed, the bass simply returned to the living areas where
they spend ten months out of the year. Second,
the food supply, which was also called to the shallows by the
Spring warmth, has likewise moved off shore.
While
the living locations for some bass may, in fact, be deep, a
large number never seem to go past 18
feet. Throughout the Summer months, bass can nearly always be
found on easily reachable structure.
FABLE:
The water was too high.
FACT:
High water allows the bass access to new food supplies in the
rich and fertile once-dry bank or flat areas.
Even in
muddy, rising waters, professional fishermen told us that the
bass, particularly the larger ones, will
immediately move up to feed. Areas of thick grass and standing
timber are emphasized as the most
productive. I recall a year that the Virginia State Championship
was won on an extremely high Buggs Island
Lake by tossing crank plugs in six feet of water around flooded
homes and house trailers. Sorta like fishin' in
your backyard.
FABLE:
The water level was falling, or it was too low.
FACT:
Dropping water levels or low conditions force the bass out of
his normal cover areas and onto the
channel edge or closest structure breakline.
This
fact makes the fish easier to find and greatly reduces the areas
in which we must search for him.
When all the grass and brush tops are dry, the bass has no place
to go but those structure features and he'll
be there most every time. Anglers who spent their time on rivers
or tidal waters know this fact well.
FABLE: You need a big boat,
a 150 horsepower motor and a lot of electronic equipment to
catch bass today.
FACT:
There are five essential items needed to catch all the bass you
want-- a movable platform to fish from,
decent equipment with which to present the lure, a proper lure
selection (to adequately cover all depth ranges),
a depth finder and a dose of common sense.
Large,
fast boats give us the ability to move about rapidly and fish a
lot of water--and we do so. The problem
is, consequently, that we fail to thoroughly work any of it and
wind up bypassing most of the fish. When the
motor is running, the lures are in the boat. Dry lures catch few
fish.
When we
say decent equipment, we really mean reliable and properly
suited to the task. It doesn't have to
be costly to be good quality, so choose wisely. While we may
occasionally cut a corner or two with
equipment, NEVER do so with your line. It should be the best you
can obtain. Your only link to that trophy
of a lifetime will be that piece of string. Proper lure
selection guidance can fill a book all its own. Suffice to say
that this part of your equipment is chosen the way you would
fill a tool box--each piece to do a specific job.
There
are many electronic devices on the market which are touted as
necessary to catch bass. However, in
questioning the pro's, only one is considered indispensable and
that is the flasher unit depth finder. Contrary to
the belief of many, it's main intent is not to see fish; it is
used to locate structure where fish are most likely to
be. Use it for that purpose, and with that dose of common sense,
and it will become the SECOND most
valuable piece of equipment in your boat.
The
FIRST is that thing you carry around on your shoulders.
One
important point that Buck Perry told us was that the bass will
be in the shallows, in the deep water
areas, or somewhere in-between. Basically, that means we have to
learn how to find them if we intend to catch
them consistently. This knowledge is acquired through the study
and application of structure theory, weather
effects and seasonal influence on preferred holding locations
and feeding patterns.
So, when we hear the sad song
that 'they're not biting', it's fairly certain that the angler
just didn’t FIND the fish. |
