2. THE WOODED
WAYPOINT
Strategy: Offer up a crawfish imita-
tion with a square-bill, or mimic a
wounded shad with a jerkbait.
according to Rose, submerged
wood – stumps or standing timber –
located near a spawning area provides
bass with cover to stage on before the
spawn begins and they disperse.
To him it’s a high-percentage area,
and if he finds a drop-off with sub-
merged stumps or trees, it’s almost a
guarantee that bass are loitering on
them. once the sun starts hitting that
cover, it’s time to target the area.
In Rose’s experience, the fish get
more active as the water warms
from sunlight, and they tend to move
a bit out of the cover into adjacent
areas where they can be targeted
with a jerkbait.
“Sun is a big deal,” Rose adds, “but
they stay close to the cover so they
can get tight to it if they need to.”
Rose likes to toss a Strike king kvD
jerkbait around wood, especially if
fish are suspended and soaking up a
few rays. The key here is to work the
bait slowly, stopping often between
jerks. In the heaviest of cover, such as
thick tree branches, Rose will switch
to a light jig.
submerged stumps
point
spawning pocket
large creek arm
Another approach: Wilson, in con-
trast, reaches for a crawfish-colored
square-bill crankbait around wood. He
says the lure’s snag-resistant design, cou-
pled with a crawfish-like profile, triggers
fish into biting – especially in early spring.
“Crawfish have the most protein they
[bass] are going to get from a meal,” he
says of his theory on spring bass behav-
ior. “So instinctively they are going to go
after crawfish before they feed on any-
thing else.”
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FLWFISHING.COM I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018