Open water bass fishing

When most people think of summertime bass fishing, they think of chunking spinnerbaits and plastic worms along brush and weed lines. Don't get me wrong, those tactics can work... sometimes, but there are times when conditions are perfect for an open water bite.
We fished a small 800-acre reservoir that doesn't have a lot of habitat for largemouth bass. The fish in this lake have adapted to the conditions and feed primarily on shad and other prey fish in open water. On overcast days with a breeze, these fish begin actively feeding near the surface. We fished an open water hump that quickly dropped from 15 to 27 feet. The fish were stacked up around 20 feet, and we could see large schools of shad on our graph. Every few minutes, the bass would herd and school of baitfish to the surface and the top of the water would erupt with a flurry of activity. Whenever that happened, a well placed cast would produce a hit. It didn't matter what you would throw in front of them, they would hit it. Once the sun came out from behind those clouds, however, the bite ended. Here is a nice 3 lb fish I caught on an Excalibur ghost minnow. I'm not sure why I look so pissed in the picture, I was actually in a pretty good mood.

Bassin' in da Moonlight

The light of the full moon strained to pierce through the dense cloud cover. I peered skyward, cursing the cloud bank that had settled in front of the moon, blocking the light that might penetrate the depths and increase the chances of a fish seeing the bait. As I swatted away the bugs and gnats that had been feasting on my ankles and wrists, I questioned what I was doing out on a 26,000 acre reservoir in the middle of the night. Virtually blind, and operating only on feel and sound, I cast out into the darkness of the night. It wasn't long before my question was answered. The 10-inch texas-rigged power worm entered the water with a loud ker-plunck, quickly sinking towards the bottom 16 feet below. The instant I closed the bail, the end of the rod was slammed into my sternum, knocking me breathless. "There's one!!!", I shouted as I set the hook. But there was no need to set the hook on this fish. The bass had engulfed the large plastic worm on the drop, and was quickly heading towards heavy timber not far away. "REEL!!!", cried our fishing guide, "Don't stop reeling, just REEL!!!". I leaned back and started cranking as fast as I could, trying to get the fish close to the boat before it wrapped me in a tree. I'm used to playing a fish (especially large fish) and using the drag to fight the fish, but this was different. I was using 30 lb. Sunline, which is guaranteed not to break, so I started horsing the fish in. When the bass realized what was happening, it shot towards the surface and launched itself into the night air. As it reentered the water, all we could see in the darkness was a spray of foam and frothy water on the surface. "That sounded big." our guide said. It turned out to be an understatement. The fish was big- not huge, but still a personal best for me. After we landed it, we estimated it between 6 and 7 lbs. The crazy thing is, it was just a typical Lake Fork largemouth bass.

Night-fishing can be fantastic, especially on a lake that receives a lot of daytime pressure. In some ways, heavily pressured fish populations are similar to white-tailed deer, they have become creatures of the night. Bass are visual predators by day and in clear water, but at night, they utilize their lateral line to sense the movement and vibration of prey. I you haven't been night-fishing, give it a try. You might just catch the bass of a lifetime.

Gear used: Citica 200D reel. 7 ft heavy action rod.
Line: 30 lb test Sunline
Bait: Culprit 10 inch worm, blue flake color, texas-rigged on 3/0 Gamakatsu hook with 3/8 oz. weight