Bass(Bucket Mouthes and Smallies)

Mississippi Pools are in their prime right now for easy pickins. It is hard to believe, but the bass bite right now is even better than the run that came the first week of May and as far as that goes at least as good as any October I can remember. Although not everyday yeilds a fish in the 20s

it seems like almost every other day does. The big ones seem to rule the areas I fish and there aren’t many small ones to back them up. The big thing this last three years has been the fun of catching both bass right next to each other and never leaving the main river. Lawrence http://www.thewalleye.net

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Lawrence:

Your comment of “never leaving the main river” has me intrigued. If you don’t mind telling me, are you finding these fish on wing dams, other rocks, or cover like trees along shorelines? Or just sand flats? Thanks.

Yes ,all of the above. Not trying to be funny, but on pool
8 & 9, all these features are so close to each other that it is unlikely that they will not be on all of them, (since most locations are a combination),and they are. If I had to make a generalization ,I’ll say rocks. Rocks as in rip rap, wingdams, closing dams, rocks in humps, rocks as in calm beds built up on top of rocks. Almost always with deep water close. But the fish may be on the surrounding sand flats, and on shallow sand shorelines with lumber. Today a 4# plus Bucketmouth was on a boulder right in the middle of all the current and silt. The only really defined pattern is the large amount of minnows spraying all over. With very few exceptions there don’t seem to be many white bass around to compete with. I actually see bass coming out of the water after the minnows at new places. I can only think of one location with smallies that hasn’t also produced at least an occasional largemouth. Of the 20 some spots I jump around to on each pool, they are all very different. Like you I have been searching for something,(a pattern), common to all and it just isn’t happenning. Again this evening on 8 the bass were very active. I had a lot of tail dancing going on,too.. so the slight cool down in the water hasn’t slowed them down any. Lawrence

Can someone explain fishing sand flats to me? Are you basically talking about any stretch of river with a sandy bottom? Wouldn’t that be the entire channel? I understand flats in terms of lakes, but there’s usually weeds or something to be fishing. Do you go out and cast to like a “nothing” or essentially barren spot?

In this case when water moves over rocks it often digs a hole behind them and then deposites the sand and silt it picked up u a little ways down river. In the cases I’m talking about the next 15-30 yards. Most predators will herd the minnows up against the rocks and either ambush them as they go over the top or just sit there and feed a bite at a time from behind. so where I’m talking about they are either on a “drive” or waiting for the next trip. When I find them there I usually have to offer something a lot more interesting than a piece of plastic. Rattln anything often grabs at least one of them. Lawrence

So, the bass are still relating to the wing dam, not the sand flat behind it? Is that correct? Or, are you saying that the entire depression created there is worth fishing as well? For the record, I have always fished the wing dam rocks only. Perhaps that depression is a good place for the fish to back off to when a cold front moves through or there is heavy pressure.

The following is out of the Techniques section of guide website(Casting the Rocks), which was added in direct response to some of the questions on this post, and hopefully will narrow things down a little……. This is a huge subject but I will just tell you what we do and how we do it. Our go to lure for shallow rocks is any style of rattlin rap…trap, etc. including generics. This primarily a bass technique and this is how we have been getting our smallmouth and largemouth right next to each other IN THE MAIN CHANNEL. It is amazingly productive and amazingly hard on baits.(plan to lose 10-15 a day).Walmart and Cabela’s and others are closing out rattlin raps right now(Mid June 2002-$1.99??). Also Captain Hook’s in Genoa Wisconsin has a line of everyday $2.99 trap type lures. Every color they carry is productive, but I prefer chrome, and also crayfish patterns(they have about six). Many people have asked on websites for details so I have reserved the details for those who visit this site. Anywhere on the Mississippi channel; wingdams,riprap shorelines, and front sections of backwaters you will find rocks. The all time most productive spots are the south end,(hit by current directly), of closing dams that have rocks closest to the shore exposed. The casting is pretty simple. We use spincasters and aim about three feet upstream from where the rocks are exposed, at a 45 degre angle to the south. Your goal is to hook up with any fish right on the point or at angle just behind the end of the exposed rocks. I still haven’t found one that doesn’t hold some fish. It only takes a cast or two to see if they are there right then and minnows spraying tells you right away if the fish are actively feeding. Your secondary casts should be to the face of the above water section just in front of the exposed rocks, and third, (if you can get to the back side of the closing dam),along the backside of the same exposed rocks. I guess the exposed rocks part just comes as part and parcel with shallow rocks so it is more of a quick indicator than anything else. You will notice as water rises and drops these locations actually appear and disappear, but we find a much better percentage of fish on them when they have rocks showing. If you use this technique you will find that you will very quickly find out what water level is best at each individual location, both for fishing and not losing cracks. We have some that you grab the fish in 4 inches of water and some where 1 1/2 feet is better. Like I have said before on this site it is all about “TIME ON THE WATER”. LATER THIS WEEK I WILL COVER MORE ON OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR CASTING ROCKS……. Regarding the question about the washout behind the rocks:I almost always before leaving a productive site put on a jig and tail and cast it so that it drifts shallow to deep in those holes or pockets right behind the rocks. Although the percentage of additional bass I catch here is small it often adds a nice Walleye or northern to the days catch. I have always been a stucture oriented and shallow oriented bass fisherman and haven’t a clue how to catch deeper bass, or suspended ones away from structure. I would love to hear techniques that work for you and others. Lawrence Ocooch Mountains Fishing Guides

