The most important feature when locating bass? 2024

CJ reply :

When you are trying to locate bass, what do you feel is the most important factor of a pattern. In other words, what do you feel is most important such as:

Bottom contour?

Depth?

Structure?

Cover?

Other?

I don't think there is a wrong answer. Just thought it would be interesting to see what some of you thought.

Thanks, CJ

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

"yes" ;D

Cigarlover 1 reply :

As Bill Dance would say dep water close by.

alger319 reply :

no to sound cliche, but all of them. i really look for the right mix of things, but ultimately structure(whether it be vegitation, a dock, or christmas trees) is the most important thing i look for. I also think structure and cover are kinda the same thing.

John J. reply :

It all depends on weather, season, and temperature. I do my best when the water temps are in the mid to upper 60s and 70s, it is sunny and hardly no wind, then I fish wacky plastics and jigs around shoreline cover (downed trees, bushes, docks, etc), in the shade.

When it is over-cast and warm, and slightly windy, I enjoy throwing spinner-baits, top water in the morning, and texas-rigged plastics.

I go to different patterns through different situations

Bud reply :

Number one would be Structure Number 2 would be Cover Number 3 would be depth

Alpster reply :

JMHO,

Bottom contour, depth, points, flats and channels = structure

Lilly pads, docks, lay down trees, stick ups, weeds, etc. = cover

Structure & cover would be my choices.

Ronnie

fishizzle reply :

Cover and depth are most imp to me

Find the depth of cover the fish perfer on that day

I fish alot of small lakes full of grass and weeds under 20' deep

Bud reply :

Quote
I also think structure and cover are kinda the same thing.

Someone needs to read Alpster post

garry77 reply :

Cover on or near structure.

Catt reply :

Bass will be located on prime structures that contain specific elements that include a good sized feeding flat. That flat would ideally be heavily weeded, with a number of weed types and open pockets 4 to 8 feet deep. Other kinds of cover like trees, stumps, brush or rocks are also beneficial. Deep water down to 17 feet or more as near as possible and better yet, if there were a source of inflowing water, like a creek. Finally, we need the nearby presence of firm spawning bottom sand, gravel, clay, and perhaps rock. This area should be located where it remains calm; in essence, the spot should be protected from north winds.

burleytog reply :

Getting the fuse just right...

Red reply :

i look for areas of the shoreline that are easily accessible with the golf cart (so i dont have to walk to far) and dont have too much crap in the way of casting, and have good areas that have sturdy ground to stand on ;D

Cliff

CJ reply :

Okay, say you found something that worked. Say, you just pulled up on a rocky point with stumps,10 ft. deep dropping off into 30 ft. of water. You crush em' right there on top of the point. Now you need to find another spot.

10 ft. being the depth the fish were caught

30 ft. being the deepest nearby depth

The point being the structure

The stumps being the cover

The rocks being bottom contour

Which feature would be most critical to duplicate from the spot you found?

DangerRanger reply :

10 ft. being the depth the fish were caught

30 ft. being the deepest nearby depth

The point being the structure

The stumps being the cover

The rocks being bottom contour

Which feature would be most critical to duplicate from the spot you found?

Looks like you have them in order maybe flip-flop the bottom two In what I would look for. Main thing is that the fish are there.

ILfisherman reply :

Quote
JMHO,
Bottom contour, depth, points, flats and channels = structure

Lilly pads, docks, lay down trees, stick ups, weeds, etc. = cover

Structure & cover would be my choices.

Ronnie

Catt reply :

I would try to find at least 4 of the 5

1. Points

2. 8-12' of water on top

3. Deep water nearby (20-35')

4. Stumps or rocks

alger319 reply :

Quote

Quote
I also think structure and cover are kinda the same thing.

Someone needs to read Alpster post

your completely correct, i know they're different - i typed it wrong.

