a. FOOD
b. OXYGEN
c. COVER (or structure)
that’s it, and vegetation offers it all! Now, I know what some of you are asking yourselves, you are thinking; well, what if there’s no vegetation right? Then simply go to the other elements 2, 3, 4, and 5 that I mentioned above.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but, how many of you anglers’ fish the weed lines and never go in the midst of the weeds? I can’t tell you how many times (while showing my students how to fish weeds) that we will go to weedy areas just to see other anglers fish the outside weed lines for a while, and then, watch them move on. After they pull away from the outside weed area, I will pull the boat up into the midst of the weeds (in the same areas where these other anglers were fishing) and start catching bass (usually nice quality ones.)
I have known many anglers over the past years that have just hated to pull up weeds, or they don’t like when they get weeds on their boat carpets or in their boats, or they just get tired of picking the weeds off their hooks. Well guess what? I’ll suffer through these bothersome weeds any day of the week because that’s where you will usually find the bass in numbers.
There are several different baits and techniques that can be a bit tricky to use when fishing weedy areas and I won’t go into them right now, but keep in mind that weeds (especially when you find several different types of vegetation in one area) are by far my number one choice to fish than all the other areas combined.
One of the best places you’ll find bass would be in vegetation areas, especially if you have different types of structure in the weeds, and even better yet!, if this weedy, structured, area is close to where the shallow water meets the deep water…..Boy-O-Boy!.....Hold-On!.....Try It, “You’ll Like It!”
Now, if you can’t seem to find any vegetation areas on your body of water, then, look for the structure. Structure can consist of many different things like:
1. Rip-Rap (chunk rock areas)…
2. Overhangs (where tree branches hang over the water)…
3. Docks…
4. Stumps…
5. Irregular contours…
6. Rocky areas…
7. Road beds…
8. Ditches…
So really, just about anything other than the flat, smooth, bottoms that offer nothing at all (which are a waste of time to fish anyway) would be considered as structure areas.
I hope this article has given you a better insite on what to look for when it comes to locating bass. I know that what I have shared with you certainly helps me, and I hope that it can help you to!
If you wish to learn bass fishing, and might be interested in attending my 3-Day “On-Water” Bass Fishing School located on the world’s famous Lake Champlain or Lake George (located in upstate NY), or maybe you would just like to charter a day of bass fishing? You can contact me by calling (518) 597-4240 or you can visit my web site at www.capital.net/~rlbrown or simply email me at rlbrown@capital.net .
Until next time, take Care & God Bless! “The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown
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