Search Baits for Bass
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
The best way to find fish is to cover lots
of water. Right or wrong? With the shallow nature largemouth bass has,
the
answer is half right and half wrong. Largemouth bass live in depths
of 2 to 20 feet of water most of their lives. Finding the fish means
looking
for two distinct fish.
Some of the bass in lakes and ponds are schoolers.
These fish stay together in roaming packs of anywhere from 10 to
as many as 30 fish. All these fish are the same size and can be mixed
males and
females. These fish forage all together all for shad or other fish.
These fish are on one bank in the morning and move before the afternoon.
Moving
means burning energy and they are almost always hungry.
The other
bass is a loner. One bass next to something as small as a stick off
the bottom.
This single fish lives in one spot and rarely ever ventures very
far. This fish can be a lot harder to find and catch especially if
the fish
is in deeper cover or structure to 10 feet deep.
Finding the
schools means several using the single bait best suited for this technique.
It's a spinner bait. Early in the spring and as late as fall turnover
is a
great time to find and catch fish on this lure. Rig up a double
blade spinner bait. One blade is a willow leaf and the other blade
is
a
Colorado. Blades can be the same color but the best set up is two
different colors.
The next bait is a shallow running crank bait. This bait needs
to be a shad or sunfish imitation. Water colors that are clear
mean a shad
pattern. If the water is off colored or dirty, use a bait
with chartreuse and green colors. The fish can see this bait better.
Now
get in the
warmest
water in the lake and start making long casts. Change baits
every thirty minutes and never be afraid to cast into the center
of the creeks and
channels.
