By Scott Norton
Now that the spawn in the higher altitudes is finished, tracking bass should be easy as they are on their way back to the deep holes in the main lake. Some bass will stay behind and go into shallow holes. Nobody knows what tells a bass to go deep or shallow, except the preferred food is in those areas. You will see bass spread out from the bedding areas to the main lake. They are looking to feed up, so this will be a fun time for people to get some great catches. Once they reach their destination, bass will start schooling up and this will cause some competitive feeding. In the shallow water, they will wolf-pack and fight over food. You can find them running up and down the shoreline. Bass in deeper water on structures will school and fire up if you fish through them with fast reactive lures, such as a crank bait.
Their forage will be shad, bluegill, perch, and crappie. Lures that will imitate these food sources are what you want to have in your line-up. Your color selection can be used with other baits as well. Colors like orange, green, and purple will relate to bluegill. White, chrome, and bone will relate to shad. These color patterns will do very well for jigs and worms. If the water gets murky, switch to brighter colors whereas, in muddy water darker colors will be more visible for those bass.
Early morning hours, until the sun hits the water, you can take advantage of a shad spawn. Flukes and walking baits are some of the best ways to catch them. You’ll want a weedless set up, since they spawn super shallow for these moments. When the sun comes up, they will back off into deeper water. A lipless crank bait is perfect for this scenario.
After the morning bite is done most fisherman go home, but if you switch gears, you can fish the shadow line or docks. At this time, bass become very predictable and easy to catch. I had success throwing a glide bait close to shade lines and when the big ones come nosing at it, they give up their location. I used a senko to skip it under vegetation to catch bass that won’t commit. Nothing has more drawing power than a glide bait. I always have some kind of follow-up bait just in case they don’t bite it.
Soon the night fishing will be ramping up with everyone’s favorite: topwater fishing. With so many options to fish, there’s something for all who want to participate. It is a very exciting time to be out there, especially after staying home for a few months.
Scott Norton is a Western North Carolina native. Born in Asheville, N.C., he is a long-time hunter, angler and weekend warrior. He is a member of Southern Raft Supply’s prostaff, representing them in his Jackson Kayak Coosa FD.