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Ok, I'm talking waking here.
The next few weeks will see sea temperatures start to rise and we'll also start to see those days where the sea goes dead flat and mirror like.
Plugs that are too noisy will, in general, spook any Bass in the immediate vicinity.
Bass will by their nature start to venture into very shallow water as the crab becomes more available and little bait fish start to emerge from the colder hidey holes.
So, there are 2 main ways I like to attack this stuff.
In water 3 ft or over I might fish a crankbait over really rough shallow ground but, another way, in low light or darkness is waking. This involves running a plug at a speed where you kill the wobble. You can wake with bibbed plugs but, often the best way is to run a topwater lure at a low straight retrieve pattern.
But, there are tricks.
We fish alot of gutters, some wide, some narrow. often, these gutters will have deeper parts where fish will like to use to make early progress up a gutter to enter a rock pool etc.
Remember, we are fishing water that is slick or just a slight ripple here. Those days and nights that scream thunderstorm are perfect.
I am going to encourage you all to check your plug boxes and look at the nose profile of your lures ands separate them according to how much 'VEE' they will make when retrieved.
Narrow noses leave narrow tracks and can work a bit faster or, give the illusion of speed retrieved slower. Wide nosed lures throw, in general a wide pattern V and are good for searching wider shallow gutter in colder water because the pressure wave will hit cover faster and further out on the retrieve than the narrow one. You'll need to play with this to see what I mean.
Always wait for the initial rings to disperse after the cast. then sloooowwwwly wind if you are in slack water. If you watch smelt at night they run with their noses up just gliding subsurface but at very low speeds or,they lie motionless.
You can draw and slack these wakers too. Literally, draw the rod back around your side slowly and then stop pulling the rod. Now, just pick up the slack as the plugs inertia brings it to a stop. Do NOT keep a tight line. Remember, just in contact.
Hope you'll try this method this season.
Ok, I'm talking waking here.
The next few weeks will see sea temperatures start to rise and we'll also start to see those days where the sea goes dead flat and mirror like.
Plugs that are too noisy will, in general, spook any Bass in the immediate vicinity.
Bass will by their nature start to venture into very shallow water as the crab becomes more available and little bait fish start to emerge from the colder hidey holes.
So, there are 2 main ways I like to attack this stuff.
In water 3 ft or over I might fish a crankbait over really rough shallow ground but, another way, in low light or darkness is waking. This involves running a plug at a speed where you kill the wobble. You can wake with bibbed plugs but, often the best way is to run a topwater lure at a low straight retrieve pattern.
But, there are tricks.
We fish alot of gutters, some wide, some narrow. often, these gutters will have deeper parts where fish will like to use to make early progress up a gutter to enter a rock pool etc.
Remember, we are fishing water that is slick or just a slight ripple here. Those days and nights that scream thunderstorm are perfect.
I am going to encourage you all to check your plug boxes and look at the nose profile of your lures ands separate them according to how much 'VEE' they will make when retrieved.
Narrow noses leave narrow tracks and can work a bit faster or, give the illusion of speed retrieved slower. Wide nosed lures throw, in general a wide pattern V and are good for searching wider shallow gutter in colder water because the pressure wave will hit cover faster and further out on the retrieve than the narrow one. You'll need to play with this to see what I mean.
Always wait for the initial rings to disperse after the cast. then sloooowwwwly wind if you are in slack water. If you watch smelt at night they run with their noses up just gliding subsurface but at very low speeds or,they lie motionless.
You can draw and slack these wakers too. Literally, draw the rod back around your side slowly and then stop pulling the rod. Now, just pick up the slack as the plugs inertia brings it to a stop. Do NOT keep a tight line. Remember, just in contact.
Hope you'll try this method this season.