During a Bassmaster post-season tournament last September, Alabama pro Gerald Swindle found himself going against the grain of what “the book” suggested for that time of year.
“The book,” that mythical pronouncement of tactics and techniques, said the bass probably should be on offshore structure in late summer. No way should they be in shallow water that wouldn’t dampen your knees. Temperatures probably would be too hot, according to “the book.” Cooler offshore temperatures would harbor the biggest bass and forage.
Swindle threw the book into the trash and went against the grain. He tied on a topwater popping frog and worked it methodically in and around shoreline weeds. Small openings, little cuts and slimy gunk offered little to the casual observer. But Swindle knew some bass always stay in shallow, shady areas.
When “the book” says to do one thing, how many will choose to ignore it and seek something different? Sometimes that can make the difference. Skeet Reese did just that on Smith Mountain Lake in May during a tournament when conditions set up perfectly for him to throw a big Rago swimbait.
“I think it depends on the body of water more than anything,” Reese said. “One thing I’ve learned traveling east is that some lakes, the hotter it gets the shallower the bass will get. On rivers where they pull water and have current and oxygen, they’ll be out offshore. But on certain lakes it seems like they lose the oxygen content at 8 to 10 feet or below that. I think that’s when they get in the dirt-shallow water, especially where a little wind can create a chop and stir up things.
Reese recalled Bassmaster Classic championships won by George Cochran in 1996 on Lay Lake and Denny Brauer in 1998 on High Rock. Cochran threw spinnerbaits in a shallow backwater pool, and Brauer was targeting shallow isolated cover with a tube. Both were in water 1-3 feet deep that for August, which was when the tournament was held at that time, was warmer than bathwater.
“That time of year, usually things seem to get won offshore cranking or throwing a Carolina-rig, or in dirt-shallow water no one thinks about,” Reese said. “That made no sense to me, being a West Coast guy used to drop shotting a worm 60 feet deep. But everything’s a learning curve and sometimes you do have to think differently.”
Deciding to zig when the other guys zag can be a tricky decision, though. Brent Ehrler did that earlier this year on Table Rock Lake in the opening FLW Tour tournament. Many of the pros were throwing jerkbaits for suspended bass in the White River arm of the lake. Ehrler fished there, too, but opted for a Lucky Craft 2.5 DD crankbait and a 5-inch grub on a jighead.
Ehrler swam the smoke-colored grub, treating it similar to a crankbait. He would cast to about 12 feet, let it hit bottom and then swim it out through or above suspended fish. He’d also work the bait the same way in deeper water up to 30 feet.
The tactic was a winner, giving him the tournament win and kick-starting his season.
“I fished it like a crankbait but was able to get into the deeper range where fish were holding over the timber,” he said. “The fish might be 5-10 feet deep but were hanging over 30 feet. They’re harder to catch but Table Rock is famous for the jerkbait and swimming the grub.”
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box on occasion. The results might surprise you.