Bass - Sunken treasure

By Gord Ellis

Most smallmouth-bass anglers are shoreline oriented, for good reasons. Smallmouth use easily identified near-shore cover while grubbing up crayfish, minnows, leeches, and nymphs. There are always bass shallow, but many of the largest fish spend most of their time on mid-lake structure, far from shore.

I first turned on to mid-lake bass years ago during a late-summer walleye trip. On our electronics, we could see fish holding in 26 feet of water off the side of sunken islands. They were catchable, but a few active walleye were up on the reefs at about 16 feet, and we regularly dragged our live-bait rigs through them, too.

On one particularly large structure a point of rock came up in a spire. It didn't look like a walleye spot (too small), but we were marking fish, so I dragged a bottom-bouncer and 3-inch minnow over it, as my partner jigged. As we approached the pinnacle, my long baitcasting rod signalled a hard strike, and soon line was stripping off the reel. "This is no walleye," I said to my buddy, who quickly reeled in his rig. "Feels like a laker."

The powerful fish made a play for the surface, where it left a bathtub-size boil. It started to dawn on me that this was not a lake trout. Finally, a brown saucer-shaped fish appeared, and my eyes widened. "It's a huge bass!" I groaned, as the net was readied, and was weak-kneed and relieved when the bass was finally in the hoop. The rotund smallmouth measured 21 inches in length and 16 inches around.

Smallmouth are aggressive, adaptable predators. Young bass spend a lot of time foraging the shallows for easily accessible food. As they grow, however, habits and food choices start to change. Bass over three pounds still slip into the shallows occasionally, particularly just before and during the spawning period, but older, larger smallmouth orient to deeper water. This is related partly to the more stable temperatures and protection that deep water provides, but also to the available forage. When smallmouth have the option to switch to a cisco, smelt, shad, or alewife diet, they snap at the chance. Bass eat a lot of crayfish, but they have less food value than oily baitfish. Eating a high-fat meal keeps the furnace going in big bass. Smallmouth chasing pelagic forage are rarely near shore. The exception is steep bluffs they can trap bait against. In fact, bass are not always on mid-lake structure either. I've seen them bust cisco on the surface over more than 100 feet of water. It's exciting to see silvery baitfish shooting out of the water as platter-sized brown bass swirl beneath them.

Catching mid-lake smallmouth consistently is not an easy task. These large fish are nomads, although they usually associate with select reefs and rock piles. The best way to start your search for top-notch mid-lake structure is to find the deepest water in the lake. If it has two basins, pick the deepest and largest one. Then, locate the largest reefs, rock piles, saddles, and sandbars you can find and make a note of their locations. If a hydrographic chart of the lake is available, much of this work can be done on the kitchen table. Otherwise, drive the lake, watching your electronics, and make notes of the structure you mark. A GPS unit can help you log underwater reefs that otherwise would be difficult to find again.

You might be able to mark bass with electronics, but I've found smallmouth are usually more difficult to see on an LCD than walleye. When targeting bronzebacks, look for suspended partial hooks on an LCD, or large suspended flashes on traditional flasher units.

Once you've located structure, narrow down the fishing area. Mid-lake smallmouth have an affinity for raised sections of reefs. One boulder, log, or rock pile on an otherwise flat shelf will usually be the key spot to fish. A reef edge breaking the water surface will also focus the fish. If the reef has a shallow bump that drops rapidly into the deepest water, you've found the "spot on the spot" for giant smallmouth.

One rule that hasn't let me down is that the largest fish usually holds on the shallowest point of the reef. I call this dominant smallmouth the "king of the castle." When on its throne, no other fish gets to a bait first. Many large bass are caught by pitching the first cast right on top of "the castle." Bass holding in schools on a reef often have several aggressive fish and a whole bunch of neutral ones.

A jig with a 3-inch tube, twister-tail grub, shad, or minnow body is a good starter lure. It's a rare hot bass that won't jump on a jig. I most often use a 1/4-ounce jig head with a super-sharp thin-wire hook in mid-lake situations. I go with a lighter head when the water is calm, and heavier when the wind blows or the water is deep. In relatively clear water, white, black, smoke, pumpkinseed, and natural baitfish jigs and bodies work well. Yellows and chartreuse come into play, too, especially in darker water.

Pitch the jig over the reef and let it spiral to the bottom. Then, slowly crawl and pop it back to the boat. I like medium-action spinning gear and at least 8-pound test for this tactic. Once the initial few hot fish are caught, try another lure.

A jerkbait can trigger a strike from reluctant bass. Lures like the Husky Jerk, Suspendin' Rattlin' Rogue, Excalibur Long A, and Lucky Craft Pointer are all deadly on baitfish-oriented mid-lake bass. Match the hatch. Use lure finishes such as pearl, black, and silver to imitate silvery baitfish in clear water. Brighter hues like firetiger pay off if visibility is lower.

Retrieve these lures with sharp downward snaps of your rod tip, and keep a careful eye out for followers. Polarizing sunglasses are a must. Many times a jerkbait draws bass up off the bottom, but they won't hit. Having a partner follow up with a small black bucktail jig or a white 3-inch plastic fluke will usually do the trick.

Jerkbaits and crankbaits, lipped and lipless, also work well when searching for bass suspended in open water. When fishing a mid-lake reef, blast some casts out to open water and work the bait back quickly. Suspended bass are usually looking hard for food and will come a long way to nail a lure.

The most exciting fishing for mid-lake bass is when they're busting bait near the surface. Sometimes an entire school of bass will be involved. The water boils and baitfish fly in every direction. If you see this happen, quickly throw a lure into the melee.

Just about anything works in this situation, but top-water baits are easy for bass to home in on. Sub-surface minnow baits also work, as will plastics like flukes and slugs. Another good choice is a white and silver 5/8-ounce spinnerbait. Toss it to the bass and bulge it back just under the surface.

While artificial baits are fun to fish with, the most consistent way to catch big bass is with live bait. A 5-pound smallmouth seldom passes up a sucker minnow or chub. I've had great success with a 2-ounce bottom-bouncer pulling a 5-foot leader and a large minnow on a No. 2 octopus hook. Traditional walleye slip-sinker rigs and minnows also work wonders on bass, as do leeches and night crawlers, especially when suspended under a slip-float just over the top of a reef.

When fishing mid-lake reefs, keep noise to a minimum. Mark the key spot on a reef with a buoy, move well back off it, and make long casts to the bass. Continually criss-crossing the top of a reef with an electric motor invariably puts fish off the bite or pushes them right out. I anchor on key bass zones, particularly when wind and weather make boat control difficult. Way-out bass fishing won't appeal to chuck-and-grind specialists who dream of endless rocky shorelines. Yet, if smallmouth the size of a football turn you on, head offshore to mid-lake structure. You're sure to score a touchdown.