July 01, 2008
Produced by Ed Majors
and Barry Brasher
Co-Owners - BamaBassFishing.com
Barry's Tips
Last month you remember I talked about fishing piers, which I hope enlightened you on any confusion to fishing this type of structure. This month we will be fishing one of my favorite places to fish, which is a ledge. Many fishermen interpret ledges in many different ways so I will give you my version. A ledge starts out shallow then drops off to deeper water, vertically or with a slight slope. What I look for is shallow, meaning five foot or less, then dropping off to twenty foot or deeper within a few feet of the boat. I will always position the boat in deeper water, depending on how far I have to cast to get to the five foot water. I like to cast to shallow water then let my bait drop with the contour of the bottom. This is where most people mess up by not keeping contact with the bottom. Most of the time when fishing a ledge, a stop and go retrieve works best on a steep ledge or a very slow retrieve.
Ledges can be found all over the river or lakes you fish. They can be located right next to a bank or out in the middle of the lake. Ever wondered why those fools are fishing way out there in the middle of nowhere? Hey that would be me, so take note and give it a try one day after they leave.
Well I think this covers HOW, WHAT AND WHERE. Now let's move on to WHEN. I fish ledges year round. The only thing I do different during spring, summer, fall or winter is change my depth. In the spring and fall most of the time the bite will come shallow, during the summer and winter the fish will move to deeper water. This is why they are my favorite place to fish, you can fish both deep and shallow at the same time which will help you locate the depth the fish are most likely to be in.
My baits of choice are Carolina rigged worms, spinner baits, shaky heads, and deep diving crank baits. Just remember if you ain't bumping bottom, you are pissing in the wind. When fishing ledges try to focus on the main river channels or old creek channels that were flooded when the lake was built. Any variation in depth, roughness on bottom, or even a bend or curve could be a potential hot spot. Any questions concerning bass fishing, check out BamaBassFishing.com
Good Luck and HAVE FUN!
Barry
Email me with any questions at Barry@bamabassfishing.com.
"John Crews Bass Fishing Tips"
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'Til Next Time, Happy Fishin'!
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