Bud reply :

CJ I would still have to go with Structure then Cover as to finding a second spot. BTW I know were their is a couple of spots like you described that 99% of the time will hold fish

ba7ss3in reply :

For me, Falling tide and cover on the river but on the lake depth and structure

bassbob08 reply :

I agree with yall.

Matt Fly reply :

I think locating food sources and understanding that food sources habits can help cut search times down.

You can be on a lake that meets 4 out of 5 things listed for the criteria used for locating bass on just about every point or creek channel in Fork. Got to be away to eliminate unproductive waters with out fishing all 50 points in one day to locate fish.

Follow the bait, the bass do also!!

Did you know in the winter, Bass don't bust a school of shad like they do in warmer months? Bait will ball up, but unlike the summer months, bass don't attack the schools.

Bass simply follow and pick of weaker shad. Weaker shad will try to hide on bottom.

If shad move back in a creek at this time of the year in Texas, it means the creek has warmer water back there. Bass will follow, and they will use the same contour as the shad when moving back.

Why does it take awhile for Bass to leave the shallows after they spawn.

EAsy meals are on hand for bass. Lots of shad fry, bass fry, and those egg robbers are going to be shallow spawning in late may and June, and bass know where to find an easy meal.

Know thy food source. Know how the past 3-5 days of weather may position the bait.

Too many factors to use. Wind, temps, bait, time of the year as to which seasonal movenment, structures and cover

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
CJ I would still have to go with Structure then Cover as to finding a second spot. BTW I know were their is a couple of spots like you described that 99% of the time will hold fish

Hey!

I know who you were fishing with that other 1% of the time! :

Popeye reply :

I/we look for submerged structure first, then depth/temperature of the water and bottom contour. Cover is equally important in my opinion. Geez, that about covers them all.

Shadcranker reply :

1. Structure (some kind of edge), preferably with cover on it.

2. Baitfish

If I can find cover on structure with shad in the right depth, I can usually catch em good.

Ideal stuation would be a channel drop from 6-20 ft, with stumps on the drop, and bait fish working in the 6-12 ft zone right on top of the drop. Other would be a grass edge where it drops from 4-10 ft on a deep flat with bait fish active near the drop.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

I'm with Burley, proper wick length for the respective depth you are targeting,....it ain't easy... ;D

CJ reply :

Matt-Fly, I forgot about the bait. Great point.

I expect alot of different opinions cause of the different waters people here fish. I myself, think depth first and that may not be the key factor. I think bait is as important and ofcourse, what season you are fishing may cause other features to be "key".

Thanks for the input, keep it coming!

Bud, you better go check with a LC 78.

jrhennecke reply :

Structure & Cover

Bud reply :

Quote
Bud, you better go check with a LC 78

Don't have to when you got the birds ;D ;D ;D

RW I cannot help it if you jerkbait hooks are dull : : :

Paul Roberts reply :

It concentric:

Pick the right lake/pond

Pick the best area of the lake/pond for the season

Find out the best structure for the season and conditions

Find the best cover/breaks on the structure for that time

Divine the best tackle, lures and presentation

Fine tune the presentation

Adjust as things change

All the pieces mentioned in the original post are important. You just have to rule out the wrongs and narrow down the rights...

jaymc reply :

I agree with everything I've read above with one other addition.

In this day and age some cover is very obvious. If the lake is heavily fished everone will pound that particular spot. So if you want to find a honey hole you need to find something that isn't obvious to everyone and then keep your mouth shut. 8-)

RoLo reply :

It was Buck Perry who coined the word "structure", and I really wish he hadn't.

I read Buck's book called "Spoon Plugging" hot off the press. At that time the term "structure"

implied "manmade", such as buildings, bridges, highways and dams. Indeed, Buck's expertise dealt with reservoirs,

but anglers fishing natural lakes began using the word "structure" as a "placeholder" for the unknown.

Unfortunately the meaning has been so obscured that fishermen today find themselves debating

the differences between structure and cover. At any rate, I still refer to structure as "bottom contour",

the same as I did before Buck published his book.

