This Week @ Bass Edge

Hitting hot rocks with square-bills

The crisp air pierced my lungs as I opened the motel room door. A clear, motionless morning provided the perfect stage for the gulls and crows to voice their approval of the new day.

Packed in layers, I wiped the frost from the seat, backed the boat in and slowly headed to the first spot as steam rose behind me from the warm water mixing with the cool air. I pulled back on the throttle well shy of the main lake point in an attempt not to alert the fish of my presence. After a final blast of warm breath on my hands, I hurled a square-bill crankbait toward the rocks in the shallow water. Making a long cast parallel to the shoreline, I slowly retrieved the shad impersonator. The banging into the rocks was on purpose.

The sun was making its way over the tree line. It would be easy to assume that I was following the warm rays for personal comfort, but their effect on the fish was my primary motive.

Suddenly the action of my bait changed; it became heavy. Mustering all the motor skills hampered by the brisk temperature and layers of clothing, I instinctively swept the tip of my seven-foot, medium action rod back. After a short struggle, I hoisted a lethargic 13-inch spotted bass and quickly returned it to the water.

Experience tells me that feeding activity will progressively improve as the day lengthens. The baitfish will soon be lured to the heat absorbed by the dark boulders lying below the waters surface, and the bass will follow. Patience is easy to muster while enjoying the glory of a new day awakening.

As the sun warms the water, gulls begin their daily rounds. Below them baitfish flicker as they break the surface. Even the local web-footed residents set out from their sleeping quarters, announcing their approval with an occasional hoarse quacking.

Working my way around the point, I made several casts, probing different areas of the water column. With the trolling motor set on 30, I steadily headed toward the back of the creek. Taking time to work the edges of the few docks lining the stretch of bank, I saw just ahead that the boulders I had been fishing would soon be reduced to softball size rocks, and farther down, to pea gravel. 

Remembering a recent fishing trip with FLW pro John Sappington, I immediately fired a cast into the transitioning rocks. After the fifth crank, I felt the familiar change in vibration. After a brief fight, I was finally able to feel my fingers and removed the front hook from a quality largemouth. 

The fish had hit right when the bait reached the larger size rocks in only a few feet of water. Wasting no time, I again launched my crankbait. Instantly, baitfish scattered and after moments of coming in contact with the rock another bass loaded up my rod.

As the day lengthened, the fishing improved. I continued seeking out the backs of creeks for similar rock transitions and the presence of baitfish. Although docks are usually a big factor on Lake of The Ozarks, on this day that was not the case. Hard cover, specifically rock dark in color exposed to direct sunlight, seemed to be holding the baitfish and the bass.

Maintaining contact with the bottom and surrounding cover with a medium retrieval speed on my 6:3.1 gear ratio reel continued to be effective. The shad-colored, square-billed crankbait was consistently making contact with the bottom three feet without getting snagged.

Although Lake of the Ozarks does not have any significant amounts of vegetation, this type of strategy is often effective on bodies of water that do. 

“Sometimes dead weeds wick up the necessary oxygen that fish need to breathe which is why they often migrate to hard cover during the cold water dying cycles of certain vegetation,” said B.A.S.S. Elite Pro Dave Wolak.

He notices this especially in northern climates in reservoirs that provide both vegetation and hard cover.

“If the veggies are rotten, then they (bass) choose wood or rock.”