 THE
“BASS SPLASH”
THEORY FOR LOCATING BIG
BASS
Is
there a simple and
foolproof method of
locating Bass – big
Bass which anglers
anywhere (and not only
the pros) can apply? To
be really useful, such a
method must not entail
any expense nor any
equipment not readily
available to even the
most basic basser –
no boats, no fishfinders
or other electronic
equipment – just a
rod, a reel filled with
line and a basic lure, a
basser on his (or her)
two feet with only a pair
of sunglasses as
additional equipment.
Is
such a method available
– you read the
following thoughts,
observations and
conclusions, try it for
yourself and then decide!
The
January 1985 issue of
BASSMASTER Magazine on p.
24 contained an article
penned by Don Wirth
entitled “Wood,
Water and Bass”.
In that article, Wirth
writes about an old issue
of an outdoor magazine in
which appeared a
first-hand account by
George W. Perry when he
hooked and landed his
world record Bass (22
1/4lbs?). The question in
my mind was – how
did Perry latch on to
that big Bass? It
apparently all started
like this – in
Perry’s own words
(according to Wirth)
he noticed “…
an interesting
disturbance next to a
large tree lying in the
water …” Wirth
continues and refers to
the following comment
from Doug Hannon
(Florida’s famous
“Bass
Professor”):
“The world record
Bass was taken from a
fallen tree. That ought
to give you an indication
of the importance of wood
to bass fishing!”
True.
But aren’t we
missing a cardinal point
in Perry’s account?
What about the
“interesting
disturbance”? Do big
Bass betray their
location to the
discerning angler who
knows exactly what to
look for? You bet they
do! If you want to know
more, read on ...
You
might be thinking how I
could be so sure. I am.
Anybody can locate big
Bass IF you can keep your
eyes open and know how to
interpret what you see
– not too difficult
for the average basser!
How?
OK,
I’ll try to tell
you. When fishing any
known bass water or any
water which has even a
remote possibility of
having Bass, keep your
eyes open – LOOK!
What must you look for
– structure? No, not
necessarily, but the
majority of the time you
will most likely locate
your big Bass (and by
big, I mean really Big)
near structure (either
visible or invisible
structure). Just look at
the surface of the water
– continually sweep
and scan the surface of
the water (you may be
fishing, just standing,
walking, relaxing or
boating – whatever
…) – just look
and watch for an
“interesting
disturbance” to
shatter the surface.
This
“interesting
disturbance” a Bass
makes is quite unlike
that of any other fish
species in South African
waters – it is
actually rather difficult
to describe in words to
someone who has not
actually seen it. Let me
begin by telling you what
it is NOT. It is not like:
1.
a Trout rise ie. dimpling
the surface of the water;
2.
the “bloop” of
a Catfish expelling air;
3.
the “S” swirls
and side flashes of
Bream;
4.
the “plop” of a
Moggel (mudfish; mullet);
5.
the “bubbles”
of a feeding Carp;
6.
the boisterous
“splashes” of
spawning Carp (for those
who have not heard this,
big Carp can sound like
pigs frolicking in the
shallows; or
7.
the noisy
“splat” of a
Carp jumping completely
out of the water and
returning with all the
finesse of a
“belly-flop”
(an unexplained habit of
Carp in some waters).
So,
now that you have an idea
of what not to look for
or what to ignore when
you are after big Bass,
let me at least try to
describe that unique and
interesting Bass
disturbance. It seems to
be something like a very
violent, single whiplash
executed just under the
surface of the water. For
a split second it seems
as if the water surface
is smashed by a mini
explosion. The surface of
the water is broken up
into a rough circle of
droplets about 30 –
45 cm (12 – 18
inches) across and about
20 – 30 cm (8 –
12 inches) high. After
this short, sharp
“burst” under
the water, the surface
settles almost
immediately, so if you
are not coincidentally
looking in the direction
of the disturbance you
would only hear the water
crashing, but see
nothing, except perhaps
some ripples (if the
water is calm).
Whenever
you notice a disturbance
like this – note the
exact location as best
you can (if you have GPS,
use it, if you can
cross-triangulate, do it
but it none of these
additional aids are
essential for success).
Work
this location whenever
you can with lures known
to be extraordinarily or
usually effective for big
Bass.
Before
I go any further, let me
relate some personal
experiences in relation
to these unique and
interesting disturbances
which I call “Bass
Splashes”. Although
there have been a few
other experiences, the
ones I will tell you
about relate to a period
when I made notes and
kept a log of these
occurrences. I filed away
the notes, pressure of
work displaced fishing
time, I was transferred
to an arid area with
little opportunity for
Bass or any other kind of
fishing and the notes I
made jogged my memory
when I read through them
again.
December
1984 (Theewaterskloof
Dam, Western Cape
Province, South Africa):
Whilst working the
shoreline of this large
dam (fifth largest in
South Africa), I notice a
“Bass Splash”
near a row of fence poles
disappearing into the
water. I am startled by
the loudness and severity
of the disturbance on
that hot early afternoon.
At the time, the
disturbance meant little
to me except
“fish”. I
stopped and cast around
the area with a black and
yellow-skirted Zorro
Aggravator spinnerbait. I
hooked into some grasses
not visible to me which
fouled up the lure
killing its action. I
tried a few more casts,
not achieving much and
spending more time
removing grasses and
weeds from my lure than
actually fishing, when on
one retrieve. I
experienced a solid thump
which stopped the
spinnerbait in its
tracks. Instinctively I
struck and reeled, my rod
(a Fenwick flippin’
stick) bowed and then
straightened. I reeled in
furiously – nothing,
no action, not even from
the lure or what remained
of it. I studied the
spinnerbait – no
blade or split ring
remained on the swivel of
the upper arm wire, the
loop of which was tangled
on the barb of the hook
on the lower wire arm.