A nagging problem between Bottom Contour and Cover is that some lakes contain cover

but are practically void of contour (my home lake is a good example).

Other lakes are chockfull of contour but are practically void of cover. Falling in this category

are many of Canada's oligotrophic lakes, which are clear, rocky and loaded with drop-offs and underwater islands but are virtually weed-free.

With that in mind, I believe that wherever a bass has a choice, it will gravitate first to "bottom contour" (rapid depth change),

then find the best "cover" thereat. In lakes that are practically void of contour (like the dishpan lakes in central Florida),

bass will always gravitate to the best "cover" For largemouth bass, weeds are their first love, followed by wood and lastly rocks.

For smallmouth bass the order is reversed (hard to soft).

As for depth, that's really another matter, sort of a combination of location and delivery (i.e. speed & depth).

Bass depth changes with the seasons, but it varies a whole lot more between natural lakes and manmade lakes.

Buck Perry's writings dealt chiefly with manmade reservoirs, so naturally he spoke of greater depths

than Doug Hannon for example, who lives in Florida. Buck spoke of a bass sanctuary in 30 to 35 feet of water,

while Doug maintains that the biggest bass are caught in less than 6 feet of water. Both gentlemen are correct.

Roger

Paul Roberts reply :

RoLo,

Excellent!

Glenn reply :

THE most important factor, in my opinion, is time of year. All else falls under that.

CJ reply :

Quote
THE most important factor, in my opinion, is time of year. All else falls under that.

WOW! Da Man spoke!

Thinking more about it, I think your excactly right. Time of year is the first thing to take into consideration.

A guy spends 1 day in the boat with Ike and he's a genius! LOL

WRB reply :

The most important factors when trying to locate bass are;

1. Seasonal period.

2. Prey..

3. Water temperature.

4. DO levels.

5. Water clarity.

After you have determine what calendar period the bass are in, then you need to locate prey the bass are feeding on. Water temperature determine the location during the seasoanl period. Dissolved oxygen levels must be within the basses range of confort. Water clarity will determine how deep the bass may go during the seasonal period.

Structure elements are the phsyical feature under the water the bass relate to and cover provides a sancturary for both bass and prey. A combination of structure with cover is important.

Bass are never far away from their prefered prey and locate in water they are confortable in and provides both food and sanctuary.

The perfect ledge located in an area that is void of prey or DO is a poor structure under those condiitons. A boat dock located in shallow 85 degree water may be a poor choice. A tree standaing near a channel break, providing cover for both bass and prey, located in 75 degree water, 40 feet deep, standing 30 feet tall, with a thermocline at 25 feet, would be a good location, for example. A rock pile located in the same area as the tree, during the same conditions , would be a poor choice, due to low DO levels that may exist with the thermocline at 25'. However if you mark fish near the bottom, that would indicate the bass are confortable at 40' and the rock pile becomes a good choice.

WRB

RoLo reply :

Quote

Quote
THE most important factor, in my opinion, is time of year. All else falls under that.

WOW! Da Man spoke!

Thinking more about it, I think your excactly right. Time of year is the first thing to take into consideration.

A guy spends 1 day in the boat with Ike and he's a genius! LOL

Everyone agrees that seasonal period is the "first thing" to take into consideration. This is especially true in manmade impoundments

where bass generally scatter in shallower water in spring (creek arms) but tend to aggregate deeper in winter (original river channel).

However, the responders to this thead were not alluding to systemic order.

Rather than our "first consideration", your question Chris, asked for the MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE.

Indeed, seasonal period is the logical first stepping stone, but in Florida for example, it's not a very important feature.

Bass in the Deep South may be caught in 3 feet of water during Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, whether they're spawning or not.

If your planning a trip to Florida, you'll probably want a little more insight than calendar month to really nail down location.

Roger

CJ reply :

Rolo, whenever you decide to write the book, I'll be the first to buy it!

Thanks for your input, it's priceless.

Chris

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