Handbook of Strategies…Hey JC

Well, I’m back from my annual hiatus from the message board…of course I was weathering out our cold months primarily with college! Anyway, happy to be back and excited to hit the river!

One comment for Mr. Crawford…last year you recommended to me the In-Fisherman handbook of strategies. I purchased the LM handbook of strategies (just finished reading it actually) and the SM handbook of strategies. Having finished the LM edition, I can say that it was awesome and appreciate the tip! I highlighted many lines in there! Thanks, JC! However, I do have a question about the SM edition, which I just started reading. First, JC, have you read this book? Second, it mentioned that smallmouth are big time homebodies. They really seem to emphasize this point, which to me goes against more recent In-Fisherman articles noting the long migrations smallies make in rivers. What’s the deal with all of this? Does the homebody info mostly apply to lakes? Has the idea of smallies as homebodies now been refuted? However, it said in the book that they tracked smallies that made long trips back to their home areas after being displaced. I don’t know, any info/clarification on this would be greatly appreciated as I’m working on understanding the science of bass.

One other question stemming from the other thread about spring bass… Bassman mentioned that he caught a few on a steeply sloping bank. Just wondering what the attraction is of steeply sloping banks. It makes sense as a wintering area, but what about summer? I read a Homer Circle article touting steep banks as a place to check out during summer. However, the IN-Fisherman handbook of strategies indicates that bass do not make drastic movements from shallow to deep. What is the value of a steep bank, then? It has access to deep water, but what holds them on the shallower parts of the bank? There cannot be a whole lot of cover due to the sharp grade. Any info on this would be appreciated as well. A steep bank is easy to find and would be a good starting point for unfamiliar sections of water if in fact it is a bass magnet of sorts.

Thanks for your time on any of this and I look forward to talking bass fishing in the coming months!

Greg,
I appreciate your enthusiasm. Unfortunately I have partaken to much stimulating conversation for one night. I will reply to this in the morning. You have my word… Just for starters I must say I could write a book on the topics you introduced. See ya in the morning.
Jc

Greg,
The bass will relatet to the steep banks during cold water periods of late fall and early sring. I caught a number of fish on this same bank up to ice up last year. I would catch fish up in the shallowest of water during high light conditions with stable weather and would catch them in the deeper water slow rollin spinnerbaits when there was drastic changes in weather. They relate to these areas at this time of the year because they can escape to the warmer depths easily when the water changes. This particular bank also has the bonus of some sunken brush and being on the north side of a small bay. This allows this area to receive greater warming due to the sun. This same type of movement is also discussed in many articles about bass that are staging to spawn. If I can give any further insights please let me know.

Bassman

Wow, thanks Bassman! Have you tried the spot during the summer at all? I was just wondering if the deep brush still attracted fish in the warm months? Or, perhaps they prefer nearby flats for summer??

I have not tried the spot myself in the summer, but some people I know have and they do not see the same type of success that I have during the cold water months. I do plan on trying it for myself though to see. I have caught some nice largemouths at the opening of this bay in the warm months on a narrow flat in the weeds, but that is nothing special, and I can not say for certain that they are the same fish of coarse.

Bassman

Smallmouth Handbook…

First I will say that you are correct in seeing the contradictions in this publication. Many stem from the transition between lakes and rivers. In lakes smallies are homebodies in general however they do make seasonal changes which can involve large geographic migrations. In lakes (spring) you will find these smallies using deepwater next to some type of structure. Typically the structure is a long deepwater point, outside or inside turn that drops off to deeper water. The funny thing is that often these smallies will be suspended out over say 40 feet of water only down about 12 in the water column. The move horizontally to feed up on the flat where of course the forage is. In my opinion the best structures offer hard bottom and steep banks to make feeding more advantageous. The steep banks are not a requirement once the water moves into the 45 degree temp. The smallies will transition to prespawn areas and often set up on rock piles in 15 feet of water in preparation. This is why the suspending jerkbait is so effective in the spring. You typically position your out away from the structure, break, point , ect and rip your bait down about 6 feet and them slowly rip and snap you bait changing your cadence to entice a strike.

