The Bass Insider Issue 1 September Once I homed in on an area I want to fish, I cast deep running crank baits or Carolina rig two baits that I can work quickly to cover the maximum amount of water in the shortest amount of time. I normally use a crank bait designed to run deeper than the structure. This means the bait will reach the bottom faster and stay there longer during the retrieve. Also, as I move along a drop-off, I make one cast up on the ledge, then I follow with a cast ahead of the boat so the bait runs back along the lip of the drop. By casting this ’cross- stitch’ pattern, I cover more potential fish locations along the channel. When I catch a bass, I will cast the crank bait again. If about 10 casts fail to produce a second bite, I’ll try a plastic or a jig to see whether I found a school of bass or a loner. If I get a second or a third bite, I figure I found a honey hole! The most frustrating thing about fishing a creek is visualizing what the channel’s doing. This is where most anglers makes their biggest mistake. They’ll work along a short stretch of channel without finding anything, then give up and go and fish the bank. You’ve got to work hard to find those few little spots where the bass stay. I will put my trolling motor down and start fishing along the channel break. When I lose it, I’ll circle around and pick it back up and follow it some more. Channels can become difficult to trace, and this is where the frustration comes in, where a lot of guy’s give up. But they should realize that when they lose the channel, it’s probably because it’s done something real cool like made a sharp bend, and this can be a key area to fish. My other method of tracing a channel involves dropping marker buoy every 5 to 10 meters as many as 10 markers on a channel. This attracts attention from other anglers and is not recommended during competition time. When you are doing homework for a tournament would be best time to use this method. Stand back and take a mental picture of the channel breaks and make notes of what you see on your depth finder at those channel breaks. Better yet if you have a digital camera take a picture of buoy which should be a very good reminder of what you saw when you were practicing. I fish crank baits and Carolina rigs on deeper channels, but when fishing in the back of a creek, I cast the ledges with a spinner bait or a top water. When the channel tops slide into deeper water (10 feet), I switch to a crank bait. In the shallower part of the creek, I’m looking for scattered, individual bass more than the wads of fish like you find in deeper water. I move fast work very quickly to cover more
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