Understanding Current Impact on Bass

Current is moving water found in rivers, reservoirs, wind blown water plus river mouths, creek cuts, culverts, and heavy boat traffic locations.

It is important to understand current impact on bass to:

Find Bass: Bass go to locations with current as current pushes dead forage for bass to eat plus zooplankton and algae that attract bait fish.
Presentations: Identifying high percentage spots in current and making presentations that utilize the current. In other words, anticipating the lure impact to the lure’s lure action and location.

Natural Current: Current positions bass face first to the current to minimize energy required to stay in one location and to face potential dead forage pushed by the current or live forage following the current.
Current Breaks: [Figure 1] Including eddies are locations where bass can conserve energy by getting out of the current plus provide an ambush point for forage that comes past the eddy. Objects create current breaks on the front side and behind it. Current breaks can also include dips in the bottom and drop offs where water flows over top.
Wind Current: Bass will move to structures that maximize wind current as it has higher probability of dead forage or baitfish following the zooplankton and algae. Structures include wind blown points, funnel/saddles and shorelines.
Creek Cuts and Rivers Mouths: Bass will reside in locations where incoming water is typically cooler, full of oxygen and food for baitfish. This would include rain runoff.
Boat Wakes: Shallow water, for example at shorelines, the water gets stirred up by boat wakes which can stir up food for baitfish and some suggest will activate bass. This would include the mudline created on some shorelines.

Current Direction Identification:
- Submerged Grass: Submerged grass provides an indicator to the amount of current plus its direction. It can also help for maximizing boat positioning and cast directions, generally to minimize snags.
Both Sides of the Current Break: Cast to the front and the back of the object creating the current break.
Drifting Lures: Some suggest casting past the target spot and letting the current move the lure past that strike zone to maximize the natural look of the lure.
- Repetition: As current is unpredictable some suggest casting multiple times to targeted spots.

Vertical Presentation Lures
Generally targeting specific spots in front or behind the object creating the current break.

Follow-up Lures
Some suggest follow-up lures have the same characteristics ideal for targeting current breaks, consideration the current.