“ The key is transition – change from one recognizable form of rock to another .”
“ I was looking for big boulders , some the size of a Volkswagen , in 12 to 20 feet of water ,” recalled Dobson , who was rewarded with a third-place finish . “ Those were key to my success . So were boulders up on the shallower 7- foot flats .”
Dobson ’ s knowledge of Great Lakes connecting waters like the Detroit River , St . Lawrence River and St . Clair River / Lake St . Clair has led him to repeated tournament success throughout his career .
“ When you have current , any obstruction will be a natural magnet for smallmouth and largemouth , too , for that matter ,” he said . “ Boulders can hold fish year-round in 2 feet of water or 40 feet . But in late summer and early fall , this pattern really shines .”
Forward-facing sonar imagery from his Lowrance ActiveTarget unit has added significantly to his already prodigious talent . The technology ’ s worth has proved most valuable when he ’ s working deeper rock , particularly boulders in the 15- to 30-foot range .
Typically , he ’ ll start with a 1 / 2-ounce ChatterBait paired with a white NetBait Little Spanky swimbait and go to a 3 / 4-ounce model to work deeper boulders in 12 to 20 feet . He likes the hooked-to-landed ratio he gets with single-hook baits .
Other preferred choices include a jerkbait and a drop-shot rig , with a dropper weight ( up to 1 ounce ) matched to depth and current velocity . The NetBait Drifter Minnow and flatsided shad-type plastics are preferred drop-shot baits .
“ Green pumpkin with gold and purple flake is a no-brainer smallmouth color ,” he said .
Dobson also stocks up with colors resembling shad , smelt and alewives .
BOULDER TIPS : Manmade “ boulders ” located on big water hold bass , too . Navigational buoys , often positioned along channels dredged for shipping traffic , are secured with giant cement anchors .
“ The buoys sit in the 25- to 40-foot depth zone ,” he added . “ They are havens for bass .”
Rock transition : Hard bottom prespawn and spawning bays
Hard bottom in any form can attract bass when the surrounding features are soft or silty . But what draws bass when the lake basin is essentially rock ? Such is the case on many highland reservoirs throughout the country , particularly the Ozarks , Kentucky and Tennessee and many waters in the West ?
The key is transition – change from one recognizable form of rock to another .
Bass fishing legend Kevin VanDam proved the importance of identifying lake areas where rock composition shifts from one form to another one April on Missouri ’ s Table Rock Lake .
With bass staggered in prespawn , spawn and early postspawn conditions , VanDam focused on key rock transitions .
“ On highland reservoirs , you ’ re always looking at the rock on the bank ,” he explained as we scoured a large bay for the lake ’ s mixed population of largemouth , smallmouth and spotted bass .
Spawning bass would largely spread their eggs on gravel . VanDam sought areas where the bottom composition shifted from one form of rock to another . On rocky reservoirs , what lies below the waterline is an extension of what you see on the exposed shoreline , he explained . He scanned the shoreline for shifts in composition – pea gravel transitioning to chunk rock or a mix of the two , or a shift from large broken rock chunks to smaller , more uniform rock .
VanDam covered water vertically as well as laterally that day with middepth and squarebill Strike King crankbaits – KVD series , of course – and spinnerbaits . Bass spawn at widely varying depths in these highland reservoirs , particularly with multiple bass species and staggered spawning within each species . He preferred a floating / diving crankbait because it enabled him to work shallow to moderately deep structure quickly yet effectively .
HIGHLAND RESERVOIR TIPS : Large boulders , stumps and bushes enhance the attractiveness of prime spawning areas and are likely to hold fish .
“ Wind blowing onto a flat or secondary point can be a key factor , whether it ’ s stimulating a bite or steering spawning fish into either deeper or better protected bedding areas ,” VanDam said .
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