Deep water bass strike fear into fisherman across America. Moving from the shallows after the spawn makes fishing a bit of a challenge. You can no longer fish the tried and true docks and spawning flats. Instead you’re going to have to pay attention to the little things and rely on your equipment.
Don’t be afraid, deep water bass are just as easy to catch as their shallow water brethren. You just need to know where to look and understand how bass respond to changing temperatures.
How to Catch Deep Water Bass
You’re really going to rule out a lot of fishing if you ignore deep water bass. As the temperature changes bass head out into deeper water in search of optimal oxygen levels. So what all do you need to know to catch deep water bass?
When Should You Go After Deep Water Bass?
As the water temperature climbs up into the 80’s and 90’s largemouths need to conserve as much energy as possible. They’re going to move out to deeper water in search of an easy meal. Keep an eye out for off-shore points, rock piles and drop offs. Anywhere that they can hold off and wait for schooling baitfish.
What are The Best Deep Water Bass Fishing Lures?
1. Carolina Rig
As the summer heat rises you can’t go wrong fishing a classic Carolina Rig. It’s one of the easiest ways to fish offshore and you can cover a lot of water fast.
Rig up your favorite worm, or soft plastic creature bait and slowly drag it across the bottom. To rig up your Carolina Rig all you’re going to need is a sinker, swivel, hook and your favorite bait. Personally I like dragging a Strike King Rage Tail Craw across underwater rocks and deep cover.
Carolina rigs are easy to setup just put on your bullet sinker/egg sinker and tie on a swivel. Below you’ll want a 1-3ft leader with a your favorite hook and bait.
2. Deep Diving Crankbait
When dragging the bottom just isn’t working you might need to speed things up a bit. It’s all going to depend on how the bass are feeding. When bass are aggressively feeding nothing beats the wobble of a crankbait.
When casting a crankbait into deep water it’s important to get off a long cast. The longer you can cast the deeper your crankbait is going to go. Strike King’s Pro-Model 5XD Crankbait(Pictured Above) is by far my favorite deep water crank. It perfectly replicates a wounded baitfish wobble, and quickly dives down to a running depth of 15 ft. On deeper lakes you might want to bump up to the Strike King 10XD which dives down to 25 ft.
The key to fishing a deep diving crankbait is keeping it on the bottom as long as possible. Working a crankbait across the bottom is going to draw a ton of fast reaction strikes.
3. Standard Football Jig
You’re going to work a Football Jig the same way you would use a Carolina Jig. Slowly drag it along the bottom working it over deep structure. Most jigs are pretty much weedless and can be worked through heavy cover and over rocks.
When choosing your jig you don’t want to overlook the jigs weight. In most lakes I’m going to stick to half ounce models like the 1/2 oz Booyah Jig. They work great up to about 15 feet of water. In deeper lakes you’ll want to use a heavier jig(3/4-1oz+).
In deeper water 20ft plus you’ll need something like the 1oz Strike King Hack Attack Jig. Not only is it great in deep water you can also rip it through heavy weeds.
4. Swimbait
For some reason anglers across the country overlook the Swimbait in deep water. That’s why it’s the perfect deep water fishing lure for pressured lakes. When bass are used to seeing jigs, cranks and standard rigs a good swimbait will throw them off.
They’re also extremely easy to use. Just rig up your favorite 4+ inch swimbait(Mines a 5.5in Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait Pictured Above) on a heavy jighead (Strike King’s 1oz Squadron Jigheads Work Well), and wait for it to hit the bottom.
Count it down and slow roll it back to the boat. Swimbaits have a really life like movement which is perfect on pressured lakes.
5. Spoons
Flutter Spoons may look just like a big chunk of fancy metal, but for some reason bass love them. Spoons are designed to mimic the fall of a dying baitfish. Sight of an easy meal will entice even the most seasoned bass into a reaction strike.
