Fishing For Bass In The Trees
This article is another in my series of articles on bass fishing it involves my system of fishing for bass in laydowns and over hagning trees with a floating minnow lure
The best Lay Downs to Target
I prefer to target fresh laydowns with leaves still on the branches with this system, as they will still have insects on them and this will draw bait fish which will inturn draw in the bass to feed.
What Lure to use
My old stand by for this is the original flaoting rapala in brown gold color. This is not to say that your favorite minnow bait will not work but I have been catching fish with this lure in this situation for over 30 years and see no reason to change.
My Prefered Tackle
With out Question my favorite tackle for this system is a 7 foot medium St Coix spinning rod with a Shimano reel and 10 lb line
Boat Position
I will approach my trees form a direct angle with the bow of my boat pointing directly into the trees so as to be able to reach all points of the cover. and to able to skip my bait up under the over hanging trees if possible.
With lay down boat position is not as crucial as you only need to be sure you can pick apart the differant spots on the laydowns... ie getting a cast up near the bank where the root of the tree comes into the water this will usally be the most shaded area on the laydown and afford the bass a ambush point.
Working the lure in over hangs
I will start by casting my floating rapala to the farthest point I can up under an overhangin tree. I will allow it to rest for a few seconds and then begin a retrieve of subtle jerks pulling the bait just under the water and then allowing it to float back to the surface like a submarine and let it sit for a second then repeat back to the boat. Be sure to change up your cadence if your not gettin bit ... as a rule largemouth bass prefer the slower retrieve and smallmouth as a rule prefer a sharp quick jerking motion , experiment with your retrieve let the bass tell you what they want
working the bait in laydowns
My approach for laydowns never wavers I always use the same technique when fishing laydowns and wood piles . I will throw the rapal as close to the cover as I can , and use a super slow retreive by small slow jerks under the water let the bait surface and sit for as long as you can stand it ..then repeat . I will fish every attack point possible on this type of cover and hit each spot on the spot several times.
