| During the spring, bass fishermen can have a blast | | | | to 20 minutes is long enough. I have also come back |
| fishing in shallow water. Not only can you catch some | | | | in an hour or so, later in the evening, next morning or |
| big bass in water less than 5 feet deep, but you can | | | | even at night. During this pre-spawn to spawning |
| actually see these fish in the shallows. Two of the | | | | period, the fish that you spot throughout the day |
| most important things that you can do to increase | | | | should be holding on these spots for a while. If you |
| your odds of catching bass while sight fishing is to | | | | come back to them later in the day or over the next |
| get a good pair of polarized sunglasses and a good | | | | couple of days, you should have a better chance of |
| trolling motor. No matter how well you think you can | | | | catching them. When you come back to these spots, |
| see through the water without glasses, you will see | | | | don't try to spot the fish. Stay farther away and |
| more fish and more importantly, you will spot them | | | | cast to where you think the fish are. This will |
| faster with polarized sunglasses. Polarized sunglasses | | | | increase your hookups because they can no longer |
| help to block the light that is reflected by the light's | | | | see your boat. |
| surface, which allows you to see through the water | | | | In darker water, it becomes very tough to find fish. I |
| better. Make sure you have a trolling motor to help | | | | have found that you can get a lot closer to the fish |
| you cruise along the shallows quietly. In some fishing | | | | in darker water, but it is going to take a lot longer to |
| tournaments, there have been some bass fishermen | | | | see the fish. Under these conditions, you are going to |
| that have started using long poles like you would see | | | | need some sunlight to help you see some fish. In |
| among saltwater flats fishermen. These poles aren't | | | | darker water, I will cruise along the shoreline and try |
| necessary, but they will help you move along the | | | | to watch for the wake of a bass chasing a bluegill |
| shallows making less noise. For most circumstances, a | | | | out of the bed. You may not see the actual fish, but |
| trolling motor will work just fine. | | | | you can see the wake and this gives you an idea of |
| Let's take a look at some of the other factors that | | | | where the bed is located. |
| will affect your sight fishing. In clear water, you will | | | | As far as lures go, plastic worms, jigs, salmanders, |
| be able to see almost everything in the shallows, | | | | plastic snakes and even top water lures will work. |
| however, bass will able to see you as well. In very | | | | There are so many options, but it is tough to beat a |
| clear water, there are times that I will see some | | | | live nightcrawler or live leech in the spring. |
| bass cruising along the shoreline or sitting on a bed. If | | | | To find more information, take a look at our bass |
| I can't get a fish to bite, I will mark these spots with | | | | fishing page. |
| my gps and come back to them later. Sometimes 10 | | | | |