TAKEOFF
SCENARIOS
Stake beds attract shad
when the water falls, and
bass move in to capitalize.
dock with
good depth
Shad slide out
as the water
recedes.
sunken
log
laydown
stake
beds
dry
dock
laydown
ground left dry
by the drawdown
THE YOUNG-SHAD-IN-THE-SHALLOWS PATTERN
L
THIS YEAR’S HATCH IS LEFT VULNERABLE BY THE SUMMER DRAWDOWN
30
ate-summer drawdowns have a major impact on reser-
voir patterns, and understandably so. Fish – bass, bait-
fish and otherwise – and anglers have to react when the
water falls.
Small, young-of-the-year shad that were taking refuge in
miles of shoreline cover during the previous month or two
have to follow the water out as it drops. They wind up con-
centrated in any shallow cover that remains wet, and when
they congregate they usually become more vulnerable to
predation.
Terry Bolton, an FLW Tour pro from Paducah, Ky., has seen
this transition on Kentucky Lake produce some of the best
shallow bass fishing opportunities of the summer. He takes
advantage for good stringers at times when other anglers are
competing for pressured schools offshore.
What Happens
By Curtis Niedermier
Reservoir drawdowns vary across the country. Kentucky
Lake, where Bolton is most familiar with the reservoir man-
agement strategy, is drawn down starting in early July.
“Generally, right as the drawdown starts, it’ll drop below
359 [feet; summer pool], and it’ll pull the water out of the
existing buck brush and willow trees,” Bolton says. “All that
young-of-the-year fry moves out of all the cover to whatever’s
available.”
When the uprooted baitfish pile into “whatever’s avail-
able,” they present easy foraging opportunities for bass that
can blitz through dense clouds of 1- to 2-inch shad and fill
their bellies. They usually remain in the same areas from mid-
July through September on Kentucky Lake. The timing might
vary at other lakes.
FLWFISHING.COM I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018