Look for these 7 good areas on your lake, pond, or river to help you find the best bass fishing spots to catch more fish. Knowing where to go to catch bass is a real challenge. They say bass are only found in 10% of the water that you fish. This leaves 90% of the rest of the lake fruitless. No matter what lure you are throwing, if you don’t have bass in the area you won’t catch a thing. Use this guide to quickly find 7 good areas on your lake to start catching fish immediately, and stop wasting time in unproductive places.
How To Find The Best Bass Fishing Spots
Here’s a list of things you can do to quickly find the best bass fishing spots on your lake without wasting time going to a lot of different places. One main thing you need to know about finding good spots is what drives bass to be in certain locations. A bass’s main motivation is how easy it is for them to ambush, and eat other smaller creatures. Bass are predators and stealth is a key trick they use to lay in wait for something to come by. If you don’t know what to look for to find those ambush areas to catch bass, this article will help you “Release the Kraken” to get them.
Another thing that will help you find the best bass fishing spots is two simple principles. Fish fast, and use search lures to quickly eliminate spots that don’t have any fish. Often finding bass to catch is a process of elimination. It’s rare that they aren’t biting. Typically, it’s usually you are just looking in the wrong places for them. Here’s some secrets to fishing fast and using search lures to help you find those sweet fishing spots.
Fish Fast
The biggest problem with fisherman is we are wired to be patient, and we sit in areas for way to long. Fishing fast is the opposite of this. Literally run to a spot make a couple of casts. Then run to another “different” spot. To many times we run to the same types of places only to continue to catch zero fish. It’s quicker for you to move to the fish. Compared to sitting and waiting for the fish to come to you.
A good trick to help you fish faster is to set a timer on your watch or phone for 20 minutes. When the buzzer goes off move. Somehow, someway. Shallower, deeper, up the lake or down the lake. It doesn’t matter how you move as long as you constantly move you are going to be getting closer and closer to catching those fish. It’s a simple math equation. The more spots you fish the more bass you catch.
Use Search Lures
A search lure is a bait that moves quickly and triggers strikes. Using search lures first when you are trying to find spots will help you be able to cover more places. Good search lures for bass include baits like chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. Avoid things like jigs, or shaky head worms. These types of techniques are often too slow and methodical.
Once you get some bites on search baits, you can slow down and try those same spots with slower moving things to catch even more bass. Another thing to keep in mind with search lures is how deep they go. Make sure you are using a lure that will get to the depth the bass will most likely be at. This will help you pick up more fish. Here’s a list of some of my favorite search baits to buzz around quickly with to find good bass spots.
Z-man Chatterbait
A chatterbait is easy to fish, and moves through the water effectively. Just chuck and wind, and let the bass tell you where they like to be.
Rock Crawler 55 Crankbait
I love the rock crawler 55 crankbait it dives deep fast, and comes in great natural colors the bass react to. It runs about 7 – 10 feet deep which is generally a safe spot to find bass in various times of the year.
Spinnerbait
The spinnerbait is a classic lure that universally works well to locate bass. Easy to use as well. Just throw it out and wind it back. A spinnerbait is a good choice in windy, cloudy conditions, or in cold dirty water. It’s a great bait that always catches bass.
Buzzbait
A buzzbait really burns through the water fast. Especially in the summer time when water temperatures are warmer a fast top water lure like this can help you get on fish quickly.
Swimbait
A swimbait doesn’t typically move as fast as the other baits mentioned above, but it flat out catches fish in some of the toughest conditions. Use a swimbait for a search lure if your not confident the bass are active and feeding.
7 Good Areas to Find Bass
Here are 7 good areas to find bass and start catching them. It is easy to get overwhelmed on where to begin fishing when you pull up to a lake. Start by locating these 7 areas on your lake listed below, and begin trying them. These areas are key spots where bass like to ambush bait. Depending on the season, and what the water temperature dictates which parts of these areas will hold fish. Ideally, you want to find spots on your lake that have combinations of these things to really find those high percentage areas. Here’s a little more about identifying these 7 areas and why they hold fish.
Points
A point is long shallow finger that sticks way out into the lake, and is a key place to find bass all year long. Points provide an ambush spot for bass to nail bait fish cruising by. Points are natural spots for things to get pinned up against. This makes long points a favorite haunt for bass. Usually points don’t just contain one bass, but they often have multiple bass. Bass like to school up on points and work together to pin bait fish for easy feeding.
Pockets
Pockets are corners where bait fish naturally pile up, and the bass love sitting in those pockets to pick creatures off to eat. Algae and plankton blow into corner pockets, which makes for easy places for bait fish to feed too. Because the baitfish like pockets, bass like pockets. A pocket is a natural feeding funnel for bass.
Current
Current is a key ingredient to finding a good bass fishing spot. Bass are lazy, and they love sitting next to current to let mother nature bring them an easy meal. Current naturally drifts dying baitfish and prey. This makes for simple pickings for predatory bass. Bass like to sit on the edges of the current and look out into it to wait for the easy meal. Throw your lure onto those current edges, and you will find those bass no problem. Remember wind can create current, so looking at wind from this perspective will help you find better fishing spots.
Islands
Islands are natural places to find bass to catch. They rise up out of the water, and provide a great ambush point for bass to catch forage. Underwater islands create a break to current as well. Its a natural trapping spot for bass to get an easy meal. As conditions change, bass will move around to different spots on an island or hump to maximize their ability to get a meal.
Grass Holes
Another key thing to look for is grass holes. Bass love grass! It’s the perfect cover for them to be able to ambush the variety of creatures that are also attracted to the aquatic vegetation. Bass are green because they are designed to blend into the green vegetation to ambush and eat other things. The key spot in the grass is the holes. Bass lay near the holes to watch for things they can eat. You’ve probably heard this, but this saying is totally true. Find the grass and find the bass!
Flooded Brush/Wood
A great spot to find bass is in flooded wood or brush. Brush and wood is the perfect cover for a fish to ambush bait from. Look for wood or flooded bushes, and throw your baits into those areas. The bass will literally lay right in the middle of the stuff. Usually a texas rigged bait is the best way to get into flooded brush to catch those bass. Always keep your eyes peeled for this type of cover, and guaranteed at some point there will be a bass nearby.
Chunk Rock
Chunk rock is another good place to find bass. They love chunk rock because it often stays warmer for longer when water temperatures drop. Rock also provides shade and cover for bass to wait for bait. Crayfish, and other forage love the craggy rocks too because they can hide easily. Bass will often cruise chunk rock banks looking for a unsuspecting baitfish or crawdad to slurp up. Look for craggy chunk rocks, and you can usually find some bass.
Putting it All Together to Find Good Bass Spots
The key to finding bass is to look for the spots that have a combination of all these 7 areas to find bass. For example a long point with grass is going to be a lot better than just a straight point with no cover on it. Another example would be to find the point of an island or hump. Usually bass like to be in the best of both worlds. Pockets with brush. Points with rock. Humps with grass. You get the idea. The combination of these types of areas to find bass is where you really get into the fish.
Lastly, the links in this article are affiliate links were you can pick up baits, rod’s, reels, line, and anything else mentioned here to “Krak” some bass. Krakenbass receives a small percentage of the sales through these links. I only use links to baits, and gear I personally trust and know work. These links are here to be helpful for you, and not for the small amount I make for the sale of the products. I hope these products can help you “krak” some bass like they have for me. Thank you for your support!
As Always,
Stay Stoked!
2 Responses
Do you live in Utah?
Yes I do at the moment.