Once in a while you see photos of pros fishing back in the thickest, nastiest stuff imaginable -- usually flooded shoreline cover. But do they really do that or is it just someone's idea of a cool-looking photograph?
The short answer is that if bass are there, the pros will find them. Waco, Texas pro Alton Jones is one pro who sometimes seeks -- and finds -- bass in shoreline jungle cover. And he's used a few secrets (revealed here) to not only catch these jungle bass, but also to win.
Springtime Pattern
The first item of business is when to go into jungle cover. "For me it's a springtime pattern," Jones says. "I'm looking for warming water and those types of areas (flooded heavy cover) are pretty textbook.
"Get on the windy side of the lake," he adds, "out of the wind. That side of the lake is always warmest."
Secret 1: Super Shallow
While some pros flip jungle cover over water 2-3 feet deep, "I like to do it shallower," Jones says, "in 1 foot of water.
"The first few inches of water warm first, and that's where the big females like to go to sun themselves," he explains.
"In larger coves I'll just fish the back end. But lots of times this pattern works well in little (shoreline) pockets." In such cases, fish the whole pocket, he says.
He adds that "it works all day, but the higher the sun, the better. Noon is the best time."
Secret 2: Fish Fast
"This is not slow jig fishing," Jones says. "You're covering water: look at the cover, predict where the bass is, flip once and pick it up. With this pattern I fish a jig faster than most people fish spinnerbaits," he adds.
But don't fish heavy. He favors a 1/4-ounce Riverside jig in black-chartreuse if the water is off-color and black-blue if the water is clear. "I get a lot of bites with (the light jig's) slow fall," he says.
Secret 3: Next To Cover
If you get back into a promising area, see a likely-looking bush and flip right into the middle of it, Jones will be right behind you, licking his chops.
Noting that most people are schooled to flip into the cover, he says that at this time of year "the bass will be next to the cover" because they want to warm up. "They don't want top be in the shade. They want the sun on their backs.
"If guys are fishing in the cover, you can fish behind them and clean their clocks."
Rip-Rap Too
Jones says he's found bass around rip-rap that respond similar to jungle bass. "Look at each piece of rock," he says. The biggest rocks warm quickly, and that's where the bass will be.
"I've caught some great fish that way," he says, and recommends that anglers again bear in mind that you must fish super-shallow.
Though he flips fast, Jones prefers a 1/4-ounce Riverside jig for its slow fall.
