Finding A Needle In A Haystack

Everytime I go fishing, I am reminded of that age old saying that says, “finding that is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”  Now, most of us know what a haystack looks like, millions of needle like strands of hay, combine with an actual search for a needle in all of that….well I guess you can see where I’m going with this.

Bass fishing to me has always been about looking for that elusive creature that is in total awareness of its environment, while, I, only being able to wonder what it is like down there have to search for them.  Yeah, it sort of is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Never being one to quit, I have developed ways, strategies if you will, that have helped me at least understand which part of that haystack to begin looking.

First of all, if you are using a boat, then your boat probably has something on it that can be of great use to you even before you ever even leave the marina.  That of course would be your electronics.  A graph or even a flasher can provide you tons of information even if you just watch it while your partner is parking the tow vehicle.  While motoring away from the dock, turn on your graph and begin to search for signs of activity.  You will begin to notice that the bait fish, and game fish in the marina will be at roughly the same depth.  THIS IS A CLUE!

You now have an idea of the depth that a good number of the fish in your lake are holding.  We may not have found that needle, but we at least know how deep in the haystack to begin looking.

Next, as you head out towards your favorite starting point, make visual notes of where the bait diving birds are.  THIS IS ALSO A CLUE.  Griebs and shore walking Herons are never too far from bait schools.  If you find birds working an area, try to establish a spot nearby where you can fish the depth that you found the game fish to be in back at the marina.  Long points, underwater humps and other types of structure, that are as deep as the fish you found in the marina are examples of the kind of structure you should be fishing.This will further eliminate “guess” from your fish finding equation.

The next thing to consider would be the appropriate seasonal pattern, if you are fishing in the Fall, bass are typically following shad into the creeks and longer coves of the lake, in the Winter, look for bass in and around schools of shad in the main lake.  In the spring, bass can be found in or next to the shallows as the spawning ritual takes center stage and dominates the bass’ life, and in the Summer, bass will seek the cover and comfort of living vegetation in the shallows, where they can feed on crayfish and blue gill.  This is another piece of the puzzle.

Now, how about the actual looking for a needle in the haystack?  When actually searching for fish, it would seem wise to seek the most aggressive fish available, and then to fish for those that are less aggressive.  Living with the belief that bass tend to live around other bass,  I expect that where there is one, there will be more.  With that in mind, I like to fish with reaction lures such as crank baits, jerk baits or top waters. 

Our next clue is water temperature.  I am going to let water temperature dictate which technique I use.  Cranks and top waters are my choice when the water is above 60 degrees.  When the water temperature falls, I like to fish a jerk bait by casting it out, pulling it down several feet and then just allowing it to sit, popping it every so often to get their attention, this has worked well when the water is cold.

The final clue is when the first fish bites.  Was the fish holding tight to cover, was it in open water, how well was it hooked.  All of these questions are important to locking into what the fish are doing.  Once you have that first fish you should continue to fish the area, switching a slower technique like a Carolina Rig when you have established that you have caught all that will bite the reaction.

Finding fish, the puzzle we must unlock every time we venture out on the water.  Sure it can be like looking for a needle in a hay stack, but knowing where in that hay stack to start looking is a big advantage.