Bass Fishing Article

Swimbaits For Giant Spotted Bass

By Dale Meddock

Not every state has Spotted Bass, but for those that do. Here is real tip to help you find and catch some of these most aggressive feeders. If you happen to fish waters where Spotted Bass are located here is a few places to look.

Finding Big Spotted Bass

Steep Structure

This is where you have steep drop offs either on the bank or main lake points. When bass are keying on these areas, use a fast falling bait. We like to pull our swim baits off of these drop offs and just let them free fall to the next ledge. Now when you are using a swim bait, keep very close to the bottom. Most swim baits will have a little swimming action on the fall, and this will trigger that reaction bite. Giant spotted bass will just gobble up these small swim baits. But do not overlook the bigger 8” swim baits.

Deep Structure

There are many flooded valleys that have these little hilltops on them. When flooded these hilltops are known as underwater humps. These are some of the finest places to search for big spots. Now these can be any place in your lake, out in open water or an extension to a main lake point. These are the perfect places for feeding bass to suspend and wait for an easy meal to come by.

Now one important thing you should keep in mind is the weather. It just seems like the nastier the weather the better the bite. We have found that wind is the most important element with rain being second. Always have these spots programmed in your GPS. You will want to come back time and time again. Spotted Bass school according to size and they are always in big schools. We call these Wolf Packs, they are always on the move. Now lets target these humps. We always want to make sure we are using the correct species of swim bait. We try our small 5” Baby Bass, just to see if there are any takers. If we do not get bit, sometimes we have stalkers. These are the real giants, weighing 6 to 8 lbs. we know have a real chance of catching them. Put on your big 8” swim bait, get on one side of the hump and cast into the wind. This will put your bait right in his face, forcing him to make his move. Now sometimes they will take your bait right off the surface, other times they want it on the same level they are suspended. There are always active feeders near the bottom. But you must realize if there are big spots on these humps, they are there to feed. Your swim bait will never reach the bottom.

Now one important thing you should keep in mind is the weather. It just seems like the nastier the weather the better the bite. We have found that wind is the most important element with rain being second. Always have these spots programmed in your GPS. You will want to come back time and time again. Spotted Bass school according to size and they are always in big schools. We call these Wolf Packs, they are always on the move. Now lets target these humps. We always want to make sure we are using the correct species of swim bait. We try our small 5” Baby Bass, just to see if there are any takers. If we do not get bit, sometimes we have stalkers. These are the real giants, weighing 6 to 8 lbs. we know have a real chance of catching them. Put on your big 8” swim bait, get on one side of the hump and cast into the wind. This will put your bait right in his face, forcing him to make his move. Now sometimes they will take your bait right off the surface, other times they want it on the same level they are suspended. There are always active feeders near the bottom. But you must realize if there are big spots on these humps, they are there to feed. Your swim bait will never reach the bottom.

Fish for spotted bass in trees, in deep water.

Heavy Cover

Tree tops in deep water can be a real treat. These giant spots will suspend in these trees, next to the base or up in the big forks. Most flooded lakes have the trees still standing. Seek these out, now you can always use a jig or soft plastic bait to reach these spots. But the real key is picking off these giant bass before you spook everything. We always start out with our little 5” Baby Bass, then we switch to the 8’ Rainbow Trout. We like to use a weedless bait around trees, but a floating model can really get them turned on.

Spotted bass love Main Lake Points.

This is the real sweet spot. Every bass moving around the lake will seek these out during feeding time. And a lot of them will just hang out there waiting for feeding time. Spotted Bass are always on the move, but when the wind picks up, they go into their feeding frenzy. Sometimes you will catch two at a time. There are other times when you will have several giants trying to take your swim bait away from other fish. This might last one hour or one minute, depending on if they get spooked. Now one thing you should know about all spotted bass, they are real fighters. So just make sure you have a deep net, and you are using a rod with a little give to it. Because when you hooked up with one of these 6 lb. giants, he is not wanting to get in the boat, you have got to get him in the net quickly. These spotted bass will tear the hooks right out of their mouth.

Dam Impoundments

These can be your best friend if they are releasing water to generate power. Other wise pass these up. When power is generated, there release of water is what turns the fish on. This Feeding Frenzy will only last while the current is pushing baitfish to the waiting fish. Now there are several places for the spotted bass to position themselves in this current. First off lets talk about current breaks on the bank, check out all steep rocky banks, Jetties, Trees or Mooring Pilings. This will give those feeding fish a place out of the current. Now this is a sweet spot we found below one of these dams, it was a little underwater island below the dam about ½ mile. This is where all of the light sand and gravel settled after being boiled out of the discharged area in front of the dam. This little island held some giant spots. You can take your Spinner bait or crank bait and just do a little research. Then switch up to your 5” Baby Bass or your 8” swim bait.

Use your GPS to mark the best spots.

Just remember your search is not only to catch fish. Always punch that GPS on all key location. This will be your guide to the Giant Spotted Bass you seek. Good Luck and Tight Lines