Article---When Conditions Get Tough

[Deitz Dittrich]

A while back I asked for article ideas, and since the bass board has been a little on the slow side as of late, I thought I would throw my first finished article out here for people to rip a part.LOL I have a few more started, but always fun to finish one. Anyway... here it is.

When conditions get tough.

Wouldn’t it be nice if when you went fishing, it was always like that last half hour of sunlight on a day when the pressure has been steady and few others are on the water with you? You know the day—the one where it’s almost hard work to keep the fish off your line. If only it were that easy. Yet, most days we are fishing when conditions are not the easiest. We are all familiar with the challenges of heavily pressured water and difficult weather conditions. In this article, I would like to talk about two techniques: downsizing and fishing deeper water. With either of the two, you may be able to find a few more fish to pull back on your line.

Downsizing is the simpler of the two to explain, so let’s discuss that first. Downsizing can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Generally, downsizing is using a smaller, lighter lure than you would normally use. Weight often has a larger effect on the way you are fishing other than just tying on a smaller lure. Often, to be able to cast effectively, you are forced to go with a lighter line and a rod/reel combo with a little less backbone to it. The smaller, lighter lure usually sinks at a slower rate, which forces you to fish at a slower pace. So, as you can see, downsizing is a simple solution that offers tremendous benefits.

When thinking of downsizing, lure choice can be almost endless. Yet, because you will more than likely be fishing more slowly, the presentation you choose is even more important as each cast will take you longer to complete. Choose a lure/presentation that will cover the water that you feel the fish are in. If you feel that the area looks like an area made for a jig and pig presentation, your downsize may be as easy as tying on a smaller jig with a smaller plastic trailer. But, if the area you were fishing was a good deep-water crankbait spot, you will need to change your approach, as there are very few small crankbaits that get decent depth. Other options for you may be a dropshot or carolina rig. Both of these presentations are quite easy to downsize. A smaller piece of plastic, a slightly smaller weight may be the key. Try picking a piece of plastic that has little going for it, a lure that has no ribs or curly tail arms. A 4” straight tail worm or a 4” tube are many times perfect for both rigs. Yet at times I have taken a 4” worm and trimmed it to a 3”. I have even used crappie tubes and had them be extremely effective on largemouth and smallies when the conditions were hard. If the fish were going on a crankbait, you can often get micro crankbaits down into the zone by fishing them on a Carolina rig. In this case, you often have to go heavier on the sinker to get the bait down and keep it down; otherwise, fish the micro crankbait like you would any other hunk of plastic. Doing this also presents fish with a lure they may not have seen before.

Back to the original thought, please keep in mind, part of downsizing is dropping the weight in your line as well. Smaller lures lose a lot of their action if you fish them on too heavy a gear. Having a rod/reel combo or two that you designate to fishing the smaller things in life is a good idea. Try this the next time you are fishing with a friend. Fish a smaller lure than your bud, fish more slowly, allow him/her to make two casts to your one, and see if it helps you the next time you are on a tough bite.

Deep Water--what is deep water anyway? Well, that is going to depend on your lake. For some lakes, deep water may be ten feet deep, on others it may be eighty feet deep. Here in Minnesota I have yet to fish anywhere near that deep, but you will often find me on some lakes in almost thirty feet of water. When you roam away from the shore you are doing a couple of things to help yourself out. Generally, fish that are deeper are less pressured. Far more anglers, especially in the Midwest, seem tied to the shoreline. The farther you are away from shore, the less it seems you have to deal with other anglers. Second, since we are talking about hard conditions, as the weather changes, the deeper a fish is, the less it is affected by the changes in weather. As a cold front hits, the deeper fish will usually stay on the feed longer than the shallow fish do. Many fishing days have been saved for me by heading to the deep water. The key to fishing deep water is to see it as shallow water, with more water between you and the bottom. A wise angler once said: “What does it matter if you are fishing forty feet of line straight out or down at an angle? It’s still only forty feet of line.”

If you have fished shallow water, you already know, it’s not all created equal. Fish are not in the entire lake, they choose spots where they can ambush prey and/or just rest. There are good shallow water spots, and there are shallow water spots that you may never catch a bass. Deep water is no different. Fish will key in on areas; key areas change as the seasons do. However, you are always looking for some sort of transition, a change. This can be a change in depth, but it is usually more than that. More often than not, it’s a change in a combination of things. Weeds to rock and a depth change, a change from one weed to another and bottom content change are a couple of examples. Many people will give deep water fishing a try and just start fan casting open water. This approach usually gets them very few fish, they get disappointed with fishing deep and they end up back where they started in the shallow water. With deep-water fishing, you need to be as accurate with your casts as you are fishing shallow water. In your mind you need to be fishing a very small area, and fish it as slowly and precisely as you would a piece of shallow water cover/structure. Deep-water lures can be heavier jigs, dropshot rigs, Carolina rigs, texas rigs, crankbaits or even weightless plastics and spinnerbaits. Finding deep-water fish can be, and usually is, much harder than catching them. An underwater camera can help advance your learning curve as to what areas hold fish.

