Deep Water Bassin

Some anglers have caught hundreds of largemouth from water as deep as 70 feet on lakes and reservoirs throughout the country. Many have found deep water angling for bass of all sizes to be excellent during spring, summer, and fall months.

SPRING: Springtime bass concentrations can often be found frequenting deep water ledges just off the river or creek channels. Underwater points that run into these channels are excellent bass producers. Example: When the bottom of a channel is 80 feet deep, then try its lip, which should be only 55 to 65 feet deep. The big bass concentrations move toward the main channels in the tough weather. That's why its so easy to find fish at the north end of an impoundment. The main channel is usually the only one with depth. The south end of the lake normally has several major creek channels with the required depth. Deep water structure can simply be a change in depth. Depth serves the same purpose as brush would in the shallows in normal colored water. Example: At 65 feet, bass will get on the structure, whether there is brush present or not. Concentrations of bass found in the spring are bigger, but they are more inconsistent. During the fall and spring, the bass will blend into the structure and the angler may have to draw them up to chart them. That can be accomplished by catching two or three bass from the same structure. On about the third fish, the spoon (such as a 1oz. Mann-O-Lure), won't reach the bottom, and the school will actually be bunched up and drawn off the bottom toward the surface and the descending lure.

SUMMER: In the summer, deep water fish are usually off the bottom six inches to two feet, and an angler can easily see them on a chart or fine tuned LCD unit. A concentration in the summer may stay in the same spot for two or three weeks, without any significant changes in the weather to move them. Summer patterns hold May through August and the big fish are deep. A good summertime lure selection would include the jiggin spoon with a two or three foot hop, the Little George tail spinner, the plastic worm and the watermelon or smoke colored plastic grubs. They all produce over the right structure. Many anglers have problems with deep water angling because they just don't have the patience to keep searching for the big schools. You have to dedicate a major portion of the day to seeking deep water fish to be a consistently successful angler. The first hour after sun up may be the best time in deep water, as well as in the shallows. Since shallow water bass are more effected by the sun's rays than those in the depths, many anglers head for the shallows first. The chart recorder and LCD unit have done for deep water angling what the spinnerbait has done for shallow water fishing. While the spinnerbait fisherman is spending a couple hours casting the shoreline to find fish, the deep water angler is idling across a good piece of structure seeking his quarry also.

WINTER: Fish in the winter may back off and suspend when a cold front passes through. They often disperse until it has passed. Bass are slow to reform and move back up on structure after a northern has blown through. The day after the front you will find some bass moving up on the structure for a short feeding period only. The structure may only have one or two fish present at any given time. This frontal condition is the only time the deep water angler should vary from his normal approach for looking for concentrations. Stopping for one or two fish is not going to pay off at any other time. But after a front, the angler may have to be satisfied fishing for straggler fish. Under normal conditions, pass them by and look for the large concentrations. Once again the best pick for a winter or cold water lure is the 1oz. Mann-O-Lure and in scattered brush or trees the jig-n-pig is a good choice. The heavy jigging spoon can cover deeper water faster than any other lure. The lure is fished vertical to the deep water fish and is extremely accurate. Bass can be quickly hooked and put in the boat. The lure can then drop quicker to the school for more action. Early winter fish are usually heavy from feeding on baitfish during the warming months. They'll not move far, so the spoon's motion is important. It should hop in one spot for several seconds before being relocated. In cold weather, bass can be on structure and yet be dormant. In this case implement a six inch hop off the bottom to the spoon for maximizing your catch.

WATER CONDITIONS: The visibility sufficient to expect finding deep water bass concentrations is around 1 1/2 feet. When the water clarity is poorer, the oxygen content is minimal and the angler should not fish deep water structures. The majority of lakes, however, have good water quality and excellent deep water bass angling. Correct oxygen, temperature and PH levels are important quality characteristics to the largemouth. The meters tell you where the fish should be and the chart or LCD shows you where the fish are in deep water. Due to the cone angle of the tranducer and the engine noise disturbance factor, look for fish deeper than 12 feet. Use loose criss-cross patterns as you idle along slowly, looking for concentrations of bass, not for a single fish.