Spoons aren’t as easy to fish as some of the other lures on this list, but they’re not to bad. Make a long cast past underwater structure and let it fall to the bottom. Rip it up a few feet off the bottom while reeling in a fish it all the way back to the boat. Make sure you watch your line, because strikes tend to happen on the fall.
How to Find Deep Water Bass
If you’re like the majority of bass fisherman you probably dominate up to about 10 feet of water. After the spring spawn ends you’re like a fish out of water. Just flopping around from one spot to another hoping to get lucky.
Maybe you’re confident enough to throw out a Carolina Rig or Crankbait with purpose, but you lack the confidence to succeed. Luckily with the right equipment and approach you can extend your fishing season through the heat of summer.
1. Rely on Your Equipment
Fishing from shore might work during the spring, but once the sun starts to heat things up you’ll need to get out into deeper water. You don’t even need to have a bass boat. Your average jon boat can be equipped with a decent Sonar and GPS Fish Finder(Check Out a Few of My Favorite Fish Finders).
With a basic understanding of your fish finder most fisherman can have success in deep water. Keep an eye out for under water structure, grass lines, channels, rocks, stumps and points. Anything that looks a little interesting will likely produce bass.
You don’t need a full sized boat setup to scope out the deep recesses of a lake. There are a ton of great maps and interactive tools online that will allow you to scope out the lake without stepping foot on the water. Cheap portable fish finders like this Lucky Portable Fish Finder have really come a long way. They rival top of the line units that even the pros relied on 10-15 years ago.
2. Try to Feel and Visualize The Bottom
As you’re slowly dragging your Carolina Rig or Jig along the bottom try to pay attention to how it feels. Most fisherman have a hard time understanding the bottom.
You’ll turn a big corner in your fishing career when you can understand the bottom by feel. Are you dragging across rocky structure or a thick weedbed? Did you notice a quick dip in the bottom layout? Are you dragging your lure over a submerged stump?
Once you start to visualize the bottom you’ll have a better understanding of where bass are holding out. After a while it should naturally come to you.
3. Perfect Your Boat Positioning
Boat Positioning is going to make or break the deep water fisherman. In the spring you don’t ignore the boat positions when working the shallows. So why does every fisherman roll up to deep water and hope for the best?
Once they get into open water and can’t see the bottom you forget the fundamentals. You might have fish all around you, but without the right presentation you won’t catch anything.
This means your boat position needs to be just right. Bring the lure right in the fishes face at the proper depth. I know it’s easier said than done, but with a little practice you’ll figure things out.
Just cast the lure into the current and bring it back in the same direction as the current. You should hopefully smack a few bass in the face on your way back. When there isn’t much current just work your way around the structure until you find something that works.
4. Dedication is Crucial To Success
The only way to get confident fishing deep water is through years of practice. Force yourself into new situations and try out different techniques.
When you head out on a bright summer day ignore the shallows and head straight for deep water. Yes you might catch a bass under that shady tree, but the big ones are out deep. The more time you spend working deeper water the bigger your confidence level.
As you increase your technique pay really close attention to every fish you catch. What depth are you fishing? What time is it? What’s the water temperature? How did the bottom feel? The little things will make a world of difference. After a while you’ll know what works and what doesn’t.
5. Pay Attention To The Shoreline
On most lakes you can get a good idea of how the bottom looks by paying attention to the shoreline. Old school fisherman couldn’t rely on electronics to map out the bottom. Instead they relied on lake maps and common sense to visualize the bottom.
Long gradual drops along the shore will most likely continue into deeper water. If you don’t believe me work a jig like this 1/2 ounce Booyah Jig away from the shore. Work the jig from the shallows all the way out to deep water figuring out where bass are positioning.
Look For Drop offs and steep cliffs that indicate deep water close to shore. Bass love sticking close to shady banks and steep drop offs during the summer. Vertical walls seem to trap baitfish allowing for a easy meal.