3 Signs to Look For to Find Bass
written by Evan Anderson
On this episode of Sweetwater, Miles Burghoff and Joey Nania split up and work a few different areas in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Florida, seeking new bass territory along the way. Burghoff is joined by artist and professional bass fisherman Ted Lincoln who shares some of his strategies for coaxing up a bite in unfamiliar waters. Here we’ll share some of those conditions that the crew noticed about this particular fishery and how you can apply that knowledge to finding bass in your own fisheries at home.
SE Multimedia | 2020
GRASS
One thing you can always count on when looking for bass is grass. However, the density of the grass that the bass in any given area prefer can vary based on the conditions, so if you’re trying the thick stuff and not finding anything, look for some of the more patchy areas and see if you can find some there.
On this particular day, both Burghoff and Nania were noticing that the fish were in the thinner patches of grass. “On that day they wanted the real thin stuff,” explains Burghoff, “Right where it went from a flat bare bottom to the grass growing up to maybe a foot off the bottom, that’s where they were. The sparse grass where it just started to grow.”
BEDS
Another sign to look for will be beds, those big sandy patches amongst the grass that bass will use for spawning. Nania found some beds early in the day and was able to capitalize on the territorial nature of bass around beds. “As I was working my way behind that grass line I was looking for life,” he says, “and I started noticing these big sandy patches and was like ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got beds here.’” Though beds don’t necessarily mean the bass will bite, it’s a sign that you’ve found where they are.
WIND
Wind is a factor that most anglers tend to forget about, but under the right conditions it can be a crucial factor in whether or not you’ll be able to fish. On this particular day, in Burghoff and Lincoln’s spot, they had a good amount of wind. It was just above a mild breeze, but not so much that it chopped up the water. “This is the perfect amount of wind,” remarks Burghoff, “If you have too much, it can just dingy up this water. It’ll push all the dirty water from the lake and get all the silt from off the grass and other areas and push it over here. But this is perfect because it lowers their guard, the fish just get a little more active.”
“Now it’s just a matter of covering water to find them,” comments Lincoln. Lincoln adds that one of his strategies for coaxing up a bite under these conditions is to put on a swim jig and bounce it off the bottom. This mimics behavior that will trigger a bass’s predatory instincts.
One thing that helped the crew find success on this trip was their ability to stay out longer with their new Battleborn Batteries. When you’re out on the water, the last thing you want to be worried about is your boat battery while you’re running your trolling motor. Battleborn Batteries have a great reputation and are used by the two Sweetwater hosts in their Nitro bass boats.
To see these tips in action on this episode of Sweetwater, watch the full episode below. Follow @sweetwatertv, @joeyfishing, and @sonarfishing on Instagram for more Sweetwater content as well as @waypointfish, @waypointboating, and @waypointtv.
