How to catch more bass behind someone — including yourself

Hello my fellow anglers. Fishin’ the No. 1 rated bass fishery in the United States, Clear Lake can be a challenge. It seems like there are not any places on the lake that someone else hasn’t fished through before you.

I came across this article from Shaye Baker at Wired2Fish, and it has some really good information in it about this problem. So, I thought I would share it with y’all:

“Bass fishing is one of the most popular pastimes here lately. It seems like every time I turn a corner on the water I’m running into a boat, kayak or angler fishing from the bank. This increased fishing pressure seems to be making fishing a little tougher on most folks. Fortunately, however, there are certain things you can do to help you catch more fish behind other anglers and even when recycling your own water.

Whether you’re bass fishing out of the back of a buddy’s boat or sharing an area with another angler during a tournament, it’s important to identify and implement a few or these techniques to make sure you’re making the most of the water available. Let’s take a look at a few ways to catch fish behind someone now.

If you’re in the back of someone’s boat, I know it seems obvious to watch where the other angler casts. By doing this, you can make sure you’re not casting to the exact same spots and you’re able to hit anything they might miss. But that’s not the only value in keeping an eye on where they present their baits. At times, you’ll actually want to throw your bait to the exact same spot they just brought their lure through. Let me give you an example

o my dad and I fish a lot of team tournaments. Quite often, whichever of us is in the front of the boat will throw a power-fishing bait like a buzzbait, spinnerbait or ChatterBait while the guy in the back of the boat follows it up with something a little more finesse like a squarebill, small swimbait or swim jig. In these situations, we’ll try to make the exact same cast from the back of the boat as the angler is making from the front.

The reason we do this is the power-fishing bait might get the fish’s attention or draw it out but by the time the fish can get to where the bait was, it’s already gone. Or perhaps the bass just wasn’t in an aggressive enough mood to commit to the power presentation. But then that finesse offering comes right back by and the fish slams it. This works really well, quite often.”

I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading and remember to Keep it Reel! — Don = 4REEL Fishin’