Below is a page I'm planning to put in my new website on how to find fish for beginner bass fisherman. I'd like some feedback on what you think of the page, like is it well writen? Do you think I left anything out that was important? Tnx and don't feel bad about pointing out flaws in it.
I’m going to talk a little bit here on how and where to find bass. This page is geared more for the beginner bass fisherman, but even you guys that have been fishing a few years might pick up some good info here. First off let me say that bass lake structure varies greatly across the country. Bass lakes range from huge shallow lakes of Florida, to deep muddy reservoir in Virginia, or the deep super clear lakes in California. However some things hold true in almost any place you fish. One of the first rules of bass fishing is “Wood is Good”. Almost any kind of wood that’s in the water, or just above it will often times hold fish. Whether it is a fallen tree in the water or just some submerged bushes, wood holds fish. Willow trees that overhang a lake or pond, or hanging into it is even better, will almost always hold a ton of fish and is one of my favorite places to fish. You want to look for little pockets to cast into. This requires some skill in learning to put your bait where you want it, but will pay off many times over in putting more and bigger fish to the boat. If your not getting hung up in the bushes or on a submerged limbs some of the time you’re not getting your bait in there you need to be. Overhanging trees for the most part, the farther you can get your bait back under that tree the more and bigger fish you’ll get. Sunken trees, stumps, brush piles, are all good fish holding structures. The next rule is, if wood is good, “Green is Great”. By green I mean weeds, most all weeds in the water can and do hold fish. The key is to figure out what kind of weeds, and where to fish them. I’d say the most important part of weed structure is weed edges of any kind. Cattails, lily pads, reeds, grasses, hydrilla, and probably 100 other water plants will hold fish. The secret as to whether or not any given patch of weeds holds fish is based on just a couple things. First it must have cover for the fish to hide in, but it must also have either good depth or a pretty solid mat of weeds on top to keep the light low. BASS PREFER low light conditions, but they also need ample cover and prefer deeper water nearby. To achieve that they hide under weeds such as lily pad mats or in any weed that looks like a little underwater forest and has 3 or more feet of water depth. Water clarity is very import in this equation too. The clearer the water the more depth a bass needs to feel comfortable. In very muddy water bass can be found in 1 foot of water without much cover, but will hold tight to what cover there is. In bass fishing you’ll hear a lot about outside and inside edges. Many times you will find weeds near the shoreline that have a small to large gap of open water between it and the bank. The side of the weeds that is nearest the bank is the inside edge, and the lake side is the outside edge. Generally speaking your outside edge is where you will find most of the bigger fish, but it depends on time of year, weather and other factors where they will be any given day. Lets look at the drawing below and I’ll explain what to look for on the lake you fish, for bass holding water. From left to right, first you have some scum that has blown up against the bank to make a good sun screen. In that same place you have a deadfall tree in the water that goes down 8 to 10 ft. This is perfect bass habitat, as the fish have 3 forms of cover. Water depth is an important means of cover to the fish also. Add that to the deadfall tree and the layer of scum on the top and it equals FISH! Any time you have more then 1 type of cover together the better the spot will likely be!
The more often you can put more then one type of cover together the better chance it might hold some fish. Next thing to the right is a pile of rocks in deeper water. Bass will seek out rocks because crawfish like rocks and bass love crayfish. Any good boulder pile will hold some big fish at some time or another. This is a good mid-day type of place to fish when the sun is high and bass are deep. Next is a shallow weedy hump out in the middle of the lake. Places like this are good bass habitat as long as the water nearby is deep enough for the fish to feel safe. One thing you don’t want to overlook is manmade structure, such as an old car body on the bottom, or just a big tire. Rock walls and jetties are also good spots. Possibly the best manmade structures that hold fish though are boat docks. Not all docks hold fish though; you want to seek out the ones that are made from floating logs and the closer to the water the better. If you can combine a dock with some weeds under it and maybe a patch of lily pads next to it or a bunch of brush under it, you’ve got a prime spot. Don’t waste time fishing metal or plastic docks as they rarely hold any fish. Any dock that is very low to the water can hold fish though. If it has other cover near it. The next piece of structure on the drawing shows a patch of lily pads with an inside and outside edge. Look for big bass on the outside edge in the summertime and in early spring. Bass will be on the inside edge to the bank in the spring when the fish are spawning, if the bottom is not to muddy. Bass need a sand or gravel bottom to spawn in. They will scoop out a shallow bowl in the gravel about 18” to 32” around to lay their eggs in. Bass at this time of the year in my opinion should only be caught and released immediately, as other fish will move in and destroy a nest in a few minutes if left unguarded. I’m not a fan of any tournaments held at this time of the year that keep fish in a live well. I also am a firm believer in total catch and release for your larger bass. I wish that all states would adopt a live release policy of all bass over 16“. If you were fishing a tournament it would be legal to have larger fish in the live well, but other wise it would not. OK, enough preaching. The last thing on the map is a reed patch on the far right bank. In late spring to mid summer bass can be found in the shallowest water on the lake, as long as it some type of cover. If it has more then one type of cover it could equal a fishing bonanza.
This last drawing of lake structure shows flooded trees on the left with a stump field in front of it. An old creek bed with a steep bank on one side with a weed covered point that runs deep to shallow above it. A brush pile in deep water. Next is has a outside edge weed bed and a shallow point inside edge. It has a shallow flat with some short grass and gravel with a deadfall over it. Where do you think you would find fish in the early spring before the spawn? How about during the spawn and then after? Or late fall? Winter? Learning to read the water and figuring out where the fish would be for that time of year and time of day is the most important part of becoming a successful bass fisherman. In general you would find fish on the outside weed edge in the
early spring, up on the flats during the spawn and into the late summer in the evenings. Back out into deeper water on the stumps and sunken tree top, or brush piles for the cold months. This will not hold true everywhere in the country but will help 95% of you find and catch more fish if you use Fish-N-Fool Lures. The Sink-N-Fool will catch bass shallow and deep. Fish it in the thickest cover you can find rigged weed less like I covered on page 7 and get ready to catch some big old hogs. Remember with the Sink-N-Fool Less you work the bait the more fish you will catch. In this case Less really is More.
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