It’s a poorly kept secret that I am coming to South Africa in August. While my plans are proceeding at a furious pace, I am not ready to share them just yet. Needless to say, I am preparing to spend most of my fishing time showing people the EVIL technique called “trolling”. While Spoonpluggers troll a lot, it is just a tool in the box of skills we have. We cast quite a bit, use drop shots, pitch and flip, and whatever other technique that is required but there are huge differences in the applications of these different techniques. It’s not so much the mechanics but the “when” we use them.
All fishermen would benefit from trolling correctly because it yields information not possible to get any other way, but this article is not the place to discuss that. I know that if I want to help the Bass fishermen in South Africa I must concentrate on other aspects of Spoonplugging that will help improve catches within the scope of how you fish. You can be a good Spoonplugger without trolling much. For this article, I want to discuss what gives me the confidence to come to South Africa and think I have a decent chance to catch a few of your Bass.
FACT: A Bass is a Bass is a Bass no matter where he lives. Whether in Minnesota, California, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Cuba, or even South Africa, Bass behave the same. No matter where on the planet a Bass lives, they still react the same to weather, water, seasonal and daily migrations, pollution, and bodily functions.
If a fisherman knows Bass behaviour and adjusts his techniques to fit the current conditions and not be pinned down to a specific technique, he will have a very good chance to catch Bass, or any species of fish, anywhere.
FACT: A Bass has a pea – sized brain. They do not have the capacity for creative thinking. The entire fish is built for survival and reacting to the current conditions.
FACT: The “home” of the fish is in deep water. There are groups of fish that will live in the cover in the shallows, however the biggest percentage of the total number of adult fish in any body of water will be in the sanctuary zone (for Bass, 30-35 feet). What is even more important is that for any body of water, this
largest percentage of fish lives in just 1% of the total volume of water. So a couple of things to think about…
- Except for seasonal migrations for spawning, most of the adult Bass rarely get to a depth of 10 feet or less.
- Most of the time the fish in the Sanctuary Zone are so dormant that they are nearly uncatchable
- With most of the large trophy size fish we all target, if we are fishing in shallow waters most of the time and not catching large adult fish (adult fish is considered 3 pounds and larger) we must change our thinking from “They are not biting” to “They are NOT here” and we must change where we are fishing.
FACT: When fishing shallow water (water less than 8-10 feet deep), fish can be caught in the entire water column. When fishing in water deeper than 10 feet, fish can still be caught but we must present our baits so they relate to the bottom, literally bumping. Most of the time a Largemouth Bass caught deeper than 10’ of water is caught with a presentation where the lure bumped the bottom. If you are fishing in 30 feet of water but your lure is nowhere close to the bottom, there is literally no chance of catching a Largemouth Bass.
FACT: With the fish being dormant and nearly uncatchable in the sanctuary zone most of the time,
S.A. TRIP PREP
Bass Digest/July, 2014