Thursday March 28th, 2024 9:17AM

Ditch fishing slow to set up and get ready for 2017

Fishing has been good in recent weeks with schools of spotted bass gathering around the mouths of some of the bigger coves off the main lake.

Quite often they will suspend over the points that welcome you into the cove, sometimes they will suspend over the deepest part of the ditch forming the cove.

I think their tendency to suspend and not relate to the bottom (something they predictably do each year at this time) is a factor of the falling lake level and the oddity that the water temperature has yet to get really cold.

The depth at which the bass seem to suspend is variable each day and sometimes changes during the day, but that depth almost always matches the depth at which the schools of baitfish are holding.

Since massive schools of shad and herring are easier to see on your side scan sonar than individual bass (usually no more than one-two pixels in size), find the bait’s depth and understand that it will also apply to the bass.

From now until late January I am able to limit the number of rods I have to keep at my feet.  That reduces the chance that this clumsy ox will end up breaking one or that he will need to be helped back into the boat after falling overboard.

(Been there; done that.)

A jigging spoon, a drop shot, a finesse jig, a shaky-head green pumpkin finesse worm and a jerkbait (for those times you just gotta cast) is probably all you will need for the next ten weeks.

As the water cools - if the water cools – the bait and bass will slowly move into the larger pockets.  When it rains – if it rains – the move will be rapid and toward the very back of the cove. 

Since all the coves seem to have the same potential to hold bass, determine the direction from which the wind will be blowing and fish those coves that are protected.  It will make the task much more pleasant and actually allow you to feel a bite when you get one.

One last suggestion to those who fish late in the afternoon: rocky points that have been sun-exposed all day will attract bass extremely shallow just as the sun begins to pull away from them. 

A jig is a great option but unfortunately gets hung-up too much in the rocks if you drag it across the bottom, so use a lighter jig and swim it slowly just off the bottom.

P.S.  Now is the time of year to make plans for the next.  The various trails (BFL, Fishers of Men, Skeeter, etc.) are signing up and most bass clubs are ending their competitive year and looking for new members.

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