[Fishingworld Library] [Web Info and Pricing][Goto Main Directory] [The Amazing Doddle Socking Jigger Pole] Pressured Bass Strategies By Kevin VanDam (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an excerpt from VanDam´s new book, Kevin VanDam´s Bass Strategies. To obtain a copy, send $14.95plus $3.50 shipping and handling to KVD Publications, P.O. Box174, Jones, Mi., or call (800) 544-9343 with a credit card.) If you´re fishing a body of water that gets a lot of pressure, factor in that pressure as you plan your day offishing. Here are some of the things I do to improve my weekend catch: * Build a strategy around the pressure. You know the obvious places are going to get hit hard Saturday and Sunday, so be on the water early and be the first to hit the good holes. If you´ve got one of those little known areas that you feel certain will produce fish, save it for when the other known areas are covered up. * Hit the obscure spots. While other anglers are beating the obvious places, keep a watchful eye out those obscure spots that may hold a bass or two. For example, look for isolated cover on relatively barren banks. If you see a single log lying in thewater on a "nothing" bank, stop and make a few casts at it. * Wait them out. If you´re like me and love being on the water all day long, the community holes can turn on again later in the day after most of the other anglers have gone home. This can be a very effective strategy for mid-lake structure. Heavy boat traffic will drive a lot of fishermen off those spots or send them home, which is fine with me. * Fish secondary patterns. During certain times of the year, there are secondary patterns that can be productive while other anglers are fishing the primary patterns. For example, if it´s the heart of the spring spawning season and the majority ofanglers are casting spawning flats, I may go look for bass that are still in the pre-spawn mode. Although I realize there will be fewer fish in pre-spawn locations, they may be easier to tempt into striking because they aren´t getting pressured. * Make the bass react. One of the biggest mistakes weekend fishermen make under these conditions is they try to play to a bass´ feeding instincts instead of forcing the reactionary strike. The big difference here is that instead of trying to tempt the fish into eating, you should use erratic retrieves to cause the bass to strike impulsively. This is a more prominent tactic for fast-moving lures such as spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but you can use similar strategies with finesse lures. * Change your approach to community holes. Don´t avoid those obvious places that have a reputation for producing bass just because they´re getting a lot of pressure. Pay attention to how other anglers are fishing it, and give the bass a different look by presenting the lure from a different angle or simply using a lure most anglers won´t use. * Be patient with shallow targets. That´s one of the reasons why Denny Brauer and Tommy Biffle are so effective with flipping and pitching jigs. They´re tough to beat when lakes get a lot of pressure because of their persistence and ability to put the jig in tough spots. * Make multiple casts. When I won the Lake Lanier tournament a few years ago, I was following Jimmy Houston -- one of theworld´s best spinnerbait fishermen -- down a bank. However, Jimmy is a fast fisherman who believes it´s important to keep moving and fish as much cover as possible during a day´s fishing. I fished quickly, too, but when I came to a log or rocky area that I thought was a good spot, I´d make seven or eight casts. I caught three fish over five pounds that day; one came on my fourth cast to a tree and the other two came on the 10th cast to the same piece of cover! (Interestingly enough, I learned that tactic from one of Houston´s spinnerbait videos that I watched before my days as a tournament pro.) * Make the first cast count. Don´t peck around the cover before you go into the thick of it. Casting the outer edge is an effective strategy for taking aggressive bass when they aren´t heavily pressured, but it hurts your success when they´ve pulled tighter to the cover. I´m convinced that those casts around a bush or log jam only puts edgy bass on notice. If you can put the bait on his nose with the first cast, you stand a better chance of getting him to strike. * Downsize in clear water. I use more subtle colors, limit flash and noise, and reduce my lure size when trying to catch pressured bass in clear water. Dull, opaque colors become more effective. Smaller diameter line, slower presentations and multiple casts are necessary in places where clear-water bass are being bombarded with a lot of lures. * Give it a rest. When community hot spots are being pounded, give them a rest before you move in. For example, if I want to fish a main lake point that has been pounded, I will begin by fishing the side of the point and work my way toward the end of it where everyone else has been fishing. Sometimes pressure will move fish away from the obvious "good spot" on mid-lake structure. I may fish a little shallower or deeper,trying to avoid the key area on the structure as long as I know that other anglers won´t pull onto it ahead of me. * Watch how others fish an area. This is especially important if you´re following other anglers down a bank or around a mid-lake structure. Take note of how they´re positioning their boats and the types of lures they´re using. They may be avoiding a small spot on the structure that could be very productive, or they may be ignoring a lure presentation that you can use to catch fish they´re missing. * Offer a variety of lures. If you crankbait a weed edge and catch four or five fish, go back through the area with something different, like a Carolina rig or a spinnerbait. There are times when your own fishing pressure will affect the fish, so you must change tactics to trick the fish you haven´t caught into biting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Stories & Articles ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Fishingworld Library] [Goto Main Directory] --