Most anglers, including myself prefer to fish shallow waters for bass and panfish species. This is for many reasons, but for me, I like to see the structure and cover that I am fishing and find it much easier to break down water under 12 feet. Rather than fishing the wide open areas of the lakes and structure that is not visible, I often search out the drop offs and peninsulas that are visible instead. Pertly due to comfort of what I am used to but also shallow water has always been easier to understand. I would assume that the comfort of fishing around the shore comes from how most of us first learn how to fish from the show lines and docks.
This makes the shallower waters more familiar to us. We learn and understanding of how to catch fish from under docks and on drop offs from an early age or starting point. Going out to what seems like the unknown in deeper water can be intimidating, but the rewards can be worth it. “Beating the banks” as we call it is usually the place to start on any body of water. But there are plenty of benefits that I have learned about searching the deeper and more open areas of the water too.
Deep Water Fishing Benefits
Deep water is more stable and can provide a more consistent temperature, especially in hot weather when bass move deeper to escape the heat. When the air is hot in the summers, the surface temperatures rise much higher than the deeper waters that are not exposed to the sun.
Statistics suggest that larger bass are more likely to be caught in deeper water compared to shallower water.
While they move, bass are generally in deeper water for the majority of the year, making it a consistent location for fishing.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Shallow Water Benefits
Bass move into shallow water to feed on baitfish or other prey, and for spawning in the spring. During the cooler parts of the day, bass will often move shallow to feed, as will their prey.
Structure like docks, laydowns, or vegetation in shallow water can concentrate bass, making it a good spot to target them. Spots in shallow water that are usually a successful target location year round are areas with running water, such as a small creek, can be more oxygenated and cooler, making them attractive shallow spots even in summer or higher temperatures.
Bait Options
Two of the top used baits in my arsenal for deep water bass fishing are the football jig and a deep water crank bait. The jig, usually 3/8-oz will be a slower more targeting option that moves slowly on the bottom to emulate leaches, crawfish and other slow moving or wounded bait. The deep diving crank bait should go deep enough to either bounce along the bottom or about a foot above bottom. This will be a faster moving option and achieve more reaction bites. Work the bait just fast enough to have side to side movement and be easy for a hard strike.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Final Thoughts
A majority of statistics will show that larger numbers of bass and larger sized bass will come from deeper waters. Spawning season and feeding times are the exception to this theory, but if you want to up your chances of catching a larger fish, I would suggest getting out of your comfort zone and testing your luck and skill around deeper structure. You may be surprised on how much fun it is catching fish 15-25’ deep where the water is more consistent and plentiful. On your next fishing adventure, go deep!
