Learning to fish “lay-downs†is one of the fundamental lessons of bass fishing…….
In bass fishing, it’s a scene that’s almost a cliché.
An angler casting the shoreline comes to a tree that has fallen into the water. It has been undercut by years of wave erosion; now its root system sticks up like a tombstone. Its trunk extends beneath the water. A few meters out, waterlogged branches break the surface like fingers from a groping hand.
The angler trolls his boat near the tree, and then lobs spinner bait parallel to the trunk. As the bait starts its run, it disappears in a boiling commotion. The angler reacts quickly, setting the hook and steering a bulky 1.5kg clear of the limbs.
Fishing fallen trees is one of the basics of this sport; these woody skeletons are everyman’s structure. They are scattered along the banks of dams and rivers throughout South Africa. Anybody can find fallen trees by cruising and looking. And virtually every angler can catch bass from them by snaking baits along their trunks and through their limbs. In effect, fishing this cover is fundamental in bassing.
Fishing fallen trees properly is a lot more complicated than most people realize. There are a lot of subtle patterns involved, and fisherman need to figure out these little quirks and then use baits and techniques that match up with them.
FALLEN TREES IN THE PRE-SPAWN
Lay-downs are good cover all year long, but no lay-down are good all the time. What fisherman have to do is look for fallen trees in locations where bass should be at the time of the year they’re fishing. Then they have to go through trial-and-error process to figure out how the bass are relating to these trees – what mood they’re in, and which bait and method will get them to bite.
The pre-spawn is the first season on the bass’ calendar. This is when the annual spawning migration begins. As water warms from winter’s low point, the fish sense this change and swim from deep wintering areas toward spawning sites. In most rivers and dams, this means the fish transition from the main dam into bays and backwaters. During this migration, one of their favorite stopovers is a treetop conveniently toppled down the bank along their route. The pre-spawn is one of my favorite times for fishing fallen trees. This is when a lot of big bass are up shallow, and they’re hungry, so catching them is pretty simple. I fish trees that are adjacent to shallow water bays. They may be on the first or second point going into a cove or pocket, somewhere the bass have to pass on the way to their spawning areas. When they come to a fallen tree, they’re likely to move into cover and hold for a few days.
A key this time of the year is having deep water adjacent to the tree. I don’t mean deep deep, but I think 7 to 10 feet of water readily adjacent to a fallen tree is a requirement in the pre-spawn. In early spring I like to fish trees that have fallen into an old channel or down a deep bank, especially those close to the mouth of a creek. A lot of times I’ll take a topo map and locate the right kind of banks, and then I’ll go looking for fallen trees on them.
For fishing these trees I prefer the one-two punch! White/chartreuse spinner bait followed by a black/blue jig. I cast a ½ ounce spinner bait with a No. 5 willow leaf blade, the second blade is your option. I dress this bait with a 4 inch curled tail trailer. In jigs I use a 7/16 or 5/16 ounce rubber skirted bait with a plastic chunk trailer. This combination is fairly buoyant and falls slowly through the limbs. The bass are sluggish this time of the year, and they’re more prone to take a slow sinking bait than one that drops by quickly.
To fish a fallen tree I position my boat several meters from where I think the tree ends. Then I begin fan casting the limbs with the spinner bait to pick of “chasing†bass. I fish the outer edges first, this is where the active fish are most likely to be. Also, if I catch one in the outer branches, it won’t spook other bass holding tighter in the cover. Then I’ll work my way in toward the center. This way it’s possible to catch two or three fish from the same tree. I will also slow roll my spinner bait through the limbs. First I let it fall 5 or 6 feet, and then I bump it through the limbs as I reel back in. Whenever I slide the spinner bait over a limb, I quit winding momentarily to let the bait flutter back down.
I fish the entire tree with the spinner bait. I work my way in on both sides of the trunk, and then I scrape my bait alongside the main stem. If it’s a sunny day, I pay particular attention to the shadowed areas. I make repeat casts to forks in the tree or places where limbs overlap to form a thick overhead mat. If the bass aren’t aggressive, repeat casts sometimes goad them into striking.
After working the tree with the spinner bait, it is time to use the jig for the real going over. Now I ease my boat into close pitching/flipping range, and I prospect in every hole and limb fork. I am real thorough, usually the fish are lying in a place where somebody else hasn’t put bait. So I’ll put my bait in that spot, and many times that’s where the fish will be.
