HOW TO SCOUT FOR BASS
Call the Lake and Learn the Conditions
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: Have you ever wondered why bass angling professionals
can come to a lake they've never fished before, compete
for three days, and catch more and bigger bass than
the anglers who live on the lake? Actually the reason
is simple. Most of the work of locating the fish is
done prior to these professionals' coming to the lake.
Many times their preparation for the tournament may
have taken place months before the actual contest. They
also have another advantage that fishermen who angle
the same lake every weekend don't have, because these
pros don't have honey holes, favorite spots or places
to go to where they've caught bass in the past. So they
must rely on their own ability to find the fish on the
lake where the bass should be when the fish are supposed
to be there - without any pre-conceived ideas about
where the bass are.
Usually the best source of information on a lake about
whether or not bass are biting is a marina operator.
Notice I didn't say whether or not people are catching
fish, which is information that isn't important to a
good angler. But if the marina operator says that the
bass just aren't biting, that tells you that...
 ...
you can expect to have fewer strikes in a day,
... you'll have to fish harder,
... you'll have to fish slower,
... you'll have to try and land every fish that bites
your bait and
... you must target fish, which means choosing certain
banks, types of structure, and drop-offs and fishing
those areas thoroughly.
If the marina operator tells you that the bass are
biting like crazy, everyone is catching fish, and the
bass are hitting almost any lure anglers throw, then
you know that...
... the fish are active or have been active,
... you can cover a vast expanse of water,
... you can fish your baits faster, and
... you can utilize draw baits to draw the bass out
and away from the cover rather than having to fish brush
baits like the pig and jig, the plastic worm and other
baits that penetrate cover.
 The
last thing you need to know before you travel to a lake
to fish is whether the lake is rising or falling, clear
or stained. Clear and/or stained are relative terms
that mean different things to different people on various
lakes. What is stained water on one lake may be considered
clear water on another.
Also from the marina operator you can find out whether
the lake is clear or stained and rising or falling.
If the lake is falling, then you know that the fish
will be positioned on the structure facing away from
the bank toward open water. Therefore you'll probably
need a softer lure presentation, since the bass will
be far more skittish than usual. If the lake is rising,
then you know that the bass should be looking toward
the bank where their food should come from, that they
should be more active, and that the lure presentation
doesn't have to be as light as it must be when the lake
is falling. And when the lake has been stable, then
the bass should be where bass normally are in that lake
at a specific time of the year.
 To
be successful, an angler also needs to determine what
time of day the current begins to run in that lake,
and if the lake is used for hydroelectric power. If
current is pulled through the lake at certain hours
of the day, then bass are accustomed to feeding when
that current causes the baitfish to move. Usually when
current stirs in a lake, the bass will feed. So learning
when that current starts to run can help you anticipate
when and where you should be able to take bass.
TOMMORROW: THE TYPES OF BASS
PRESENT IN A LAKE
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