By David Brown
Special to BassFan
Time management is a great skill that any angler can learn from those who make their living with a rod and reel. Essential to this concept is minimizing wasted hours by wisely selecting your general areas.
No sense wasting the time idling into a bank that you simply don’t believe in, but what exactly does that mean? Summarily, it comes down to sizing up key details before we approach, as well as noting what we find on the banks we choose to fish.
Suffice it to say that Bassmaster Elite Series angler Darold Gleason intimately knows just about every bank on his Toledo Bend Reservoir home waters. But beyond his guide trips, he’s also keen on quickly dialing in the sweet spots while traveling the national circuit, and that generally starts with angles.
Acknowledging that nearly every southern lake has a population of fish that live shallow year-round, Gleason offers this insight: “Sometimes you’re looking for a flatter bank that has a little bit of shallow water that runs off the bank. These banks can be good if they’re windblown because the wind might blow shad up on there and it gives the fish and area to ambush.
“Other times, you’re looking for steeper banks that have a little deeper water coming by them — something like a creek channel or a river channel. Those can be a little better as we go into fall when the cold fronts start happening. That’s when the shad wants to be closer to deeper water.”
Similar logic applies to the spring season. Approaching pre-spawners typically favor those steeper banks where they can feed up while remaining comfortably close to deep water. Spawners, of course, want those shallow flats, so it’s a matter of objective.
Other details to consider:
> Points – When in doubt, look for a point. That’s not the only game in town, but it’s always a safe starting place. The very nature of a point implies tapering shallows with relatively quick drops into deep water. From sunning to feeding, bass utilize points of some type year-round.
Main lake, secondary, rock points, even grassy points — they all redirect baitfish and gather the forage in easily targeted areas. Points may hold sweet spots defined by stumps, scattered brush or isolated rock, so look for the pattern-within-the-pattern.
Darold Gleason considers several factors when determining whether to focus on steeper or shallower banks.
> Bluffs – Similarly, Gleason finds fish on those vertical rock walls much more accessible than fish in other common summer scenarios. Offering fish the convenience of quickly adjusting their depth for temperature, sunlight and feeding preferences, bluffs close to the creeks can be particularly attractive, as they make strategic staging points for fish prior to their fall feeding move.
“Especially on a deep, clear fishery, a lot of times, bluffs will harbor some fish this time of the year,” Gleason said. “This might be your best opportunity for bites because other fish might be buried in cover. Fish on bluffs are probably going to be suspended.
“Those fish have always been a mystery to us in the past; but now, with the advancements in forward-looking sonar like Lowrance ActiveTarget, you’re able to target those suspending fish a little easier.”
> Riprap: There aren’t many wrong times for riprap and Gleason said this is one of his favorite summer scenarios, if for no other reason than the accessibility factor. From marinas, to break walls, to bridge causeways, riprap adjacent to deep water can be summer gold.
“When it’s hot and (soon to be) transitioning into fall, riprap can really play because it’s such a good ambush point for you and the bass,” Gleason said. “It’s a good spot for you to find bass that are willing to bite. It may not be the most fish in the lake, but it’s often a situation where they’re most willing to bite.”
Gleason likes squarebills, buzzbaits and walking topwaters during the low-light periods of early morning or approaching summer storms. For less active periods, he’s going with jigs and shaky-heads.
> Breaks: Disruptions in the dominant shoreline form always merit attention, as they present corners, edges and ambush spots. Sand breaks creating mini-ledges off the Upper Mississippi River shallows, breaks in riprap (boat ramps are the common deal here), a distinct turn in a riprap bank, a causeway flow-through — don’t overlook these bass magnets.
> Energy Centers: Western pro Roy Hawk is big on locating what he refers to as areas of high energy. Natural and manmade inflows, springs, creeks — anything that cracks the whip on an otherwise lethargic summer scenario gets his attention.
Gleason agrees and notes that any moving water is good, especially on natural lakes lacking river current. Even on river system lakes, a drain pipe, culvert or natural drain will concentrate fish with cooler, oxygenated water that appeals to baitfish.
“That’s also why a lot of fish end up around bridges — it makes little funnel zones,” Gleason said.
> Adjacent Cover: From blown-in trees and brush to stake beds planted by crappie anglers, these oddities give fish a reason to pause on an otherwise nondescript bank. Maybe it’s shade, or it could be the ambush potential. In any case, something that narrows your search with a clear target is worth inspecting.
> Birds: Herons and egrets wading a bank, possibly perched on a rock laydown, are hunting baitfish. They do this for a living and they’re pretty good at their jobs, so take their presence as an indication of likely food sources that’ll also attract bass.
Hawk notes that coots love munching on submerged grass, so a raft of short black birds with white faces indicates thick grass below. Also, several dozen grebes paddling and diving in a bay or creek mouth means food — probably the same stuff bass eat.
And don’t discount the frantic flurries of birds hovering and screeching over surface feeding. Some might balk at the notion of chasing schoolers, but something attracted that group of fish to the area in the first place. The opportunistic birds, while only there to grab an easy meal, will narrow down a likely area.
Fishing boat ramps is often a productive strategy.
> Trees: In southern waters, bald Cypress trees produce pneumatophores, often called “knees” that extend from a central tap root and reach above the surface to transport air to their swampy habitat. Large clusters of cypress knees serve as mini-stump fields, while a tree with prominent knees sitting out from the main line can be money.
The taller, thinner pond cypress do not produce knees, but with either, the presence of deeper water — either a drop-off to the main lake side or drains running through clusters of trees — often appeals to summer-weary bass.
Like grass lines, long stretches of cypress swamp can look like one homogenous mass, but differences definitely exists. Developing patterns in how the fish seem to be setting up will deliver a replicable formula.
Elsewhere, overhanging willows create shade pockets begging for a frog, popper, bladed jig or Senko. Also, isolated clusters of vegetation sprouting from edges can present targeted opportunities. Shade’s always a plus, but trees mean insects and insects attract bream, so feeding opportunities won’t go unnoticed.
Putting the Pieces Together
Oklahoma pro Jeff Kreit said bank breakdown often comes down to a case-by-case basis. He’ll mind the general seasonal and conditional variables, but noting specific composition helps him dial in his patterns one piece at a time.
“Bass fishing is a game of puzzles,” Kriet said. “When you figure out the puzzle is when you win.”
Subtleties are often easily overlooked when the clock is ticking, but Kriet stresses the need to question every bite. Was that fish near large rocks or smaller ones? What’s the frequency of trees or docks? Any rock veins extending off the bank?
“Every catch can tell you a story,” Kriet said of the data-collection strategy. “When I don’t know why I caught that fish, it doesn’t help me.”