SETTING THE PATTERN
During the pre-spawn and following seasons, anglers fishing fallen trees must be ever-conscious of the pattern. They must try to learn how bass are relating to the trees that particular day, and what bait and technique are most attractive to the fish.
Fishing is a process of elimination and one of the most important things in catching bass is knowing what NOT to do. Unless you try all your options when you start out fishing fallen trees, you won’t know what to eliminate and what to keep. At the start of each day, I look for three critical elements in setting the pattern: the mood of the bass, the depth of the bass and the bass position relative to the tree’s structure.
First, mood. Aggressiveness is a pattern! Are the fish chasing and will they hit spinner baits or, later on, crank baits? Or are they inactive, and are jigs or plastics the best baits? At the beginning of the day, I fish both fast and slow baits to find out. Also be aware in summer the fish might be more aggressive in the mornings than in the afternoons.
Second, depth. Actually depth can mean two things. One is depth of water that the productive trees are in. The slope of the bank can be a key factor as well. And the second meaning of depth is how the fish relate to the tree – whether they are suspending above the limbs, or are they beneath them and near the bottom?
Third, the fish’s actual location in the tree. One day bass will hold in the outermost limb tips. The next day, they will burrow beneath the trunk or the thickest cover they can find. The only way to learn all these things is to just start out trying everything, then home in on what works. After I’ve set the pattern, I can fish a tree for five minutes and either catch bass or leave confident that I would have caught them if they’d been there.
I sometimes portion out fishing time according to how quick the bass strike. I may start out in the morning and fish three or four trees catching a bass on the first or second cast from each one, but then not getting anymore bites. This tells me that the best thing I can do is to start running and fishing as many trees as I can. If it takes 15 to 20 casts to a tree to catch a bass, then it’s obvious I can’t fish as many spots, so I have to pick a few of the best trees and really beat them.
FALLEN TREES DURING SPAWN
As bass move into shallow water to spawn, fallen trees remain prime fishing structure. Now, though, locations and methods change from those of pre-spawn. When the water hits spawning temperature (65f or 18C) concentrate on fallen trees on flats and side pockets, wherever the bass will nest. Now I like trees in 2 to 5 feet of water, and I concentrate on working the outer limbs. Many times the fish will spawn in the edge of the tree, where sunlight can fall into the nests.
The best baits for this type of fishing are a top water twitch bait and plastics or a jig. I try a surface lure first, and then follow up with a weighted lure. If the top water strikes out, I switch to plastics or a jig and work the entire tree. Spawners are usually on the outside, but bass don’t all spawn at the same time. There may be some on that tree that aren’t spawning, and they can be in the thickest cover.
POST – SPAWN
Following the spawn, bass begin moving back toward summer holding areas. Anglers should move with them, continuing to fish fallen trees where the bass should be.
Now I start in the back of the bays and work my way out. In the immediate post spawn, the bass may still be close to their spawning areas. A little later they’ll move near the mouths of the creeks or out to the main dam area, where they’ll spend the summer. Just after spawning bass are dulled by the rigors of laying and protecting their eggs. Now they’re usually tight to the cover, in the heaviest places you can put your bait. This type of fishing is usually all plastics and jigs.
However, as the fish rebound from the spawning ordeal, they become more aggressive, and now the best tree fishing baits are faster and flashier, matching the fish’s warm weather appetite for bait fish. By late spring I’ll throw a buzz bait or a top water, especially early in the morning. Then I will follow up with a crank bait or plastics.
Fishing crank baits through treetops is a special art. I have two fingers missing on my left hand and I can count the people in South Africa that have mastered this art on my left hand. For this I prefer a highly buoyant bait with a big bill, which fends limbs away from the hooks. I call this “soft hand†cranking. You can crawl a crank bait through some really heavy cover if you pay attention and work it carefully. It’s more a matter of pulling it with your rod tip than cranking it. You swim the bait until it bumps a limb, then pause to let it float up, then pull it down again. The main trick is not to try and force it through the limbs. The crank baits with square bills are build especially for this technique.
In summer I continue to fish a spinner bait though now I prefer a smaller model, such as a ¼ ounce bait with a No. 3 willow leaf blade. This smaller bait matches the size of the young bait fish, which are the bass’ main prey in summer.
