Suspending Bass

On a recent trip to Inanda dam in the beginning of winter, we found conditions extremely tough .the water was clear and bass where abundant, that is we could see them yet they were ignoring the lures. One thing we noticed is that they were all sitting at the same sort of depth. I was determined to hook these fish and the experiments began. Pitching wait less z toos on the surface got the attention of the fish and often triggered a half hearted grab at the bait resulting in very few hookups. And deep crank s just ran strait past them without any interest at all even shallow running cranks offered no interest. Then I remembered an article I once read about fishing in the strike zone. so being a bit lazy I left the ztoo in place but inserted a nail weight and what this did was sink the bait slowly into the same depth as the bass where holding in . This defiantly interested the bass more but was not enough to trigger a bite we could see the bass approach but it would shy away until I moved the bait quickly. At first it was accidental but on the second cast did the same again and the pattern was established. Put the bait at the right depth and give it an erratic action and game on. Bait that was put to the test was the suspending wild shiner with excellent results.

So what causes the bass to suspend like that? Bass are much like humans they like to be comfortable except we can turn on the aircon if it gets to hot or the heater if it's too cold. Bass have got to move shallower or deeper to find their comfort zones temperature wise. Oxygen levels in water will also determine the depth or area in which a bass will suspend. And just like us bass need to be around food so if the food is suspending you can be sure the bass will be at similar levels.

Determining where bass are suspending can be a challenge but by learning from your experiences you can pick up patterns. For example if you find a lot of bass in one area ask yourself what would they be doing here. If you are catching bass on shallow running cranks and not deep, where are the bass sitting and what is causing them to be at that depth? I use a lot of braid when fishing and have become particular to Jig man because it changes color every 5m. so I watch the line as I retrieve and if I find I get bites in the green for example I will expect a bite in the green the next cast I make . Or one could mark the line with a permanent marker at the point where you got the bite so you know more or less when to expect a bite if the fish are suspending. If the bite is on at a certain depth you will be wasting your time dropping it past that point.

If the bass are suspending because of the forage you may find that they will be on a constant move following the forage around. Most anglers believe that all bass are territorial but study shows that 60% of bass are schooling bass and follow the forage around. This was particularly evident to me during the Albert falls bass tournament when I was sitting on the ridge and watching the other boats I saw a fish come out about 400m out and then all the boats in one line went on one after the other and I knew the bass where heading towards us next second I was on and as fast as they arrived past they were gone again.

Another time I encountered suspending bass was also at Albert's I was fishing with a mate of mine both of us where using drop shot with the same baits yet I was hauling them one after the other literally cast for cast and he was getting nothing, the only thing I could see different between the two rigs was that his rig was way shorter than mine I had almost a meter between sinker and hook and he had about 20cm. obviously the bass where suspending a meter of the bottom. This taught me a valuable lesson and I will always experiment with the length of a drop shot rig. Starting long and trimming it bit by bit until I get the desired results.

This can be done the same on a Carolina or mojo rig to target bass suspending close to the bottom. your floating baits such as Strike King Lizards z-toos , Zulus or finesse worms and Yum air lizards or floating jitter worms or Cultivas 8"hassuns are the best choice for this .by lengthening or shortening the length of the rig you can get the bait to float at different depths of the bottom .

To determine the depth of suspending bass in mid water or closer to the surface one can use cranks that dive to different depths or when fishing plastics the countdown method .

Cast the bait then count 1001, 1002, 1003 as it falls this is best achieved by using weightless baits or baits rigged either with a split shot or a nail weight. You will soon determine how long the bait takes to get to the bottom that is when the line goes slack. Then if you are constantly getting hit at a certain depth. Continue fishing that depth and try the same depth at other spots in the dam as well.

Bass will normally suspend at a depth where there is cover for them so target trees and stumps buy dropping weightless zeros or yum dinger around these areas. Another effective means of targeting suspending bass is with spoons or vertical jigs. recently I received a parcel from Strike King that had a couple of Sexy spoons in so I gave them a try although I did catch fish I wasn't that successful and the spoons where put back in the box and forgotten .that is until I took two American anglers out on a guided tour to Goudetrouwe dam and they showed me how to actually fish them.

The spoons they were using where basically the same as the spoons I've used to catch Bonnies and snoek off shore and the method almost identical too. They used the finder to locate deep structure then dropped the spoons vertically and began jigging. Mostly at around 10- 15 meters virtually strait down beneath the boat and then jigging them up and down or ripping the spoon fast back up and then allowing it to sink again.

A good finder is recommended but most on the market today will be of assistance in finding fishing structure or drop offs. The finder I am using at the moment is absolutely brilliant. The Furuno Fcv-620 the picture quality is phenomenal and you can actually see your fishing lure on the screen being worked up and down as well as any fish in the area. And finding rock piles, or changes in the bottom from rock to mud and drop offs, etc with the Furuno is simple. Fish finders are also very effective tool for locating suspending bait fish or even schools of bass. But determining the difference between bass and other species of fish such as schooling carp is a lot more difficult. But if the fish is holding close to structure or the bottom it is more likely to be bass

Spoons are not the only lure for vertical jigging but any other can be used like Texas rigged baits or my favorite .a ztoo rigged like the salt water version of drop shot ,but any other baits rigged on a jig head or shaky head and used in the same way as mentioned with the spoons will do the trick.

Even though suspending bass may be difficult to target and not always willing to participate they can be caught and taking the time to work them out can be very rewarding especially in a comp when others are struggling.