Targeting Creek Bass, Part 2 – Where are they?

Last month I covered some of the most effective flies I have found for targeting bass in local DFW creeks. But even if you throw the right fly, if there are no bass nearby, you’re pretty much out of luck. So how do you find them?

The easiest way is to quietly approach some water and see them swimming around. Of course, that doesn’t happen too often, but it’s always a thrill to see cruising bass in the water, make a sight cast to one and watch it eat your fly. However, most of the creek bass I have tricked into eating a fly were not swimming in open water where I could see them–they were hiding somewhere.

Bass are ambush predators and will seek out cover and structure to give them a hiding place from which to attack. And I am continually surprised at the small pockets and skinny water that relatively large bass will hide in.

One example of this skinny water is cutbanks. More than once, I have been wading through shallow water (6-8 inches) near an overhanging cutbank with no more than a foot of overhang, and spooked a 2-3 lb. bass into a quick and splashy exit from the area. Had I dragged small Clouser or craw along that cutbank before I so clumsily waded into the area, I might have had a really nice fish in my net. Depicted in the photo at the top of the page: Mic Chow and Dorian Foster fishing the far cutbank. We hooked a bunch of nice bass here that day.

Another thing to consider when prospecting for bass is the water column. If it’s hot outside and you are masterfully twitching the perfect hopper on a fishy, belly-deep pool but the bass are all hanging out at the bottom to enjoy the cooler water, you might never get a strike, even though the bass are there. But if you sink a Clouser, a craw, or a leech pattern down close to the bottom, your luck might just change.

TIP:

When fishing slow, deeper creek pools, work the entire water column, from bank to bank, especially around cover and structure.

Some of the most productive water I have found is at the confluence of two streams. This is likely due to several factors. The hydrodynamics at confluences tend to scour the streambed, creating a deeper area that fish can hold in, avoiding the main current while accessing two streams of food. Also, if you think of the geometry of a confluence as a ‘V,’ the inside of the V is an eddy – another place fish can access the two streams while avoiding the main current.

So, a good general approach when targeting bass is to identify the most likely water they will be hiding in and fish it appropriately. In addition to looking for the types of water mentioned above, there are lots of places bass might be hiding. If you were a bass, where would you hide?

Tip:

Look for: baitfish habitat, culverts, bridges, stream bends, shade, head/foot of pools, dams, drop-offs, overhanging vegetation, fallen timber, sunfish beds, etc.

Tight lines!