THE BASS COLLEGE

Native says...
Great job Steve, some excellent advice!

Some additional advice that can frequently make or break your outing. Tip your hooks with something, anything to enhance the attraction of your presentation. This time of year requires slow moving techniques that may not have the same attraction as they did when retrieved a bit faster. Adding something to the hooks like a grub tail, angel hair hook dressings, animal fur strip, silicon skirt, gulp bait strips, sponge tip dipped in your favorite scent attached to your hooks all can make an incredible difference when presented to fish that seem more tentative than we'd like at this time of year.

Something else to consider that Steve touched on that's terribly important when you have the opportunity is to identify those shorelines and flats with chunk rock, rip rap, with North and East facing presentations. Why? Because they get the greatest amount of sun throughout the day!!! Better still is the fact that the rock in those North and East facing directions typically retain some of that warmth and serve to warm the surrounding waters, maybe not by much but in some cases much more than other locations not facing those locations; enough to draw and hold many Bass and their forage species (i.e. minnows, etc.). Hugely important!!!

Something else not typically considered a tool in this context especially during the early winter months and before ice covers the water is the presence of decaying organic matter or seaweed. Why? Because decaying matter creates heat, sometimes in confined areas alot of heat. If these areas were covered with ice you'd want to avoid them like the plague because decay creates large quantities of carbon dioxide, which is toxic to virtually all organic species and fish, and with no production of oxygen which all organic species and fish need to survive, especially at the reduced metabolic levels of our Bass when in colder water (i.e. warm water fishes activity levels are dictated by the temperature of there surrounding waters. As the water temperature drops they become more sedentary requiring less energy and less food to survive while increased temps cause the fish to become more active and requiring more energy and more food to survive.). The point being that in areas containing decaying seaweed, especially in coves which tend to confine the warmth generated by the seaweed you may see enough of a temperature differential to attract Bass to peripheral areas of the cove, especially if they face our desired directions! Not long ago I had an opportunity to see this happen. I actually saw fish with their heads pointing out away from the seaweed but side by side keeping each other warm with their own warmth. Their were dozens of them! I couldn't believe it.

Well looks like I've rambled on a bit and for that I apologize but I wanted to share some areas typically neglected or overlooked by fisherman when fishing during these challenging conditions. Hopefully my suggestions, in conjunction with Steve's video, has helped in some small way the next time you get out on the water this time of season!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Tim