HOW TO SCOUT FOR BASS
The Types of Bass Present in a Lake
 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.
Knowing the varieties of bass in a lake will help you
formulate a game plan for fishing the lake. For instance,
if there are both largemouth and spotted bass in a lake,
 you
must realize that spotted bass are usually the least
affected by drastic weather changes. Therefore if a
cold front moves onto the lake causing the largemouth
to become inactive, many times you can move to another
area of the lake that may have more-suitable habitat
for spotted bass and still continue to catch fish- even
though the largemouth fishing has shut down for the
day. If the lake has largemouth  and
smallmouth in it, then if the largemouth aren't biting,
change your tactics and your location on the lake to
angle for smallmouth.
Many bassers don't catch bass because they don't adequately
scout a lake before they fish it. Even if you're angling
on a lake where you've fished all of your life, if you'll
apply these scouting techniques, you may be surprised
at the places where you find bass and the new strategies
you can use to catch fish on your home lake.
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