Covering water to find active fish during the late summer months can pay off tremendously. This captain uses his electronics to scan deep water in search of hard bottom, grass, or other types of structure. You can scan the bottom near marked fish attractor buoys to find lots of tree like structures along with brush piles. You can use a Carolina rigged plastic to make long casts and pick apart target areas. Captain Mark will use a half ounce tungsten weight with a plastic bead tied to a barrel swivel then a leader tied onto a 4/0 EWG worm hook. Using a system like this you can rig with all sorts of baits. There really is not a soft plastic that you couldn’t fish unless it’s too small for the hook. Capt. Mark’s favorites to try are a senko, soft plastic jerk bait and always work that trick worm. Soft plastic colors effective in the Harris Chain are Junebug, watermelon red or black and blue.
This technique is a great way to force yourself to fish slowly yet have a good chance at catching both numbers of bass but also quality fish. Casting around a lipless crankbait is another bait that has been producing well. Anything in a half ounce size is what you should have tied on – depth is important. Rat-L-Traps in gold black and chrome blue have been fooling largemouth bass for a long time. Topwater baits like a walking bait are another lure not to be overlooked. They can be fished erratically like a baitfish that is injured or fished slowly with little movement. Now is the perfect time to schedule your own guided bass fishing charter on the Harris Chain. Check out www.cprbasscharters.com for more information plus links to Capt. Mark’s social media pages with lots of fish pictures. #cprbasscharters
