Bass Fishing On The Edge

Bass fishing on the main body of reservoirs gets overlooked-especially in transition zones from shallow to deep. That is spots that quickly go shallow to deep.

Bass pros understand the importance of fishing the main lake but most rank and file anglers beat the banks. And that’s a shame since some of the best bass fishing of the year happens on the main lake.

Main-lake points and creeks entering the main body of the lake are the important areas to fish as they give the fish access to shallow and deep water and hold fair to good amounts of shad. Throw large Beetle Spins and wacky worms during the midday period; fish topwaters and buzz baits early and late. Another viable option is to fish the riprap and bulkheads along some of the big marinas, especially in the evenings. These areas will hold many bass at certain times. Positioning your boat to make precision casts into these areas is key. Using a Power-Pole can help anglers lock in on these spots and make precision casts to baitfish schools and the big fish bellow them.

If the bites don’t come easy, use a slow-sinking lure like a Senko because they appeal to both temperature stunted slow-moving fish and aggressive feeding fish as well.

for shad bunched up around the secondary points and start fishing a crank bait like a Bomber 9A with a slow retrieve. If you find fish and they are active, switch to something like a Rat-L-Trap and boost the retrieve up to medium speed.  Sometimes the shad are spread along the shorelines, stacked horizontally instead of vertically. If this is the situation, the bass can be scattered as well. This is a good time to throw a square bill crankbait since you came cover lots of water. If the fish are a little deeper try something in the medium-diving range.

Drop offs around the river channels on the lakes can be productive. A difference of two or three feet in-depth is major when putting things in perspective. Micro crankbaits are great for fishing along main river channels to locate fish suspend over deep water when the barometric pressure is running high and the bait is slow if the pressure is low or dropping try larger crank baits or spoons.

These are just a few notes I put together on bass fishing in the fall. This is more about catching numbers of fish. Tactics for the super big ones differ and we’ll cover them here in the coming weeks.