phoTo by JoDy WhiTe
phoTo by mATT pAce
TARGET: GrASS BAIT: JiGS, TeXAS riGS, FroGS
Ouachita’ s hydrilla expansion will offer an atypical summer option: deep and shallow. If the hydrilla tops out, this matted vegetation will be a sure bet, but look for the less dense milfoil beds to also play.
TARGET: open bAnKS BAIT: bUzzbAiTS, bUzz FroGS, Whopper pLopperS
Slinging moving topwaters along key shallow banks where fish are cruising or feeding throughout the day is known for producing big catches.
Deep, Shallow or Both
With the cup only three days long, winning with shallow fish is a much more likely scenario than it used to be in a Southern impoundment in the summertime. When brad Knight did it in 2015( a four-day event), he defied logic and won from a single shallow area in big blakely creek. most observers predicted Knight’ s fish would run out by the weekend. They didn’ t. more typical for a shallow win that time of year is running and gunning with frogs, soft plastics and the like, catching a fish here and a fish there and working a couple of key areas – maybe around shallow wood, bream beds or natural springs.
Fishing deep has also won at ouachita – twice – thanks to the plethora of options offshore. There’ s grass, timber, brush and bait schools that attract groups of bass. Timing is often critical offshore, but a milk run of spots can easily win it. of course, anyone can uncover a schooling spot or a few brush piles that’ ll help fill a limit before going shallow and hunting kickers midday. This two-pronged approach hasn’ t won a cup yet, but has churned out several top 10s in FLW’ s championship event.
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