Just Sports/Quantum Axcess - Just Sports.iso/basscl/openwat.asc

Text File | 1993-08-04 | 2KB | 41 lines

Fishing open water may be one of the hardest elements of fishing for a
beginner. Although the mechanics of casting and retreiving are easy to do in
open water situations, catching bass is not. When we fish in cover like
weed beds, or around boat docks, we're fishing in an area that we know should
hold fish because we can SEE the cover we're working. In open water, first we
need to locate the cover, and that can be tricky in itself. If you have a
LCD graph, this task is made much easier.

The graph shows the bottom contour, and makes it much easier to detect
structure that is likely to hold fish. Underwater weed beds, rock piles or
old fence rows are all good places to look for fish. Start looking off points
especially for rocky areas. Most bass seem to like to stay in water that is
10 feet deep or less, but there are times when they go deeper. Regardless of
the depth, remember that they always relate to structure. This may be as
subtle as a 12 inch deep depression in the bottom.

You can often see bass hanging around this structure on your graph. Crank
baits are good in these situations, but be sure to match the maximum depth
attained by the crankbait to the depth of the structure. If the crankbait
runs too shallow, it may pass unnoticed over the heads of the fish. Plastic
worms, Gitzits, pig and jigs, and spoons are other possibilities. If the
fish seem especially aggressive, they will even come to the top after a
noisy topwater bait or a twitch bait like a Zara Spook.

Another way to catch bass in these situations is too fish a jigging spoon
vertically, just above the bottom, near the structure. A Hopkins Spoon,
Johnson Sprite or similar lure is excellent for this. First, drop the bait
to the bottom. Then raise it up so it's about 12 to 18 inches off the bottom.
Lift your rod tip about 6 to 12 inches in a quick snap motion, then let the
bait fall back to the 12 to 18 inch above the bottom level.