HOW I CAUGHT 500 % MORE BASS!

In January I decided I needed to get out of my long standing career. I couldn't stand it anymore and half the time, I could not stand myself. That's not really the point but it's really the beginning of the story. In March after the pandemic lockdowns started I found myself out of work and with way more free time than I had at my disposal in over twenty years. I decided to go get my fishing license, clean the dust off my gear after its' prolonged time sitting in the closet, start exploring. In the age of the internet you can look at job boards from your favorite fishing hole, never miss a call and still trying to use your time.

The first month was slow, barely catching a thing and resorting to dew worms and red worms just to liven up the action. I looked at how to's and refreshed my basics, then got back to the different fishing holes. Much like the advantage of the cell phones and data plans aided looking for what might be my second career, in the age of the internet the professional fishing scene is more than willing to share their knowledge. My favorite spots for catching bass were about to change and I would pick up a few new tricks when it comes to finding places to try for all the bank or shore fishing folks out there.

Number one, I learned, was find different bodies of water near the ones you know. Sure, the time of day still matters. Let's face it, bank fishing for bass presents challenges you don't have on boats. Limited access and mobility being the biggest, but I was on a mission.

Snakeden Hollow Fish and Wildlife Reserve in Victoria Illinois is, in my opinion, the best place to go if you don't have a boat. Look it up on any mapping service online and you can follow 167 out of Victoria to the check in station just past town. There's a map at the station that'll help orientate you to the small ponds that are a part of the over one hundred bodies of water that are part of Snakeden. About a mile farther up the road you can also turn right and head towards Lake McMasters. There's shore access from the boat ramp, a path that starts you out around the lake for a few hundred yards of mixed spots and access to other areas with differing sized ponds.

It started hear, with the long channel right off the boat ramp. It had enough left to right access to run baits a few hundred feet in each direction and differing depths with drop offs. While there wasn't a lot of growth and limited shallows it's a good space for an early morning trip or an evening trip. Now, what to use. With the clearer waters of a managed state fishing reserve, I started with a green pumpkin stick bait, texas rigged. Hit and miss is putting it mildly. At one use in May, I stood on a rise above the edge of the water and ran my texas rigged green pumpkin, right in front of two decent sized small mouths. They were so close I could see them and could have grabbed one with my hands.

I switched to a black and red bass jig with a crawdad trailer. On my first throw, they seemed to just look at it as I drug it in front of the two I'd been watching. I cast out one more time, already wondering if this was worth the effort, WHAM!!!! The larger of the two took it and when he did, he hit like a truck. One thing I'll say about small mouths, they fight like a largemouth that's three pounds heavier. On my third and subsequent casts with the jig and crawdad I wasn't able to get a single hit. After this I put on a yellow and black torpedo and ran top water, hoping for some real action. Three casts in and I found myself in fishing heaven. Wham!!! A four-pound smallmouth walloped my topwater lure, coming out of the water and splashing franticly. A couple of minutes later and I was casting out again. I decided to try a ways out and run that topwater lure. Four or five times around on the reel and wham, I'd hooked a two pounder that wasn't going to surrender easily.

This was going to turn into one of my favorite spots. One, for the amount of action it would produce. The second reason was the location. Over the course of the next couple months I'd hit this spot whenever I only had a few hours, did not want to drive far couldn't get away from my home area.

My second spot was South of Victoria on County Road 15. This would be the most successful spot and told me how to really catch fish without having a boat. Finding the terrain of the fish your after and finding access with the internet. Satellite overlays can be your friend. From the spot on fifteen we found more bass than anything, an average of one every twenty minutes. It's not fast and furious but for bank fishing access. So satellite images of local bodies of water can and will be your best friend if you practice with them.

For the time of year, in the spring, the bass will come shallow looking for warmer temps as the water temps slowly get to 55 degrees. As the waters hit the mid-sixties you'll be hitting spawning season. This occurs in flats and shallow points. If you look closely at google earth imagery, the coloring of the waters as they change from the shore to the center will give you an idea of depth changes in even the murkiest of waters.

Topwater lures and jerk baits can be your best bet to stir up smallmouth on a slow day. If you're in smaller waters, soft frogs or bug baits along weeded lines works better. Put a little zing and aim lower. The impact on the water will alert them your there. Skipping is another good idea. It'll take practice.. I'd highly suggest watching some videos before hand.

What I'm really getting at, in my minimum of six hundred words sort of way, is most of us have smartphones. We may not have a couple grand for a boat or think there's a place for us to store one if we did, but while you're out cussing about nothing biting, put your pole down, pull out your phone and search, how to. That first successful trip afterward will make you realize how much is being shared on the net.

Keep your lines tight and wet.