In a river system…(get really tricky here) I target wintering areas based on what’s available. Often you will be hard pressed to find deep water with minimal current that still offers the life sustaining requirements. SOME wingdams do this but the ones with water rushing through usually are not the best. Other areas are turns in the deeper sloughs where the current slacks. Just like the places you find them in the summer but usually back off the break into the scour hole. Were are talking wintering. This effects of this week will have moved these fish up to the break or close to it for feeding. Right now they are in pre-prespawn meaning that warming and feeding are primary objectives. Once the water hits upper 40’s and the photo period is right they will begin a mass migration. Not all fish go at the same time but within a 3ish week window. From there the migration on rivers can be significant. There have been telemetry studies where fish from the river moved all the way up the Croix to some type of pits (the name evades me) located clear over in WI. The journey spanned some 90 miles. This is one determined fish. I am unsure if this is the location of there birth per say but this does make logical since to me and the fact that they take residence in the Miss would point to adaptive changes in there location based on available forage.
To put this in layman’s terms. Find a deep water area, say 15 feet, and look for an area that you feel the fish can hang out and still have a quick move to feed. When the sun starts hitting the bank in these types of areas fish from the first ledge all the way to the bank to see where they are positioned on any given day. If you do not get but move out and fish the deeper water with a grub or small tube looking for a school. As things warm these fish will get closer and closer to the current while feeding. And yes there will always be some fish out in the deeper areas. This is the case even in summer. Once the fish move which I suspect is starting to happen right now they will most likely head out towards the main river or into the pre-prespawning areas that have available food sources.
Many people find fish out on the main river at this time and yep there are many there. This means the heartbeat of the river is starting and that winter is losing its grip.
I love this time of year!

Bassmans steep sloping bank is one of the areas that fish of both species will set up on while feeding. I wish we had the ability to take a picture under the water and a number of areas and see the posturing of all fish in this system. The info would be profound.
Jc

“Other areas are turns in the deeper sloughs where the current slacks. Just like the places you find them in the summer but usually back off the break into the scour hole.”

This really gets at the heart of a problem I have with river fishing. I have little to no understanding of river structure…by that I mean the prevalence, heck, even existence of ledges, rockpiles, points, drop offs, sunken brush, etc. I am very much a “bank beater” who relies on identifying cover. I oftentimes assume that a lot of the sloughs and main channel are just full of sand on the bottom. I know there are drop-offs and I’ve seen and fished a few points, but I’m not sure what exactly would hold them out there in the depths. If I could only ask you one more question it would be: Does a bare drop off hold fish? I mean, is it worth my time to identify any drop off in a backwater and start working plastics down it? For example, I know the Black river is very “contoury” but have no clue what is good and what isn’t. Essentially, when fish aren’t catchable in shallower spots or visible stuff like rip rap, I really have no clue where they are because I’m not sure what else is out there, save a few deeper laydowns or wingdams. Going back to your post, I understand what a turn is and what a scour hole is, but I’ve never really fished either, save a fruitless fan cast or two with a spinnerbait against a bank on an outside turn back in the slough by Target Lake. I don’t know where the fish hold in such an area (are they on bottom, suspending?)I am certainly quite interested in this and would love to hear more.

Honestly, I could ask you hundreds of questions here. I wish they had Hot Spots fishing maps for the river so I could gain an understanding of the bottom content and contours of the river…I mean I just don’t know. Unfortunately, the Handbook of strategies stays quite general at times, so I don’t quite have the understanding of predator/prey relationships in the cold water period, for example (specifically, are the fish in the scour hole you’re speaking of eating shad or crayfish? Are shad still active in the winter?) When you speak of a large movement to the main channel, that is news to me! I would have assumed that the bass would stay out of current in preparation for the spawn (or do they just move out to bulk up then come back?). Anyway, I have much to learn and if you know of any books that deal more specifically with the river, I’d love to read them.

JC, certainly do not feel compelled to answer all the questions I’ve raised here! I hate to sound like a dang spot-stealer so much! I’m just working on gaining a more scientific understanding of where fish are and why, specifically regarding seasonal movements. I am quite amazed at my fellow board members’ knowledge of precise movements…I could go on for another page asking about seasons in regard to bass I’ve caught in springs past. I think the transition stuff is tough…I could name a spawning flat, but do prespawn fish feed on the exact flat, too? Anyway, I’ll shut up for now, and as always, thanks for your time!