Come fall, bass make another migration up the creeks. They especially relate to structure on or near creek channels. If you can find channel banks, that swing in close to shore, and you have lay downs along these banks, this is usually a key fall pattern. Again, spinner baits, crank baits and plastics are the most productive lures in this cooling season.
FALLEN TREES IN RIVERS
Trees toppled into rivers are primary cover both along cannels and in backwater areas. River bass and baitfish use fallen trees as hideouts and as shields from the current.
In a river the best trees lie in eddies that are next to the current. The current washes bait fish into these calm areas, and the bass hide in the treetops to ambush them. This pattern is especially good in summer and fall. For fishing lay downs in rivers, I use my dam standbys: spinner bait, buzz bait, plastics, jigs and crank baits. I am especially alert for the presence of bait fish.
If I pull up to a tree and throw a spinner bait in, and I start flushing bait fish with that bait, I feel like I am fixing to catch some fish. I think that’s one thing you really need to look for!
Most rivers have of color water, so the bass normally hang in shallower trees than in dams. Also, lay downs exposed to current normally have fewer branches than lay downs in calm areas. Usually you’ll have a lot of logs and maybe three or four short, stumpy arms with all the limbs gone, so you’re working closer to the main trunk. When fallen trees are exposed to current, bass normally hold on the down-current side of the trunks.
I suggest making several casts to a tree, you may have to work a trunk four or five minutes to get the right cast or the right lure. It’s a process of elimination until you learn the bass’ preference.
Well so much for fallen trees! I have nothing more to say, my brain dump is finish!
One other point I would like to make, as you all can gather through what I am writing in these articles, VERSATILITY is absolutely critical in bass fishing. What I am writing here is my personal experience and when I started bass fishing I was a plastics man that was all I wanted to fish. Then I fished a tournament with a friend of mine and he out fished me 10 to 1 with a spinner bait! I immediately started forcing myself to fish spinner baits, crank baits, jerk baits and jigs. The way I did this was to leave my plastics at home and do power fishing the entire day, I also made a special effort to fish with guy’s that I know is exceptional with these lures. And I learned from them
Today I can truly say I am comfortable to fish any bass lure out there!
Hope this article means something to you guy’s and help you catch more fish of fallen trees.
In bass fishing, it’s a scene that’s almost a cliché.
An angler casting the shoreline comes to a tree that has fallen into the water. It has been undercut by years of wave erosion; now its root system sticks up like a tombstone. Its trunk extends beneath the water. A few meters out, waterlogged branches break the surface like fingers from a groping hand.
The angler trolls his boat near the tree, and then lobs spinner bait parallel to the trunk. As the bait starts its run, it disappears in a boiling commotion. The angler reacts quickly, setting the hook and steering a bulky 1.5kg clear of the limbs.
Fishing fallen trees is one of the basics of this sport; these woody skeletons are everyman’s structure. They are scattered along the banks of dams and rivers throughout South Africa. Anybody can find fallen trees by cruising and looking. And virtually every angler can catch bass from them by snaking baits along their trunks and through their limbs. In effect, fishing this cover is fundamental in bassing.
Fishing fallen trees properly is a lot more complicated than most people realize. There are a lot of subtle patterns involved, and fisherman need to figure out these little quirks and then use baits and techniques that match up with them.
FALLEN TREES IN THE PRE-SPAWN
Lay-downs are good cover all year long, but no lay-down are good all the time. What fisherman have to do is look for fallen trees in locations where bass should be at the time of the year they’re fishing. Then they have to go through trial-and-error process to figure out how the bass are relating to these trees – what mood they’re in, and which bait and method will get them to bite.
The pre-spawn is the first season on the bass’ calendar. This is when the annual spawning migration begins. As water warms from winter’s low point, the fish sense this change and swim from deep wintering areas toward spawning sites. In most rivers and dams, this means the fish transition from the main dam into bays and backwaters. During this migration, one of their favorite stopovers is a treetop conveniently toppled down the bank along their route. The pre-spawn is one of my favorite times for fishing fallen trees. This is when a lot of big bass are up shallow, and they’re hungry, so catching them is pretty simple. I fish trees that are adjacent to shallow water bays. They may be on the first or second point going into a cove or pocket, somewhere the bass have to pass on the way to their spawning areas. When they come to a fallen tree, they’re likely to move into cover and hold for a few days.
