(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on Sportsman Channel – 6:30 a.m. ET Monday, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, 5 a.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with additional insight about each episode in these submissions.)
This past week’s show was on a highly populated lake that was muddy and fairly cold, with water temperatures in the low 50’s
Going into the day, I anticipated a big fish smash-fest, as this lake had been cold and muddy all winter and I assumed had received not much fishing pressure as a result. Boy was I wrong! The boat ramp was jammed with boats on a day in the middle of the week. I was really starting to think nobody works anymore as I pulled into the lot early and the parking lot was already full
I ended up catching my normal total of 20-some fish necessary for a good show and one big one about 6 1/2 pounds. The fish were shallow and biting crankbaits, nothing out of the ordinary here, but it always amazes me (and I’m a shallow-water guy) just how shallow the fish are in muddy water. Some of these fish big were within the first crank or two from the back in just inches of water.
I caught several in the first hour or so by just covering water with a Hardcore Crank 65 squarebill in a really bright chartreuse with a black back. This color is always good in muddy water because of the contrast. I even caught the big one on it.
What surprised me the most this day, however, was bass schooling in the back of a cove in the mud, 1 foot or less deep. Most anglers, including me, tend to follow the bass rules and focus on channel banks and points near deep water for the late winter/early spring period, but these fish were going nuts in just inches of water. Most were small, but I did lose a few that I felt where bigger.
The point here is to expect the unexpected with unusual conditions. If you are going to a body of water and conditions are not typical, chances are the fish will be doing something unexpected as well. These are situations where putting the trolling motor down and fishing everything you come to can really pay off. Mud pushes everything shallow, so that can give you a starting point.
Many times I think that many fishermen just plain give up too soon. Fishing is tough a lot of days, and most of the time the key to finding fish is to speed up rather than slow down. I actually prefer to fish slow when the fish are active more so than inactive, the exact opposite of standard thinking.
Crankbaits and bladed jigs are the best lures for inactive bass, in my opinion, and that's why you see so many tournaments won on them throughout any given season. Bass will simply snap at them when not actively feeding.
I mentioned several times on the show that the lure just stopped and I didn’t even feel the bite. This was because they were just sitting on the bottom in shallow water and snapping at it. They were not chasing stuff around (other than the school).
My best lures were the Hardcore Crank 65 and a bladed jig with a Culprit Incredi-Slim trailer for just covering water. The 3/8-ounce Yo-Zuri Rattl N Vibe was best for the schoolers.
