Z-Man Sling BladeZ Colorado Willow Spinnerbait Color : Greenback Shad
Z-Man David Walker ’ s Crosseyez Football Jig Color : Money Maker
Z-Man Hella CrawZ Color : Bama Bug
Rapala DT6 Color : Ike ’ s Penguin
ROCKIN ’ RIPRAP Manmade rock structure near bridges and roadways is host to a diverse menu of bass delicacies like fry , crawfish , shad and more . A variety of baits can be effective around this fishy habitat .
hen rock and water mix , good things happen . Algae grows . Periphyton flourish . Crawfish crawl .
Insects hide . Baitfish gather .
And where rock rules , so do bass – largemouth , smallmouth and spotted alike . They grow fat in the food court , slurping up crawfish , feasting on baitfish .
Rock offers bass hospitable habitat . It soaks up solar heat in cold months , provides comfort stops on featureless plains and offers long underwater highways with plentiful food along the way .
Rock ’ s structure , configurations and types are diverse and mixed , its variety ranging from fine-grain particles and pea gravel to chunk rock ; from sheer bluff walls to car-sized boulders . Manmade rock constructs such as riprap and buoy anchors factor into the mix as well .
“ A lot of rock ’ s appeal is due to interstitial space – the gaps between
the rocks ,” said Joe Rush , biologist and owner of JadEco , a lake management company . “ The gaps allow small organisms to hide , feed and reproduce . Crayfish and baitfish follow , moving in and out of those interstitial spaces , and the bigger fish congregate . You have a lot of diversity in species and sizes and multiple year classes of fish . Rock provides plenty of opportunity for fish to find the food source they require based on their size and needs .”
Orchestrating a game plan for working rock requires recognition , know-how , the right tools and a versatile skillset .
We mined the experience of MLF tour pros for some hard rock how-to .
Early heat
When it comes to smallmouth bass , spring is the season . And rock is the reason .
Big-water bronzeback guru Scott Dobson of Clarkston , Michigan locates smallmouth in 6- to 8-foot depths after last ice on his home waters , which include Lake St . Clair and the northwest corner of Lake Erie .
“ Sun is always your friend when you ’ re fishing shallow rock ( in the early season ),” said Dobson , winner of MLF ’ s 2020 Toyota Series event on the Detroit River and seven other Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League events up north . “ Shallow rock warms quickly after ice-out on the Great Lakes and the Canadian Shield . Bass move to that warming water . Crayfish and baitfish are attracted , too .” His first choice for ice-out smallmouth is a football head jig with a NetBait Little Spanky ( 3.25-inch ) swimbait .
“ I fish a lot of swimbaits on a football head jig ( 3 / 8 to 1 / 2 ounce ) in this late winter / early spring period with water temperatures in the high 30s and
34 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2022