A key this time of the year is having deep water adjacent to the tree. I don’t mean deep deep, but I think 7 to 10 feet of water readily adjacent to a fallen tree is a requirement in the pre-spawn. In early spring I like to fish trees that have fallen into an old channel or down a deep bank, especially those close to the mouth of a creek. A lot of times I’ll take a topo map and locate the right kind of banks, and then I’ll go looking for fallen trees on them.
For fishing these trees I prefer the one-two punch! White/chartreuse spinner bait followed by a black/blue jig. I cast a ½ ounce spinner bait with a No. 5 willow leaf blade, the second blade is your option. I dress this bait with a 4 inch curled tail trailer. In jigs I use a 7/16 or 5/16 ounce rubber skirted bait with a plastic chunk trailer. This combination is fairly buoyant and falls slowly through the limbs. The bass are sluggish this time of the year, and they’re more prone to take a slow sinking bait than one that drops by quickly.
To fish a fallen tree I position my boat several meters from where I think the tree ends. Then I begin fan casting the limbs with the spinner bait to pick of “chasing†bass. I fish the outer edges first, this is where the active fish are most likely to be. Also, if I catch one in the outer branches, it won’t spook other bass holding tighter in the cover. Then I’ll work my way in toward the center. This way it’s possible to catch two or three fish from the same tree. I will also slow roll my spinner bait through the limbs. First I let it fall 5 or 6 feet, and then I bump it through the limbs as I reel back in. Whenever I slide the spinner bait over a limb, I quit winding momentarily to let the bait flutter back down.
I fish the entire tree with the spinner bait. I work my way in on both sides of the trunk, and then I scrape my bait alongside the main stem. If it’s a sunny day, I pay particular attention to the shadowed areas. I make repeat casts to forks in the tree or places where limbs overlap to form a thick overhead mat. If the bass aren’t aggressive, repeat casts sometimes goad them into striking.
After working the tree with the spinner bait, it is time to use the jig for the real going over. Now I ease my boat into close pitching/flipping range, and I prospect in every hole and limb fork. I am real thorough, usually the fish are lying in a place where somebody else hasn’t put bait. So I’ll put my bait in that spot, and many times that’s where the fish will be.
SETTING THE PATTERN
During the pre-spawn and following seasons, anglers fishing fallen trees must be ever-conscious of the pattern. They must try to learn how bass are relating to the trees that particular day, and what bait and technique are most attractive to the fish.
Fishing is a process of elimination and one of the most important things in catching bass is knowing what NOT to do. Unless you try all your options when you start out fishing fallen trees, you won’t know what to eliminate and what to keep. At the start of each day, I look for three critical elements in setting the pattern: the mood of the bass, the depth of the bass and the bass position relative to the tree’s structure.
First, mood. Aggressiveness is a pattern! Are the fish chasing and will they hit spinner baits or, later on, crank baits? Or are they inactive, and are jigs or plastics the best baits? At the beginning of the day, I fish both fast and slow baits to find out. Also be aware in summer the fish might be more aggressive in the mornings than in the afternoons.
Second, depth. Actually depth can mean two things. One is depth of water that the productive trees are in. The slope of the bank can be a key factor as well. And the second meaning of depth is how the fish relate to the tree – whether they are suspending above the limbs, or are they beneath them and near the bottom?
Third, the fish’s actual location in the tree. One day bass will hold in the outermost limb tips. The next day, they will burrow beneath the trunk or the thickest cover they can find. The only way to learn all these things is to just start out trying everything, then home in on what works. After I’ve set the pattern, I can fish a tree for five minutes and either catch bass or leave confident that I would have caught them if they’d been there.
I sometimes portion out fishing time according to how quick the bass strike. I may start out in the morning and fish three or four trees catching a bass on the first or second cast from each one, but then not getting anymore bites. This tells me that the best thing I can do is to start running and fishing as many trees as I can. If it takes 15 to 20 casts to a tree to catch a bass, then it’s obvious I can’t fish as many spots, so I have to pick a few of the best trees and really beat them.
FALLEN TREES DURING SPAWN
As bass move into shallow water to spawn, fallen trees remain prime fishing structure. Now, though, locations and methods change from those of pre-spawn. When the water hits spawning temperature (65f or 18C) concentrate on fallen trees on flats and side pockets, wherever the bass will nest. Now I like trees in 2 to 5 feet of water, and I concentrate on working the outer limbs. Many times the fish will spawn in the edge of the tree, where sunlight can fall into the nests.
