Knapp: Keys to snaring bass in shallows
The brisk southwest wind roiled the near shore shallows of Keystone Lake. Holding the boat a cast’s distance from the bank, I pitched a Ned Rig up into about a foot or two of water. Once the rig — which is basically a light jighead dressed with a 2.5 to 3-inch straight worm — had reached bottom I began a slow, hopping retrieve, one that was interrupted with a sharp tick. A sweeping hookset picked up the slack in the line caused by the wind, sinking the light wire hook into what proved to be a two pound largemouth bass.
Each spring I look forward to the time when Keystone’s water temperature approaches the 60 degree mark. The lake’s adjacent hillsides show the blooming of dogwoods, the blossoms contrasting sharply with the otherwise drab surroundings. And bass invade the shallows, cruising the two to 10 foot depths, likely stoking up for the demands of the upcoming spawn.
There is a wide variety of presentations appropriate for taking bass in this situation. Here is a look at a few of them.
NED RIG — The previously mentioned Ned Rig is tough to beat for Keystone prespawn bass. I prefer teaming the soft plastic body with a 3/16 ounce jighead, one consisting of a mushroom-shaped head and a 1/0 wide gap weedless hook. In terms of body, Z-Man’s classic Finesse TRD is a great match, as is Crush City’s Ned BLT. Colors that include a touch of green pumpkin are consistent. Z-Man’s Hot Snakes is one of my favorites.
WACKY RIGGED WORM — The sinking worm such as Yamamoto’s Senko and Yum’s Dinger is another great option. Such worms can be rigged Texas style with a wide gap hook – either unweighed or with a light bullet sinker, or Wacky style, which places the hook around mid point in the worm. Wacky rigging seems especially effective when prespawn bass are in the shallows.
Wacky rigging can be tough on baits, tearing in half from the process of hooking and releasing bass. It’s common to install an o-ring on the bait at its midpoint, and then insert the hook under the o-ring. This helps save baits. Recently, I’ve used VMC’s Crossover Ring, which does the same thing and is even more kind to baits. Both o-rings and Crossover Rings require a tool for applying them to the worm.
Wacky worms can be fished without any added weight, fine if the fish are super shallow or if there’s no wind. If you need more weight, a light jighead can replace the hook. A weedless jig or hook with a weedguard is nice if you plan to work shoreline wood as well.
SOFT JERKBAIT — The classic fluke-style soft jerkbait is another great shallow water option. It’s particularly effective when the bass are more aggressive, willing to move up to intercept the lure. I like Zoom’s Super Fluke, which is a 4.75 inch bait, hooked on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG light wire hook.
SQUAREBILL CRANKBAITS — Another good option, and one that tends to take bigger bass, is a squarebill crankbait like Strike King’s KVD bait. Crankbaits are at their best when they are bumping cover or the bottom. Keeping the boat close to the bank, and making casts parallel to the bank so they stay in the strike zone longer, gets the best results.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
