Justin Atkins’ 2017 Cup win is a good example of
a schooling fish pattern paying off. He was able
to call bass up from isolated cane piles.
“ … it’s not just random luck
that bass come up. There’s
typically something that’s
keeping them there. ”
— DAVID DUDLEY
72
5. Call up Schoolers
From Cane and Timber
Schooling fish have produced Cup wins before. To Dudley,
the best kind of schoolers are the ones that can be pat-
terned and called up.
“If I’m at an upland reservoir that’s very clear, I look for
surface activity,” says Dudley, who counts water clarity as the
key to this pattern. “I always keep my eyes peeled for surface
activity and schooling fish.
“In these lakes that have timber in them, you can target
standing timber, or cane piles or brush piles, and you can
call them up. They’re holding on something typically, but it’s
not just random luck that bass come up. There’s typically
something that’s keeping them there.”
At the 2017 Cup at Lake Murray, Justin Atkins won by
using his electronics to locate suspended bass over cane
piles and calling them up with a big pencil popper. Dudley
will graph for pieces of cover too, but he finds a lot of his fish
by visually scanning in areas where he knows there’s timber
and by fishing key places within the trees such as edges and
drops. Both strategies can work.
6. Put Grass in Perspective
“Grass equals bass,” says Dudley.
Any kind of aquatic vegetation could house fish this time
of year. The plants oxygenate the water, provide shade and
attract forage species that move in to eat insects. While
Dudley will certainly give any grass a look, the first step is to
evaluate all the options.
For instance, on a lake like Eufaula, which has lily pads
and plenty of willow grass, Dudley will fish the grass, but he
won’t disregard the offshore brush piles and ledges that can
be home to schools of fish even in late summer. Grass
might be the best pattern, but then again it might not be.
Research on tournament history and current conditions
are important for evaluating the likelihood of a strong
grass bite.
FLWFISHING.COM I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018