Bass Fishing May - Jun 2018 | Page 65

1. HOW TO WORK AN
EFFICIENT DEEP/SHALLOW
STRATEGY
D
eep­and­shallow­are­relative­terms­in­bass­fishing,­but­no­matter­where­you­fish
you’ll­want­to­become­familiar­with­both­extremes­if­you’re­going­to­compete­in
May­and­June­tournaments.
“Especially­more­so­in­May­than­June,­it’s­that­transition­time­of­year,”­says­Florida­pro
Jt­kenney.­“it’s­the­time­of­the­year­when­you­should­definitely­have­at­least­searched­for
patterns­both­shallow­and­deep.­you­either­need­a­two-pronged­approach,­or­you­really
need­to­at­least­have­searched­it­out­and­ruled­out­one­or­the­other.”
kenney­takes­the­two-pronged­approach­so­seriously­he­has­separate­strategies­for
how­to­search­for­it­in­practice­and­execute­during­the­tournament.
Practice­comes­first,­but­to­understand­the­goal­of
your­prep­time,­it’s­best­to­start­with­formulating­a­tour-
nament­strategy.
“When­you­do­have­a­two-pronged­approach,­most
people­will­tend­to­go­shallow­early­and­then­go­deep
later­in­the­day,­which,­in­my­opinion,­is­completely
opposite­of­what­you­should­do,”­kenney­says.­
the­Florida­pro’s­preferred­system­is­rooted­in­effi-
ciency.­in­the­morning,­shallow­fish­tend­to­roam.­sure,
you­can­catch­them­on­moving­baits,­but­that­approach
requires­covering­a­tremendous­amount­of­water,­which
isn’t­the­best­use­of­time.
it’s­more­efficient­to­start­out­deep.­
“Deeper­fish­tend­to­be­on­a­spot,”­kenney­says.­“as
we­all­know,­whether­it’s­the­tennessee­river­or­some-
place­else,­the­spot­is­typically­the­size­of­your­truck­and
boat.­and­whether­fish­are­in­2­feet­of­water­or­18­feet
of­water,­typically­first­thing­in­the­morning­is­when
they’re­biting.­i’d­rather­start­on­fish­that­are­concentrat-
ed­in­one­area­where­i­know­my­bait­is­landing­in­their
faces,­where­i­know­the­fish­should­be­biting.
“those­deep­fish,­when­they’re­feeding­on­that­spot,
they’re­right­there,­and­i­can­make­some­hay­really­quick.”
as­the­day­goes­on­and­the­sun­gets­high,­shallow­bass
will­position­tighter­to­cover­–­under­docks,­beside­wood,
in­or­along­the­edge­of­a­grass­bed.­that’s­when­kenney
heads­to­the­bank­and­targets­them­with­more­precision.
“say­there’s­100­yards­of­bank,­and­in­practice­i­got
two­bites­just­firing­down­it­in­the­morning.­if­there­are
two­laydowns­and­four­docks,­all­i­have­to­do­in­the
tournament­in­the­afternoon­is­fish­those­two­lay-
downs­and­four­docks­and­get­out­of­there.­i’m­not
going­to­fish­the­whole­way­around­it­on­100­percent
like­i­did­in­practice.”
MAY-JUNE 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM
The Tournament
63