The Search For Quality Bass

Well maybe it would be better to

ask how to just find bass or is it

the question, what’s the best

lure to use? How deep do I fish? What

time of day would be the best? The questions

that one can ask in the pursuit of finding

bigger fish are endless.

There are so many things in fishing that

influences a day on the water, and then to ask

how to find quality bass on top of that could

throw any seasoned veteran into a high speed

wobble. Just as we had to learn how to crawl

before we walked, and walked before we

could run, there are a few steps we need to

know and know well before we even put a line

in the water.

Since I just mentioned water, let’s start there;

“get rid of the water”! Understanding the topographical

layout of any body of water from

lakes, streams, rivers, to tidal waters is the

starting point and the foundation to finding

quality bass. Wait, let me rephrase that; to find

any bass period! Can we just turn that body of

water upside down and shake it a few times to

get a quick look? I think not. And guess what?

Learning how to find these areas will not be an

easy task either. Yes, this is going to be a lot of

work in the form of “time on the water” from

looking at your graphs, reading lake maps, to

even surfing the web on Goggle Earth. The

time spent here is worth the effort. OK, what

should you be looking for? Points, ridges,

creek channels, flats, and humps! Oh, I am

sorry; you did not hear me— points, ridges,

creek channels, flats, and humps. Remember, it

doesn’t matter if you are fishing water that is 4

feet deep in the middle of Franks Track (

California Delta ), to the middle of Lake Shasta

in 100 feet of water; structure is the always the

first place to start your search.

The key here after finding the structure is to

find the spot on spot on each of these structure

elements, the exact location were the bass will

hit your bait. To paint you a picture so you can

understand what spot on spot means is this:

Spot #1 is a long tapering point that runs out

into a creek channel, spot #2 ( spot on that spot

) is the rock pile setting in 20 feet of water on

top of the point. It could also be a small patch

of grass, a stump, tire, cinder blocks, or just a

great break line (structure) were the point falls

into the channel. How fast can you find all of

these spot on spots within the lake that you are

fishing? Honest truth is, maybe your whole

life. I know that can be a big pill to swallow,

but look at what we have experienced just in

the last few years. In California alone, we have

seen record low water levels to record high

water levels that happened over night with the

big rains a few years back. This will keep all of

us on our toes to stay in tune with all the available

areas to fish at any water level. The key

here is “THINGS CHANGE”! Remember

with falling water levels from droughts, maintenance

on local reservoirs, tides, or even the

unexpected broken levee, that with a keen eye

and a quick picture from a camera, a push of a

button to save it on a GPS, pen marks on your

lake map or even a short film from your hand

held camcorder, you will stay one step ahead of

the other guy that’s not willing to put in a little

hard work.

So is that it? Is that all you need to know

on how to find quality bass? The answer is

NO. That is just the one part where you are

learning to crawl.

This brings us to the BBZ (Big Bass Zone,

the book) that I did with my good friend, Mike

Jones a few years back. Within the book there

are many different approaches to start to look

for quality bass and a “must have” in any fishing

library. But for now, here are some simple

steps to getting started.

1. Location, (points, humps, creek channels,

points, and flats); this is the building blocks

and the foundation as I explained earlier.

2. T.M.B, now that we understand how the

structure lays out, we can now break down the

depth of the water were the bass could be

located at any given moment within the day

you are fishing (top, middle, bottom of the

water column).

3. Angles, where creating a funnel (a given

area were a bass can push its prey into a compromising

position against structure or cover)

where proper boat positioning is just as important

to maximizing the spot on spot that you

have found (uphill, downhill, etc).

4. Techniques, the true magic bullet for

catching bigger fish, as long as it is in conjunction

with location, location, location. ( dead

sticking either on top or bottom of the water

column, ripping, pitching, flipping, slow

rolling, trolling, or wind drifting).

5. Cadence, the basic speed of any lure

within a given technique that you are using to

cover the water column and to create a reaction

from the bass.

6. LISTEN TO THE FISH! This might be

harder than you think but everyone will find

themselves pushing the issue of a certain technique

that the fish just don’t want. And how to

do you know when this happens?