Profiling Bass In Rivers
I've been getting a lot of e-mail feedback to my last article about profiling. If you missed it check it out: Creating a Profile. It seems I was right in that many anglers want to know more about how to find a particular species of fish under a certain set of conditions. What I call, setting up the profile. The outdoor media has been outstanding in teaching us how to use lures and live bait, but there has been a void when it comes to telling us how to find the fish to get the lure or bait in front of them. In fact, I consider this the most important aspect of fishing. We must set up the profile for the species we’re after so we can take advantage of all that knowledge we’ve accumulated on the tactics and techniques to catch them.
A good percentage of my e-mails were regarding the lack of success anglers find when trying to locate largemouth bass in river systems. One angler was under the impression from all he has read that if you just find some cover in the backwaters you’ll find largemouth bass. That doesn’t hold true in some months because the oxygen levels in shallow backwater regions becomes very low when the water temperatures are high and the only fish that can sustain themselves in these conditions are carp and bullheads.
Let's set up a profile.
In the spring when the water is cool and potentially a bit high from runoff those backwater areas have good potential. Bass and many other species are following the forage into the shallow backwater regions and while cover is important, finding baitfish can help you achieve a higher degree of success.
As the water drops to normal levels the cover becomes more attractive to the bass. Oxygen levels are still good and bass find the sanctuary of the vegetation in the shallow regions as well as the abundance of forage to be desirable.
In the summer months the backwaters become stagnant and the oxygen levels drop. Now the largemouth bass will move to slackwater areas near the main channels. Those riprap shorelines in a wide spot on the river are now where the bass take up residence. Those currentless areas behind an eddy at a bend in the river are also great locations.
Largemouth bass in rivers will swim in the current to get from one spot to another, but typically your best bass fishing will be found where the current is marginal or non-existent.
Some people try to rule out spots when trying to locate fish. What I like to do is create the profile that allows me to pinpoint high-percentage locations. I would rather be catching fish in a likely location than trying to generate a bite where the fish won’t likely be.
Come fall with some heavy rains and falling temperatures those backwater areas will get some bass moving back in. The largemouths spread out now with main channel regions as well as backwater showing some potential. Since the bass are spread out it may take longer to catch as many fish than when they’re concentrated in the spring and summer.
Backwater techniques consist of topwater lures, spinnerbaits, and shallow-diving crankbait.
When the bass move out of the backwaters into the channel zones then deeper-diving crankbaits are your best option.
When the bass are spread out use a fast approach where you can cover some ground. I generally find crankbaits work well for this too. You don’t want to sit in one spot during the late season like you’re apt to do in spring and summer. When the fish are concentrated take as many as you can off a spot. When they’re spread out keep moving and casting, picking off one here and one there.
As you can see putting together a seasonal species-oriented profile will put you in the most likely spots to use those well-honed techniques you’ve learned from all your studies. Next month we’ll talk about finding walleyes in reservoirs.
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