| Low Water Scouting For Game Fish | |
|
Part 1: Catching A Bass
This article was written for Georgia Sportsman Magazine, but it should work in your area, too.
I could feel the half-ounce lead bouncing over limbs in the cedar tree 15 feet below the surface of Clark's Hill. The hot late-June sun was still high in the sky at 3:00 and I just knew a bass had to be hiding from it in the thick limbs of the tree.
When the lead cleared the last limb, I let it settle to the bottom right beside the brush pile, imagining the Sportsman Superfloater worm suspended 30 inches above it. I could just see the purple worm floating just at the top of the brush, wiggling like something alive. I was ready to set the hook at the slightest tap, since any hesitation would give a bass time to get back into the cover.
When the tap came and I set the hook, the bass almost pulled me out of the boat. I was not ready for such a strong fish, but fortunately she ran away from the brush rather than back into it. A few minutes later after a great fight, she pulled my DeLiar scales to 8 1/4 pounds. I put her back into the water to return to the hidden brush.
That brush pile was on a ridge in Germany Creek. I found it when the lake dropped 18 feet low one winter. That is how I knew it was a cedar tree, I had seen it. Actually seeing deep structure is a great way to understand how to fish it, and scouting when the water is low is the easiest way to locate hidden honey holes.
I grew up just a few miles from Clark's Hill and my family has had a place at Raysville Boat Club since 1966, so it is my favorite place to scout. Other Corps of Engineer lakes like West Point, Hartwell, Russell and Lanier are drawn down every winter, and that gives fishermen the perfect opportunity to scout for fish attracting structure that will be deep under the surface at full pool.
Next page > Why scout when the water is low? > Page 2, 3, 4
Check out Coming Next Week - Next week's column topic, contest prize and new additions to the resources lists.
