Bass Fishing Feb - Mar 2018 | Page 70

1 . THE SHALLOW DITCH
Strategy : Mimic shad using a vibrating jig or lipless crankbait .
at Cumberland , Wilson targeted a classic prespawn staging area for his second-place finish . he located a ditch in the back of a creek channel . Green , leafy , almost grass-like brush that had been growing in the area on dry ground had recently been inundated with water when the lake level rose . Bass were positioned in the cover along the edge of the drop-off into the ditch , waiting for the right time to spawn on large flats located along outside bends in the creek channel .
“ They would pull up on the flats occasionally as it warmed up throughout the day ,” Wilson recalls . on sonar , Wilson found the area stacked with near-surface baitfish . even though the bass weren ’ t busting the baitfish topside , he was able to use a white vibrating jig with a yuM Pulse swimbait trailer to lure several largemouths out from the cover and into his boat .
The flats were about 2 1 / 2 feet deep , and the channel edge varied from 5 feet deep to around 10 at its deepest . Wilson says he ’ s found similar scenarios on other reservoirs around the region .
“ They ’ ll sit on those 2- to 3-foot differences on , like , a little ‘ plateau area ’ before they move up on the flat ,” he explains . “ That ’ s typically what I look for in the spring – a place like that . It was basically a highway .”
Another approach : While Wilson opted for a vibrating jig , Rose prefers to throw a Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait , particularly when there ’ s grass in the ditch . He says the lure will attract and agitate bass taking shelter in the cover . He also used this program at Guntersville to target bass along inside grass lines .
PhoTo By joDy WhITe
68
FLWFISHING . COM I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018