Strange … I tried to
reconstruct the scenario:
The Bass (evidently)
engulfed the spinnerbait
compressing the top arm
and lower arm together
tangling the hook and the
blade was pulled off when
I struck with the Bass
clamping the spinnerbait
in its jaws
…(probably).
Some
days later (and partly
due to that experience) I
have the opportunity to
fish the exact spot
again. Those of you who
know the Western Cape
will not be surprised to
hear that the weather had
changed –
drastically to be exact.
A cold front was passing
through with heavy
onshore wind and
intermittent rain, but I
was there casting from
the shoreline into the
wind (as best I could) a
heavyish chartreuse
skirted spinnerbait with
a silver Indiana blade
and a black trailer worm.
Strangely enough I did
not find grass or weeds
this time (during a dry
period some years later,
this area revealed
extensive stump beds with
exposed root systems),
but after feeling the
spinnerbait scrape what
felt like a branch, I was
suddenly stuck into the
“tree” which
gave slightly, but did
not move. I reeled down
quickly and leaned back
into the rod hoping to
dislodge the lure before
having to break it off.
Then the “tree”
moved and the rest is
history with one of the
biggest Northern strain
Bass I have caught. The
fish was not weighed, but
released unharmed (it was
nowhere near the magical
10lb mark, but
nevertheless
“bragging size”
for Northern strain bass
in South Africa during
the seventies and
eighties. This second
time there was no
“Bass Splash”
– maybe something to
do with the weather?
September
1985 (Witbank Dam,
Mpumalanga Province,
South Africa): Whilst
partnering a friend in
boat in a practice run
before an all-species
artlure competition, I
(at the back of the
boat), notice a
“Bass Splash”
in a rocky bay. Make a
mental note as my boat
partner does not notice
and is already fiddling
with the controls
planning to leave to fish
another area not wanting
to “waste”
further time in the rocky
bay. One month later we
fish the same spot again
(my boat partner is an
experienced artlure
angler with provincial
colours). I notice a
similar “Bass
Splash”, but these
are early days and at
that stage I had not yet
cottoned on to the
possibility of a pattern
or new theory. I remark
that a fish splashed
close by, my boat partner
just says: “Yeah
…” and after a
few casts we are racing
across the water to a
different spot. We only
catch a few small bass in
very deep water on
smallish deep diving
crankbaits.
After
this trip, I relive and
review the day, the
previous “Bass
Splash” occurrences
come to mind and I start
developing the theory.
As
fate would have it, I
have since not fished
that spot again (only
accessible by boat and
after all this time I
doubt I would even find
that particular spot
again).
Very
large Bass including the
South African record of
over 13lb (Florida strain
Largemouth) have since
been produced by Witbank
Dam. This dam, to the
best of my knowledge, was
never officially stocked
with Floridas –
floods did the work by
washing Floridas from
surrounding farm dams
(when the earthen dam
walls gave way under
pressure of rising
waters) into Witbank Dam.
December
1985 (Buffelspoort
Dam, North-West
Province, South Africa):
Whilst fooling around in
a rowing boat in a small
bay not too far from the
wall of the dam we spot
some kids on the shore
having a lot of fun
catching what seemed to
be Canary Kurper (a small
pesky predatory bream
with a voracious appetite
and a bright yellow
throat). After drifting
quietly in the general
area, the excited chatter
and laughter of the
children is suddenly
eclipsed by a violent
“Bass Splash”
near some protruding
“stickups” only
metres from the rowing
boat.
Now
I was sure that there
must be something to my
theory as this particular
Dam had produced some
nice Bass over the years,
but my Bass tackle was
not at hand …
That
night, I made some more
notes. The common
denominators of the above
“Bass Splash”
sightings since also
confirmed at Mazvikadei
Dam near Banket, Zimbabwe
and other South African
localities are:
1.
they take place in hot
and sunny weather
conditions with little or
no wind (usually in
spring or summer);
2.
the water was probably
rather warm (not verified
with a thermometer, but
air temperature was
high), the water was also
predominantly clear and
in some cases slightly
stained, but never muddy
brown nor pea-soup green
with algae;
3.
xcept in one or two
instances where there was
a slight breeze, the
water surface was calm
with scarcely a ripple;
and
4.
the sightings took place
in the heat of the day
(between 11h00 and
15h00).
My
conclusions about this
new “pattern”
or theory are:
1.
When you have sighted a
disturbance as described,
note the area and the
spot for future reference
(the Bass seem to stay in
the general area:
Theewaterskloof –
one week; Witbank –
one month? And may do so
until physical conditions
change drastically
forcing them to move).
2.
Do not be too keen to
leave the area after such
a sighting unless you
have fished it
thoroughly, if you leave
without success, return
again later on the same
day (or night).
3.
The Bass responsible for
the disturbance may be
the biggest in the
immediate vicinity.
Why
don’t you give this
“Bass Splash”
concept a try in your
region – you may
just be pleasantly
surprised! Let me know if
you have had similar
observations and
experiences.
Jacques
Wolmarans
|