First and foremost to lose track of what you know. The way you fish is a staple and 90% of the time you are in the right places. Trust me. Next when you can not find fish determine where they were and them try to follow where there went based on your experiences and your general understanding of what they do and why.
Just because you are not getting but doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong. I will be on the river this weekend and if I get 5 bites a day I am ecstatic. As for turns and such. A cut bank is a turn and yes you are beating the bank. The front edge of an island is a point and yes the area you are fishing if the flat. Be careful when approaching it because you are most likely floating over many fish just getting to the bank. Some of my best spots are about 10 – 20 yards out away from a cut point or island. You are doing what you are having confidence in and what works. You are just failing to make the correlation between what the books say and what you are doing.
You need to come with me for a day and I’ll show you exactly what I mean.
Jc

So a bend in a slough or channel = a cut, but does it also = an undercut bank? I know those are supposed to be good spots, I’ve fished a few of ’em that had laydowns and did OK. What do you mean by “cut point?” Would that be an inside turn? Would I be accurate in saying that I could think of various sand points, islands, etc. as flats which fish might utilize for feeding? Likewise, bass might be holding at various levels based on their aggressiveness…hence dropping back into the hole or staying up on the flat. I’m still stuck on the cover thing…I’m not sure when to hit a breakline hard.

Anyway, I plan on getting a lot of fishing in as soon as possible and will let you know on my hypotheses. “Experience is the greatest teacher.” Not sure who wrote that one!

off the cuff I think it was Benjamin Franklin that said that. Anyone else have an idea.

I look forward to the postings of your findings.
jc

This discussion reminds me of one particular instance during either the 1999 or 2000 All-American in LaCrosse during the spring. Arizona angler Mike Baldwin won it fishing, I believe, pre-spawn largemouth AND smallmouth on one single rockpile he stumbled upon in about 15 feet of water in the black river. The rockpile was right next to a deep hole that dropped to 25-35 feet and was well away from the bank. He was able to catch a fish on basically every cast with a small spider jig. Just goes to show that there are areas on the river that have structure in deep water as opposed to the normal bank-fishing mentality. And many of these type of spots remain virtually untapped. Whether or not any of us have the patience or confidence to try and find them, that’s the real difficulty.

That’s a good point. I also remember hearing about that spot on the Black. I wonder how he found it? Maybe he was searching the river channel in the Black River. Is there even a defined channel in the Black? Anyway, I sure wish there were fishing hotspots maps for the river to clue us in on some of that kind of stuff. Anyone else fishing the river sometimes feel like he is eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet where half the food is covered? LOL

The unfortunate thing about most maps is that they do not show the small structures like a small rock pile in the Black. Most, if not all maps do not have enough accuracy due to the way they are made. Unless a mapmaker “stumbles” across a small structure while completing transects these small treasures are only found using a depth finder. Keep an eye on your depth finder when going from area to area and you will hopefully find your own little spots like that.

From what I understand, Baldwin really did stumble on this rockpile while pre-fishing when his co-angler threw out the opposite side of the boat while he was fishing the shallower water. It’s also ironic that this spot was just a few hundred yards away from the boat landing.

I’ll take luck over skill anyday!
jc

Depth finders, eh? I’m going to start a new thread on that one…stay tuned.

In tourneys, luck is a good thing to have on your side. I have only had it on my side once in tourneys.

Is this the one in question ??

http://www.insideline.net/1999/taylor-0910-99.html

Wow…cool article! Was he fishing that spot out by the Clinton street bridge? There was someone hanging out there quite a bit if memory serves me right.

Now I’m really confused. It looks like the article says he cought his limit, and then ‘prefished’ for the remaining days.

I thought that was squarely illegal in a no-cull state and once your limit hit the well, you had to put up the rods.

I watched the video of this All-American in LaCrosse along with the other one. They showed Baldwin just cruising around his spot to keep other competitors out.

I missed when they televised that All-American, unfortunately. I really wanted to see it, too, to see specifically what the pros would do on the river. Do you know if that thing can be purchased anywhere?

You can obtain copies of most of the recent BFL All Americans, FLW, RCL, Everstart etc… from flwoutdoors website. They’re $9.95 + $3 S&H.

I was fishing the weekend of that tournament. We saw were some of the guys were at, and saw where the winning catch came from. The last day, we went to the weigh in and they played highlights of the tournament. It was pretty neat to see where and what the pro’s were doing in places that you have fished a lot.