I recently went to a different lake that I frequent, and noticed several schools of baitfish schooling on top of the water. Is that an indication that bass are generally going to be in shallow water, or suspending over deep water. Where some of the schools were positioned I know the water is 12 to 20 feet there. there is plenty of matted grass in these areas as well as gradual and sharp drops. What type of baits would you throw, and how are the bass going to relate to this kind of area. time of day: 2:00-3:00pm
air temp: 85-90
bright sunny day
Baitfish location
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
Baitfish location
Hi Joshua,
Do you know what kind of baitfish were schooling up? Regardless, you are off to a good start if you found bait, depth and cover... All three elements can make for a good bass holding/feeding area.
Did you see any bass breaking the surface and charging the school of bait? If so, I would start by working a top water bait, which looks like the baitfish that are in the area.
If they are not, I would try using a slow falling soft plastic lure that also looks like the baitfish. Bass will typically position themselves under the school and something that will fall through the bait and looks like an injured baitfish will usually trigger a strike.
With the presence of weed, when the bass are not feeding, they should hold up in and under the matted grass. I would recommend trying a flipping tube Texas rigged with a 3/4 to 1 oz bullet sinker. At the time of day you described, you may need to get the tube right down into the heart of the matted grass in order to trigger a strike. Make sure you are using heavy line so you can horse the fish out of the matted grass when you hook up.
Let us know how you make out...
Happy 4th of July...
BC
Do you know what kind of baitfish were schooling up? Regardless, you are off to a good start if you found bait, depth and cover... All three elements can make for a good bass holding/feeding area.
Did you see any bass breaking the surface and charging the school of bait? If so, I would start by working a top water bait, which looks like the baitfish that are in the area.
If they are not, I would try using a slow falling soft plastic lure that also looks like the baitfish. Bass will typically position themselves under the school and something that will fall through the bait and looks like an injured baitfish will usually trigger a strike.
With the presence of weed, when the bass are not feeding, they should hold up in and under the matted grass. I would recommend trying a flipping tube Texas rigged with a 3/4 to 1 oz bullet sinker. At the time of day you described, you may need to get the tube right down into the heart of the matted grass in order to trigger a strike. Make sure you are using heavy line so you can horse the fish out of the matted grass when you hook up.
Let us know how you make out...
Happy 4th of July...
BC
Brendan C.
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dansfishntales
- Posts: 248
- Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2002 5:00 pm
Baitfish location
I've fished in a lot of bait fish situations. This is especially true in Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas. To help explain some techniques I've taken a part of an article I wrote a couple of years ago, and pasted it in this posting.
No matter what time of the year, following the bait fish is one of the best ways to locate bass. As John Eastwold, owner of the Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock, says, “Locate the kitchen, and the fish won’t be far away”.
The surfacing shad are easy to find. Schools with fish under them are very close to the surface, and can be seen easiest on calm days. When fish are in a feeding action the water is boiling with activity, which is commonly know as a “shad bust”. Then there are the bait fish which are slightly below the surface. These can be seen when the water is clear, as is the case on Bull Shoals. Again, a calm day is the easiest viewing.
Suspended schools are a bit more tricky, and require the use of a good depth
finder. During this trip I found schools of fish that were so big that they actually changed the depth finders numerical bottom reading. In one instance I saw what looked to be a peak of bottom jumping from 30 feet to just below the surface, but in reality it was a stack of shad and feeding bass. Dropping a jigging spoon in to this cluster couldn’t miss. Wow, what action.
My favorite lures are Mann’s Manniac and Mann-O-Lur, Bill Lewis’ Rat-L-Trap
and Spin Trap, Blakemore’s Road Runner and Norman’s Deep Tiny N and Middle N.
Colors are a simple choice of shad, white and chrome. Anything that has a flash or
resembles bait fish will be effective.
All of the crankbaits and the Road Runner are used for the fish found at the
surface, and slightly below. Casts are made on the outer edges of the schools of shad, and retrieved at various speeds until the preferred depth and speed are found. As a last resort, casting is done over the school so that the lure is retrieved directly through the school. Don’t give up if the school disappears from site. The fish are still there so keep casting in a fan pattern. Many times a hard strike will come just as you think the fish have left the
area. Keep moving with the trolling motor, but stay in the general area, and keep
watching for more surfacing action.
Suspended fish are a bit different. As previously described, look for the schools of bait fish, and larger fish on the depth finder,. These many times will be in the deeper water not far from the areas where fish are surfacing. Once located drop a jigging spoon below that depth. Jig the spoon up about 4 to 7 feet and let it fall. The strike will very often come as a thump as the spoon flutters back.