The best baits for this type of fishing are a top water twitch bait and plastics or a jig. I try a surface lure first, and then follow up with a weighted lure. If the top water strikes out, I switch to plastics or a jig and work the entire tree. Spawners are usually on the outside, but bass don’t all spawn at the same time. There may be some on that tree that aren’t spawning, and they can be in the thickest cover.
POST – SPAWN
Following the spawn, bass begin moving back toward summer holding areas. Anglers should move with them, continuing to fish fallen trees where the bass should be.
Now I start in the back of the bays and work my way out. In the immediate post spawn, the bass may still be close to their spawning areas. A little later they’ll move near the mouths of the creeks or out to the main dam area, where they’ll spend the summer. Just after spawning bass are dulled by the rigors of laying and protecting their eggs. Now they’re usually tight to the cover, in the heaviest places you can put your bait. This type of fishing is usually all plastics and jigs.
However, as the fish rebound from the spawning ordeal, they become more aggressive, and now the best tree fishing baits are faster and flashier, matching the fish’s warm weather appetite for bait fish. By late spring I’ll throw a buzz bait or a top water, especially early in the morning. Then I will follow up with a crank bait or plastics.
Fishing crank baits through treetops is a special art. I have two fingers missing on my left hand and I can count the people in South Africa that have mastered this art on my left hand. For this I prefer a highly buoyant bait with a big bill, which fends limbs away from the hooks. I call this “soft hand†cranking. You can crawl a crank bait through some really heavy cover if you pay attention and work it carefully. It’s more a matter of pulling it with your rod tip than cranking it. You swim the bait until it bumps a limb, then pause to let it float up, then pull it down again. The main trick is not to try and force it through the limbs. The crank baits with square bills are build especially for this technique.
In summer I continue to fish a spinner bait though now I prefer a smaller model, such as a ¼ ounce bait with a No. 3 willow leaf blade. This smaller bait matches the size of the young bait fish, which are the bass’ main prey in summer.
Come fall, bass make another migration up the creeks. They especially relate to structure on or near creek channels. If you can find channel banks, that swing in close to shore, and you have lay downs along these banks, this is usually a key fall pattern. Again, spinner baits, crank baits and plastics are the most productive lures in this cooling season.
FALLEN TREES IN RIVERS
Trees toppled into rivers are primary cover both along cannels and in backwater areas. River bass and baitfish use fallen trees as hideouts and as shields from the current.
In a river the best trees lie in eddies that are next to the current. The current washes bait fish into these calm areas, and the bass hide in the treetops to ambush them. This pattern is especially good in summer and fall. For fishing lay downs in rivers, I use my dam standbys: spinner bait, buzz bait, plastics, jigs and crank baits. I am especially alert for the presence of bait fish.
If I pull up to a tree and throw a spinner bait in, and I start flushing bait fish with that bait, I feel like I am fixing to catch some fish. I think that’s one thing you really need to look for!
Most rivers have of color water, so the bass normally hang in shallower trees than in dams. Also, lay downs exposed to current normally have fewer branches than lay downs in calm areas. Usually you’ll have a lot of logs and maybe three or four short, stumpy arms with all the limbs gone, so you’re working closer to the main trunk. When fallen trees are exposed to current, bass normally hold on the down-current side of the trunks.
I suggest making several casts to a tree, you may have to work a trunk four or five minutes to get the right cast or the right lure. It’s a process of elimination until you learn the bass’ preference.
Well so much for fallen trees! I have nothing more to say, my brain dump is finish!
One other point I would like to make, as you all can gather through what I am writing in these articles, VERSATILITY is absolutely critical in bass fishing. What I am writing here is my personal experience and when I started bass fishing I was a plastics man that was all I wanted to fish. Then I fished a tournament with a friend of mine and he out fished me 10 to 1 with a spinner bait! I immediately started forcing myself to fish spinner baits, crank baits, jerk baits and jigs. The way I did this was to leave my plastics at home and do power fishing the entire day, I also made a special effort to fish with guy’s that I know is exceptional with these lures. And I learned from them
Today I can truly say I am comfortable to fish any bass lure out there!
Hope this article means something to you guy’s and help you catch more fish of fallen trees.
