When the Bass are Down Deep
by Adam Johnson
There's a
lake I've been fishing since I was just a small boy that has some
interesting structure to it. The mid-lake humps only rise from
the bottom a few feet. The tops are in about 26 feet and the
bottom edges are in about 33 feet. These are deep sunken islands
and they hold lots of nice bass.
Fortunately
this lake is very clear so when I use my favorite technique for
deep-water bass I don't have to add any weight to the line to get
the crankbait down. I just tie on a deep diver that runs to about
20 feet and cast this lure as far as I can with a baitcasting rig.
It's amazing
that the bass you see on the sonar that are near the bottom in 26
to 30 feet of water will come up quite a ways to inhale that lure
as it wobbles back to the boat. Some people say that deep-water
fish aren't that aggressive. I say they're wrong. These bass on
these humps are there because that's where the forage is
concentrated and they're feeding which makes them real susceptible
to a crankbait buzzing by over their heads.
While the
crankbaits are great when the fish are in a positive feeding mode,
occasionally you have to add some finesse to the presentation.
This happens if there is a shift in the weather or lots of
pressure on the spot, which conditions the more aggressive fish.
What I do in this situation is tie on a half-ounce jig and tip it
with a scented crawfish trailer.
The jig can
be presented vertically and this will generate bites, but I prefer
to cast the jig out and wait it out while it settles to the
bottom. To move the jig I raise the rod tip. This keeps the line
tight so I can feel the bite. When the rod tip reaches about
eleven o'clock I reel it down to about a foot above the water and
slowly raise it again, dragging that jig across the bottom. When
the bass inhales it, you can really feel that tug.
I've had
anglers tell me that pulling fish out of deep water is tough on
them. There's a little bit of truth to that, but when I see a
bass chasing my crankbait right up to the surface as I'm
retrieving it I wonder if there is that much affect on these fish
when they come out of deeper water. If that was the case why
would these bass be chasing the lure all the way from the deep to
the shallows.
I do
recommend releasing any fish immediately when you drag them out of
the depths so they can get back down into the deep water and
reacclimate themselves. There's little doubt in my mind that it's
better for the fish to get back into deep water than to leave them
in the livewell to recuperate.
I'm not
overly fond of fishing bass in deep water. I would much rather
watch them explode on a crankbait or see them swirl at a
shallow-running crankbait or spinnerbait. But when those bass are
deep you don't have much for choices. You tie on a crankbait that
will get to them, or grab the rod with the jig on it. Either way
you're going to catch some down-deep bass.
Adam Johnson
is a professional outdoorsman that holds a degree in Aquatics
Biology. You can enjoy more of Adam's insights at his web site:
www.adamjohnsonoutdoors.com.
