The Bass Bureau:
|
By our own: Billy “Hawkeye” Decoteau
 Surrounded by brilliant hues of
gold’s-yellows-bronze, highlighted
with scattered touches of matted
white birch trees, northern pine
trees frame New England landscapes,
signaling the end of yet another
Bass'n season. While savvy northern
bass anglers, prep their bass boats
for cold weather conditions and an
occasional trip to the lake for
vertical jigging with spoons and
blade baits, southern anglers such
as Leesburg, Georgia’s Jason Smith
can be found towing his bass boat to
his favorite bass haunt for some
fast crankbait action!
“Bright sunny days this time of year
make for excellent crankbait
patterns in timber,” says Smith.
Elaborating on the movement of
forage, Smith has found southern
shad have the tendency to suspend in
trees along deep river channels or
creek beds adjacent to flats. “Find
the standing timber and you just
might fill your livewells with a
limit of ‘Hogs’!”
Smith concentrates exclusively on
deep creek ledges ranging in depths
from 12-15 feet with standing
timber. “With the primary bass
forage shad, coupled with the need
to reach deeper depths, as well as
running my crankbait through timber,
the only bait I rely on for this
technique, is Gambler’s Deep Custom
Crankbaits!” (www.Gambler-Lures.com)
Jason Smith’s arsenal consists of
rigging a Big Bear Pro model 7’
medium fast action-cranking rod,
paired with Quantum’s 6.2:1 Accurist
baitcaster reel. The key secret to
this technique, according to Smith
is making multiple casts from
multiple angles to locate the area
and depth the bass are staging in
the timber. As for colors, this
southern angler answers,” Either
Gamblers ‘Not so Sexy Shad’ or their
‘Gambler Shad’ colors are my go to
baits.” (www.BigBearFishingRods.com)
while Jason Smith is running up
creeks in the south, Norton,
Massachusetts’s Team Skeeter member
Mark Burgess is scanning deep-water
glacier lakes in New England. (www.MarkBurgessFishing.com)
This Humminbird electronic expert
was sure to enlighten me to some
cold-water sonar techniques. “New
England lakes for the most part are
crystal clear, take Lake
Winnipesaukee for example, it is not
uncommon for bass, especially
smallmouth bass to be located in
depths ranging from 25-35 feet or
even deeper at times,” claims
Burgess. Cracking a bass-eating grin
Burgess smiled, “I’m not so sure I
should be telling you this?” Burgess
added, “Locating the bass is another
thing………..Baitfish is the secret!”
Venturing out onto the water with
Burgess, he shifted his Yamaha V-Max
HPDI Series-2 250 HP Outboard into
neutral, opened a lake map and began
to educate me on locating deepwater
bass following schools of baitfish.
(www.Yamaha-motor.com) “My
Humminbird 997color Side Imaging
Combo, paired with a Navionics chip
takes this paper map to a completely
new dimension. You are about to
witness the most amazing incredible
view of this lake’s bottom, while
scanning not only under the boat,
but also to the sides!”
Honing in on Burgess’s Humminbird's
8” wide diagonal color screen, the
Bassmaster Southern and Central
Trail competitor zoomed in on a
contour line that dropped suddenly
and leveled out. “It’s imperative
that anglers spend more time viewing
their electronics, than randomly
casting. Cold-water bass will
congregate around isolated pieces of
cover, especially if there are
baitfish. Locating these
‘Spot-on-the-Spot’ bass magnets
takes time and patience,” says
Burgess. Adding, with a shivering
chuckle, “During this cold weather
period patience is a precious
commodity anglers need to acquire if
they want to be productive”
Typing away on his Humminbird sonar,
Burgess’s screen divided in half as
his Side Imaging Sonar revealed the
lakes bottom in a totally different
dimension. “Without Side Imaging, it
would take us hours to scan this
structure break for isolated cover
and pods of baitfish.” Explaining
each distinct display on the screen,
Burgess idled along at 3-5 mph as
his Side Imaging Sonar projected 75
feet to each side for maximum
clarity, while it also displayed
actuate distance measurements on the
screen.For Complete Story visit
"The Bass Bureau"
God Bless and Best Bass’n.
|
|
I am compiling thousands of quick-read, factual tips and secrets that I learned in my over
20 years of competitive angling from the most proficient guides, writers,
tournament pros, tackle manufacturers, and avid fishing enthusiasts worldwide.
Throughout Fishin
Factors™, you will find
articles written by me, our staff and friends. I personally review all articles
received before they are posted in Fishin Factors™
to ensure accurate information.
May God Bless You,
"Catch The Dream"
Lee Bailey, Jr. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
