FInding Bass Strategies

Finding Bass Strategies are common approaches to identify locations with bass including covering water, idling around, structure fishing, junk fishing, slowing it down and others.

Why is Finding Bass Strategies Important?

Finding Bass Strategies are important to:

  • Effectively Find Bass: Selecting the best strategy will result in finding the bass fastest.
Finding Bass Strategies Options
  • Covering Water: Fishing fast often with search baits with the goal to efficiently find an area with bass and/or a successful pattern to find bass.
    • Trolling Motor on High: Another phrase often used to cover water as it describes using the trolling motor to find bass. 
  • Targeting Known Spots (Waypoints): Targeting known high probability spots either visually or with the use of waypoints. 
  • Targeting Community Hole: Going to popular and known locations to hold bass.
  • Idling Around: Idling around with the main motor (not fishing) typically targeting structures and/or existing waypoints looking for bass with electronics when fishing deep (offshore).
    • Use of Trolling Motor and Forward Facing Sonar: Similar to idling around but instead of using the main motor with side scan and down scan using the trolling motor with forward facing sonar or sight fishing. Typically, this 
  • Structure Fishing: Targeting the same structure in multiple areas, for example points, creek channels, shorelines, humps, etc.
  • Junk Fishing: Junk fishing is a strategy that is more focused on the lure type where an angler has many rods with different lure types and cycles through these different lure types frequently until a pattern is found.
  • Slowing it Down – Fishing Slow: It is common, when all other strategies are not working, to “slow it down” which means fishing slow often very slow.
  • Fish What’s In Front of Me: Selecting an area, possibly based on a main structure, and then fishing the depth and cover in that area. Often combined with junk fishing. 
  • Trolling Motor Circles: Not common, and chosen when fishing deep(offshore) locations with flat bottom structure and with little cover. Trolling motor circles results from using the trolling to create ever widening circles while using forward facing sonar to identify a spot with bass or that could hold bass. When a spot is identified, the process is repeated.
  • Sight Fishing:  In some cases, finding bass could also mean spotting followers of the lure back to the boat or sight fishing. 
Additional Considerations
  • Locating Bait Fish: Some suggest identifying baitfish is a good indicator for finding bass as the bass are not too far away.  Identifying bait fish:
    • Visually: Typically, when fishing shallow. 
    • Electronics: Identifying bait balls on electronics. Also, note the depth and structure as it could develop into a pattern.
  • Observe Birds: Some suggest if observing birds the bass are not too far away as the birds also focus on bait fish.
    • Deep(offshore): Birds actively eating baitfish, mayfly or some other near surface forage as the bass will be eating the same forage. 
    • Shallow: Some suggest birds near shore means baitfish near shore and bass nearby.
  • Seasons: Bass and some bait fish will be shallow to spawn and near shallow pre-spawn and post-spawn. Summer some suggest that some bass, particularly smallmouth bass, will go deep(offshore), but even largemouth bass will go a bit deeper. 
  • Research: Some suggest using google earth, navionics and other sources to help identify structures.
  • Wind Reports: Some suggest understanding where the wind is pushing potential food for baitfish and baitfish themselves to identify locations to where bass may reside.
It's About the Allure

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Fishing Slow Lures

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