Bass Tidbit .7

[Buddy Sanders]

A point about points.

Once you become familiar with a body of water, you will discover lots of areas that hold bass. Those quirky little spots that aren't obvious, the ones you only know about through luck, accident, or diligence.

Until you find those spots, though, where do you start?

Where do you go on an 'unfamiliar' body of water?

Points!

Points, those places where the land protrudes out into the water, are 'sure fire', always hold fish, got to check out places on any body of water.

Chose which point to start at by the time of year.

Early season 'prespawn' through post spawn, you want what we call 'secondary points'. These are usually smaller points along the sides of the great big ones that form major coves or arms of a lake. The bass will stage on these, working their way back from the main lake to the shallows until they spawn, then work their way back out again.

AS the water warms then throughout the summer, the main lake points (the great big ones) are the places to begin. These large terrain features will hold fish all year long, and with a bit of attention you can find the little nuances that concentrate the fish. The fish will generally be deeper during midday, shallower in the mornings and evenings.

Fall will bring a return to secondary points as the fish begin to feed up for winter. Look for them to be moving around a lot, chasing baitfish or foraging for food.

Winter brings us back to the main lake. Look for steep points where the water gets deep fast. Points that are close to the damn in man made lakes, or ones that invade the deepest water on natural ones are the places to start at this time of year.

Just general 'where to begin' guidelines. Once you learn your particular body of water well, you'll find that there are lots of exceptions and 'spots' where you can find fish just about anytime.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Robert McMahan]

Good advice Buddy, as always. I used to carry this in my billfold. How to fish a new lake for bass:
1.Fish the same area you would fish on your home lake that time of year.
2.Points
3.Rip rap
4.Weed beds
5.Boat docks
6.Bridges
Good luck,
Robert

[jsalkas]

The last place I cast is in the middle of the lake. If you're standing on shore, you're standing on a key piece of "structure". My first casts when I'm shore fishing are along the bank and then I gradually fan further out.

Think about it... if you're fishing from a boat, generally the first areas you hit are shoreline structure. If you're fishing from the shore, it's to your advantage to parallel the shoreline, running your fly across multiple ambush areas for the bass (actually, for almost everything that swims, in moving and still water). The one thing to beware of is that when you're panfishing, frequently the smaller sunfish move into the very shallow water and you could end up catching a lot of dinks.