Bass
in the Sticks
By
Bruce Edward Litton
Inspired by Oliver Shapiro’s book Fishing New Jersey: A Guide for Freshwater
Anglers, I came to 18-acre Mount Hope Pond in Morris County. After weeks of
virtually always catching one or two largemouths better than 2 ½ pounds, I decided
to cross over the little spillway to try the western side. There I passed a
fellow angler, asking him how the fishing went.
“Just a little sunfish,” he said.
“If you get back in the sticks and
pitch plastic worms, you can catch bass,” I said.
“Only early and late,” he said. His
face suggested a tense air of authority.
“I always come at noon,” I said, “and
get them every time.”
“Ah,” he dismissed me, “I’ll get them
in Florida and avoid the ticks.”
This happened years ago, and yet represents
a perennial attitude that ensures bass will always be around for the sport. I
sometimes see, while out fishing, ecology and economy merge. The bass on the
ecological end of the spectrum, the attitudes of anglers on the economic side.
Who among anglers wants to make difficult efforts—you can even get bedridden as
a result---unless the kind who enjoys the rewards of a challenge? He can always
brush off the ticks abundant in nature, from protective clothing he buys.
Here in New Jersey rewards can be quite
substantial. Since that day mentioned, I’ve caught dozens of bass better than
three pounds, quite a few over four, one five, and all of this action in
particular from May 1st on through August by a deadly method. I will
be specific about the approach in several ways, as if each is different, but
all of the variances involve traditional-style plastic worms rigged weightless.
Senko-type plastics, all the rage now, sink twice as fast and so in my opinion
prove relatively ineffective.
In the sticks, I use a 3/0 worm hook
buried in the plastic, but instead of using a fluorocarbon leader—which sinks—I
suggest 15-pound test monofilament, which doesn’t. In any case, consider a
microswivel too much weight to connect the leader to 15-pound test quality
braid. Use that braid, because its low diameter allows efficient pitches and
casts. (Line test any less isn’t enough to pull a big bass out of thick cover.)
Tie leader and braid by uni-to-uni splice, and employ a rod of at least medium
power, which I’ve always found sufficient. Five-and-a-half feet is ideal for
tight situations, and such a spinning rod also favors accuracy, since the tip
is closer to the wrist than longer rods that cast farther.
The exception is lake or reservoir
fishing from a boat. Since it’s a good idea to keep the boat at some distance
from the target if the water is clear, a seven-foot rod may be a better idea,
although accuracy counts anywhere you can get a sense for exactly where a bass
might be.
Two things to keep in mind, and then
a third will be discussed. The amount of brush in the water, as well as fallen
treetrunks, stumps, and overhangs varies from place to place. I fish five ponds
of 12 to 25 acres with some variety of these characteristics and they all
differ. I also fish Lake Hopatcong, which adds docks to the equation. Docks are
not quite the same as natural wood structure, but close. The second factor just
as important as wood in the water is the shadowline on sunny days. Unless
you’re fishing a shoreline with the sun directly on it and no brush overhanging
water close enough to create shadow, cast the worm into the sunlit water at
shadow’s edge. Bass hiding in the shade see the worm in high definition and
easily swim to take the slow-sinking, alluring offering.
Thirdly, as early as May weeds have
already grown pretty dense. In fact, some ponds notorious for weeding-in
already have become forbidding. But for our purposes, consider clear water and
weeds growing up from the bottom as deep as 12 feet combined with sticks.
Baitfish and other forage use this nutrient-dense cover as habitat, and you can
bet big female bass will inhabit the same.
Combinations of sticks and weeds
prove very good. They add relationships between shadow and light, and you can find a spot to rely on for as long as the sun’s out. At least some of
the time. If action ceases after a few visits, maybe wait a couple of years and
try again. Nature is a relationship. Put too much pressure on one part—it will
give, but not in your direction. Respect the spot, leave it alone, and when you
return later, it may once again respond to your wishes.
Bass live as acutely sensitive
creatures in other ways than feeling put upon by lure after lure coming their
way and experiencing the disorientation of getting hooked. Water temperatures
remain optimal into early June and even later in deep reservoirs; spinnerbaits
and plugs can be effective all day, although subtle plastics certainly work too,
and I use these more natural-seeming offerings most frequently. By sometime
later in June, however, people who fish bass generally believe the game gets played
early or late—otherwise forget it. My experience begs to differ, because the
record shows results. Contrary to popular belief, I catch bass in the
afternoons all the way through August, a month that can present tough bass
fishing but not always. I mentioned sensitivity, why?
The key is to understand the
metabolism of cold-blooded creatures. Optimal water temps for bass in the
middle 70’s mean they’re most physically active at these levels. But as water
temperatures climb into the 80’s, while chases after fish forage do slow, bass burn the most calories.
Rather than shoot around lakes like rockets, they slow down to conserve as many
calories as possible. And yet something about them must be moving at fever
pitch with metabolic rate at top speed.
Think of all the forage in the water
during summer. Much more than winter. Subaquatic insects, nematodes,
amphibians, reptiles, leeches. Much of this forage is very easy prey, and bass
simply flex jaws to suck in a passing leech, for one example. You can bet they
do. All day. In sunlit heat or clouds and rain, summer bass have a real need
for calories easily gained. With all this opportunity, you can also be sure
that with this metabolic overdrive, their senses
are more sensitive and alert than ever to whatever tidbit happens by.
Pitch a bass a nice big but very slow-sinking, easy-to-get
seven or eight-inch plastic worm, and the likelihood is very good the fish
takes. To do it right, eschew twister-tails, don’t even buy worms with fluttery
fluke-tails; just straight worms with no frills but garlic scent work for me. Summer
bass hover about so hyper-alert there’s no need to attract them with a lot of
nonsense; save the flash for other times. I use a thin-bodied worm, but the length
suggests a nice addition for those needed calories.
You don’t have to fish before
breakfast or after dinner to catch bass from June onwards.