WOW. Thanks for that reply Lawerence. Now that was informative. I was waiting to see a map with spots marked at the end!!

Once again, thanks for a great post.

I’ve been trying to uncover some deep water bass as well. This is the thing that frustrates me: Sunday we went out and caught 6 small bass off rip rap, none on 2 traditionally productive wing dams, and none in some backwater rip rap or docks or laydowns. It’s like, “What am I doing wrong?!?!?” As for deeper water bass, the best and only spot I’ve found is a double sandy point that juts out across a slough. There was like a depression in between that had some largemouth. It was 2-5 feet on top and dropped really deep on the downcurrent side. Caught them on spinnerbaits. On the day we found that, there were about 4 other sandy points that were unproductive. I can’t figure those underwater sand points out, yet. Some are just better than others I guess.

Twenty three bass in 3 1/2 hours,(I ran out of lures),tonight. All largemouth this time and only three legals. Largest just over 3#s. Still on the main channel and still shallow. At one point I went 7 casts in a row before the lure,(Shad Rattlin Rap), came back without a bass. If all the 6-10 inch bass I’m catching are any indication the future sure looks bright. Lawrence Guide page

Mountain Man, Thanks for the info on the shallow water bassin. I fish pool 3 a lot and have never caught a smallmouth in water deeper than 2 to 3 feet and many in 1 ft of water. This year prior to the high and dirty water, I caught some SM in the exact type of places you described, and with lipless cranks. Spots, Traps, even Frenzys,before I too lost some of them. If I understand what you are saying, you have to get you lure in the very shallow water, very close to the rocks. This of course inhances ones chances of getting hung up and loosing the lure. But the rewards—-!!!!. What I have also found is that some years you will get a large Walleye in this same shallow water and that is fun—I mean 6 to 8 lbs.
Now, here is what puzzles me about SM. One year I caught 14 SM 12-15 inchers out of one such shallow area near rocks. Went back the next week and got only 2. What happened?? They much move around a lot. Anyway, good info and glad to here others loose lots of cranks looking for SM. PS not many Largemouth in pool 3. Grinder

Rattlin Rapala’s!! Two Bucks at Cabela’s!! I bought 14!! Look for the bargain bins. Or basspro.com has them for that too…

Caught a Walleye, Northern, Largemouth, and smallmouth out of the same 50 yards of river Monday morning on one!! All while the carp were rollin in the weeds right there too.

B

All the Fleetfarms have them for $2 as well. Except all the good colors are gone now…. ‘cuz I bought them all…

Thanks James,I grabbed a bunch. Just stopped in to say same places are working, as posted earlier, you just have to place your casts a little differently, because ofthe higher water and current. Some folks have asked why I haven’t put more BASS pictures on my site. I never intend to eat the bass so I often have them off and in the water before I even think about a picture. Somebody is almost always in the boat with me so I feel no need to keep a picture. But I guess I better start some quick CPR especially at league nights since we bring the fish in to weigh anyway. Lawrence Our guide pages.