The Bass Insider Issue 1 September game fish will all be clustered in a very thin well-defined layer, normally no wider than 5 to 10 feet. In terms of location, winter bass prefer steeper drops. I look for the sharpest break I can find. We see in SA now that the weather in winter is very unstable, and the fish like to hold where it’s easiest for them to move up or down in the water column in response to changes in temperature and barometric pressure. Since bass school so tightly in winter, anglers must be even more exact in their presentations in this season. This is why jigs and drop-shot rigs are the primary baits for catching bass along channels. An angler can position his boat directly over a sharp drop-off and then ease down it, always watching his depth finder and keeping his bait within inches of the structure. Sometimes I employ a slight variation in the standard vertical method of fishing my jig. If I have trouble zeroing in on the bass, I may hold my boat over the deep side of the drop, and I’ll pitch my jig up shallow and then hop it back down the drop under the boat. It’s like walking it down a set of steps. Then once I learn the fish’s depth I can move the boat right on top of them and begin fishing vertically. HOW TO FISH CREEK CHANNELS The underwater creeks that feed into river channels are similar to the structure discussed above, except shallower. Many of the techniques for finding and fishing each are identical, although there are important differences. Creek channels are one of the dominant places to fish in South African dams as they are all man-made impoundments. They‘re highways for bass and bait fish. Many creeks are lined with timber, stumps or old logs that have washed down the channel. The dropoffs that form the channel walls allows the fish to move up and down the water column, depending on day-to-day conditions. And sometimes creek channels are extra-rich in nutrients. When fresh nutrients enter a dam, they move with the currents down the channels. Bass spend a great part of their lives along them. Step No 1 in learning to fish creek channels is knowing when to fish them. As with river channels, creek channels are more attractive to bass at certain times of the year than others. I fish creek channels all year long except during the spawn, but early and late summer are the most consistent periods. In late summer when the water temperature starts
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