When fishing deep keep these things in mind: Make shorter, more accurate casts, don’t be afraid to get to close to the fish, the ones in deep water are less likely to be spooked, its much better to have less line out and make accurate casts. Fish slowly and methodically, make sure you cover the area you area that is holding fish. Do not be afraid to cast to the same area from different angles. Often, it takes a certain angle of presentation to get fish to hit. Trust your electronics!

When conditions are tough, we sometimes have to dig a little deeper into our skills as anglers to get the fish to bite. Downsizing your lure and presentation is one strategy, heading to deep water is another; hey, better yet, try a combination of downsizing and deep water. Give it a shot. What does it matter? There’s still only forty feet of line between you and the fish.

[Dan Brelje]

thanks for the article deitz!!!

[tearin' lips]

Nice article Dietz!! Few people realize that these tactics can pay off big! People tend to associate bass with shallower water, and that is true most of the time, but when comditions change and the forage moves it's time to pull out all the stings and find them deep.

Looking forward to more articles such as this one! Very good read!

[BassAkwards]

I can honestly say I am afraid to fish deep water for bass...I have no idea where to look and visual cover such as docks, milfoil, paddies, and the like seem like such great cover that I'm afraid to "spend" time out in the deep. I bought some deep cranks and other things I have never tried for this season and I think I'm going to go deep this year. (at least thats what she said)

sorry... couldn't pass that up..

thanks

[Ray Esboldt]

BA,

If you have some deep running cranks, all you have to do is leave everything else home one day. You can learn a lot about fishing off-shore just by fishing cranks.

I am personally just the opposite. I prefer to fish away from the bank. I am comfortable fishing the shallows, but never pass on a deep bite. I will say that if you really want to be effective fishing deep, you need good boat control and good concentration. The margin for error decreases when you break from the bank.

[Dan Brelje]

I'm with ray on this one. I prefer to fish deep as well. It seems that i have had better success fishing deeper water as of late than shallow water. Last year i fished deep 80% of the time i was on the water. The Jig Worm had a lot to do with that ratio.

[Central Bassman]

Great Article Deitz... But when you talk about seeing good deep water stops what are you looking for??

[Deitz Dittrich]

CB- just like shallow water. That is going to depend on water/lake conditions, and the time of year. However, mostly transition areas.

[Wayne Ek]

Nice job D.D. I really prefer targetting deep fish. I think weather changes have less effect on deep fish and there is certainly less pressure put on them. But, you will usually have to go shallow for that kicker.

[Slyster]

Great read! I really need to try some deeper water.. haven't yet. but will save this article for the summer!

[Central Bassman]

Thanks Deitz... These past few years i have really started fishing more and more deep. I really like it cause most of the time im out there all by myself!!!

[RK]

Hiya -

I'm sorta with Wayne and Ray on this one - I much prefer fishing deep if I can. Less pressure for sure, and I think deeper fish are easier to catch a lot of the time - you have so many more options presentation-wise. I love jigworms, so I use them a lot, but crankbaits are a close second for me.

Kind of funny how one's fishing style affects how you react to things on the water. If I'd have written this, it would have been flipped on its head. I prefer to fish deep, but if I'm really struggling, I look shallow. Years ago (gah - almost 20 now - I'm getting old) I was working at a bass workshop the In-Fisherman was hosting at Camp Fish, and Bob Ripley, one of the original editors at In-Fish, gave a seminar about fishing cold fronts. He said one of his rules of thumb was "when all else fails, go shallow, because some fish just plain live there." That phrase has stuck with me ever since - I call it "Ripley's Rule," and it's bailed me out many, many times, with bass, and muskies. My thinking on going shallow is that it 'shrinks the box' so to speak. But - like I said, it's all based on fishing style. You start in your comfort zone, which is deep for me...

Cool article D...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Bullwinkle]

Nice article Deitz! I am a true believer in changing the size of your presentations. It's amazing how often a subtle change can turn fish on. In the past I have found fish stacked in certain locations, stuck a few only to have them shut down. Once they stop I have just changed to a smaller weight/no weight or even went to larger weights all in an effort to change the tempo of the baits decent. It doesn't work all the time but more often then not those remaining fish will in fact turn on again.

[Central Bassman]

I like that rule RK!!