Here are a couple of tips on jigging spoons. If you get snagged don’t try to pull it free. The design and weight of the spoon will act as a “lure knocker”. Bounce the spoon up and down, and over 90 percent of the time this will free the lure. The other tip is to retie often. Especially after catching a couple of fish. Randy Banks, owner of the Country Inn in Bull Shoals, and I discovered that the constant jigging action weakened the knot so
that the spoon could break loose on an upward jerk of the line. It took losing 4 spoons for us to discover what was wrong.
Hope some of this helps in your situation. Just remember there are usually three types of bait fish schools - surface, subsurface, and suspended. They will all have the potential of holding bass in or around the area.
Best of fishing,
Dan
No matter what time of the year, following the bait fish is one of the best ways to locate bass. As John Eastwold, owner of the Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock, says, “Locate the kitchen, and the fish won’t be far away”.
The surfacing shad are easy to find. Schools with fish under them are very close to the surface, and can be seen easiest on calm days. When fish are in a feeding action the water is boiling with activity, which is commonly know as a “shad bust”. Then there are the bait fish which are slightly below the surface. These can be seen when the water is clear, as is the case on Bull Shoals. Again, a calm day is the easiest viewing.
Suspended schools are a bit more tricky, and require the use of a good depth
finder. During this trip I found schools of fish that were so big that they actually changed the depth finders numerical bottom reading. In one instance I saw what looked to be a peak of bottom jumping from 30 feet to just below the surface, but in reality it was a stack of shad and feeding bass. Dropping a jigging spoon in to this cluster couldn’t miss. Wow, what action.
My favorite lures are Mann’s Manniac and Mann-O-Lur, Bill Lewis’ Rat-L-Trap
and Spin Trap, Blakemore’s Road Runner and Norman’s Deep Tiny N and Middle N.
Colors are a simple choice of shad, white and chrome. Anything that has a flash or
resembles bait fish will be effective.
All of the crankbaits and the Road Runner are used for the fish found at the
surface, and slightly below. Casts are made on the outer edges of the schools of shad, and retrieved at various speeds until the preferred depth and speed are found. As a last resort, casting is done over the school so that the lure is retrieved directly through the school. Don’t give up if the school disappears from site. The fish are still there so keep casting in a fan pattern. Many times a hard strike will come just as you think the fish have left the
area. Keep moving with the trolling motor, but stay in the general area, and keep
watching for more surfacing action.
Suspended fish are a bit different. As previously described, look for the schools of bait fish, and larger fish on the depth finder,. These many times will be in the deeper water not far from the areas where fish are surfacing. Once located drop a jigging spoon below that depth. Jig the spoon up about 4 to 7 feet and let it fall. The strike will very often come as a thump as the spoon flutters back.
Here are a couple of tips on jigging spoons. If you get snagged don’t try to pull it free. The design and weight of the spoon will act as a “lure knocker”. Bounce the spoon up and down, and over 90 percent of the time this will free the lure. The other tip is to retie often. Especially after catching a couple of fish. Randy Banks, owner of the Country Inn in Bull Shoals, and I discovered that the constant jigging action weakened the knot so
that the spoon could break loose on an upward jerk of the line. It took losing 4 spoons for us to discover what was wrong.
Hope some of this helps in your situation. Just remember there are usually three types of bait fish schools - surface, subsurface, and suspended. They will all have the potential of holding bass in or around the area.
Best of fishing,
Dan
Dan Galusha : Bassin' USA Prostaff : Illinois
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johnnie crain outdoors
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2002 5:00 pm
Baitfish location
Pugs,
Dan and Brendan have offered great advice and should have you catching fish in no time. At this time of year, there are literally millions of fish fry, new born fish of all species. If you can find these schools near the matted weeds, you've got a great spot. As for the bait fish schooled in open water. That's a common occurance in summer, it may be shad, other minnows or even crappie or bluegill fry. I would fish these either of two ways. First, like Brendan, I'd try a top water, probably a Zara Spook because it will pull fish up from deep water. If this fails, I would cast jigging spoons right into the school and let it sink until fish contact or it hits bottom, let it fall with slight line control, it needs to fall naturally, but you must maintain minimal contact to detect a strike, that likely will only be a tic- watch your line where it enters the water. Lots of luck, Johnnie
Dan and Brendan have offered great advice and should have you catching fish in no time. At this time of year, there are literally millions of fish fry, new born fish of all species. If you can find these schools near the matted weeds, you've got a great spot. As for the bait fish schooled in open water. That's a common occurance in summer, it may be shad, other minnows or even crappie or bluegill fry. I would fish these either of two ways. First, like Brendan, I'd try a top water, probably a Zara Spook because it will pull fish up from deep water. If this fails, I would cast jigging spoons right into the school and let it sink until fish contact or it hits bottom, let it fall with slight line control, it needs to fall naturally, but you must maintain minimal contact to detect a strike, that likely will only be a tic- watch your line where it enters the water. Lots of luck, Johnnie
Johnnie Crain