Page 47 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Winter 2022-1_Neat

rocarbon line with longer casts. The retrieve is a slow retrieve so I can keep the bait at depth
longer.

For the football jig, use a ½ ounce to 5/8 ounce with a craw trailer. The jig allows me to fish
any cover such as standing timber, brush piles or rocks that may be along the edges of the
ditches. Cast beyond the cover and drag the jig up to through and just over to trigger bites.
This is especially true if bass have moved tight to cover or are sitting on the bottom.

There is yet another option to consider if there is no vegetation in and long the ditch or
drain. That choice is a medium diving crankbait in a craw pattern. It will crawl over and
deflect off the rocks and timber triggering bites. It is best for depths of 8’-12’. If there is veg-
etation, consider a lipless crankbait also in a craw pattern. Tick the top of the grass or just
below and rip the bait free to trigger the bite.

Channel swings are the next. Yes, lowland reservoirs do have channel swings. They may be less obvious, but that also
means that not everyone will find them.

In this example, the channel comes right up against the bank In low
visibility, bass will still set up on this slightly gradual sloping bank if it is
deeper than what is just around the corner.

Baits for attacking channel swings can include all the baits we have al-
ready talked about. Add a finesse jig to the mix when fishing these channel
swings. The jig size can be 5/16ths to a 3/8 ounce with a small compact
craw as a trailer. Natural colors work best when visibility is better. In din-
gier water move to black and blue. This can be fished in from 2’-15’ feet of
water. Fish this on fluorocarbon on 10-12lb line. Be sure to fish it all the
way out to the boat.

A second choice on these channel swings in the medium diving crankbait in craw pattern. The difference here is boat
position. Try to fish this bait parallel to the bank in the 8’-12’ range. If you are fishing in dirty cold water, consider a
square billed, flat sided crankbait in a fire tiger pattern. Cast it as shallow as you can along the shore and work the bait
out into the 5’-6’ range. The retrieve is very slow or as slowly as you can to get it to maintain the wobble.

The final area for consideration is a rounded point. There are some key features that exist. The area you think is the most
obvious is probably not it. The primary winter point is very boring at first look.
It has a gradual slope that steps down from a few feet to much deeper water.
The key is that on both sides it does eventually drop off into a creek on both
sides.

What makes this rounded boring point key is the fact that the creeks on both
sides will hold baitfish. If this bland looking point has rock piles, brush piles,
laydowns, or standing timber, those baitfish will move up and roam around.
Where there is food, there will be bass.

The two primary baits for use on this gradually tapering point have already been mentioned. These are the finesse swim-
bait and the football jig. The set up and applications are the same as they were for the ditches and drains. The swimbait
through the suspended fish and the jig through the rock piles, brush piles, laydowns, and timber.

As was stated before, compare the information here to your home lake and apply what works best there. Most of all get
out there and enjoy some time on the water this winter!

Lady Bass Anglers Association 47