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- 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.
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