Q&A AI
How do I know where in the water column to fish my lure?
To determine the appropriate depth in the water column to fish your lure, there are a few key factors to consider. The first step is to use your electronics, such as fish finders, to locate baitfish. Bass are often found near baitfish, so finding them will give you a good starting point. Factors like time of year, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen levels also play a role in determining fish location.
Once you have located the general area where the fish are, you'll want to choose a crankbait that can reach the desired depth. Crankbaits come in various colors, shapes, sizes, and diving depths. The Precision Trolling Handbook is a great reference tool that provides dive charts for popular crankbaits, helping you select the right one for the job.
To reach the desired depth, you'll need to use a line counter reel to let out the correct distance of line. The dive chart from the Precision Trolling Handbook will help you determine how much line to let out to reach the desired depth. This is important because different crankbaits have different diving depths, and getting your lure to the right depth is crucial for success.
If the fish are shallow or easily spooked, you can increase your chances of success by using planner boards. These boards will help spread out your lines and keep your lures away from the boat, reducing the chances of scaring the fish.
Remember to experiment with different factors like size, color, sound, and profiles. Bass can be picky, so it's important to try different combinations to see what they respond to best.
Overall, using electronics to find baitfish, selecting the right crankbait for the desired depth, and experimenting with different factors will help you determine the appropriate depth in the water column to fish your lure. If you have any specific questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask!
Related videos
Transcript
Video00:00
00:54
Trolling Crankbaits for Walleyes by Wired2Fish → The key to success in crankbait fishing is
getting the lure to the right depth where the fish are at. Factors such as time of year, water temperature,
and dissolved oxygen all determine fish location. The starting point is using electronics to
find baitfish, and predators usually aren't far behind. Know comes the analytical part. Manufactures build crankbaits in all colors,
shapes, sizes, and they dive top to bottom. Reference tools like the precision trolling
handbook provide dive charts for time proven lures. Choose a crank that matches the hatch and
use a good line counter reel to let out the correct distance of line to reach the published
dive depth. If fish are shallow or spooky, the addition
of planner boards can increase success. As always, experiment with size, color, sound,
and profiles.
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A Simple and Deadly Approach to Fishing Swimbaits by Wired2Fish → just get in there pull in 20 feet and count it down I mean you can do the math on how deep you need to get it you know so thousand ones three so when I get to a thousand ten I'm thirty foot deep so if I'm fishing something fifteen eighteen feet like we are today you know I'll cast it out I'll count it down you know a thousand two thousand three thousand four thousand five and then I start winding so whatever target I'm winding that over whether it be brush whether it be rock whether it be a river ledge I crank it as slow as I can to make that tail move you got to have you can't crack it slow enough where the tail doesn't move you're never going to get a bite but if that fish in a reservoir where the water is fairly clean you know sun's out really helps it they can see up they're gonna come out of that brush pile ledge whatever they're laying on today we're here Kentucky lake you know a lot of these fish get out on these ledges count it down on the ledge down there we're sitting now in 17 feet of water you'll just wind it back slow be sure to keep your right down to keep the bait coming fairly level you don't want the bait going up and down you want it sort of coming straight
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Detecting Strikes, Reel Gear Ratios, Bank Fishing Tips, and More | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → If the fish are shallow, fishing a deep diving
crankbait isn't going to get bit and vice versa. So number one, how deep does this crankbait
go for where the fish are that day? The other thing I really look for is how fast
of a retrieve or slow of a retrieve does it need? Some days fish want to attack fast-moving
lures, so I want to lure that can get down to that depth and I can retrieve it at a fast
speed. Other times they want something that's barely
moving, so that requires a deeper diving crankbait, for example, that can stay down and still
move slow. So those are the two primary things that are
really important for me and crankbaits. Then, you know, not to say there's other elements
that aren't important because after those two pieces, then I look at things, for example,
like the size of the bait or the color. I hope that helps. Hope you catch a lot more crankbait fish. Here's a great question for bank fishermen. "Glenn, what are the most important things
you look for when you're fishing from the shoreline?" Well, there's really two main things that
I look for when I'm fishing a shoreline. One, I want to find deeper cuts and deeper
water near the shoreline. Those types of things. Like, for example, a creek channel and a little
bend comes in close to the water or maybe there's a small little flat but right near
it there's a drop. Those depth changes are the things that really
attract bass.
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The Holy Grail of Offshore Bass Fishing by Fish the Moment → effective in water deeper than eight feet this leads most offshore anglers to fish in eight feet of water or deeper while shallow water anglers focus five feet or shallower these two strategies cover ninety percent of the water column but leave a small zone between five and eight feet untouched if there is no visible cover as a result bass in this depth zone are usually less pressured and easier to catch it's even better if they're schooled up in groups of 10 to 30 baths if you find an area in five to eight feet of water with a large school of baths with no visible cover you've just entered the danger zone and you better make sure your hooks are sharp and your knots are tight finding an area like this is a lot easier said than done the main obstacle is identifying schools of bass in less than eight feet of water using a fish finder seems like the obvious solution however graphing for fish in this depth zone is challenging for two reasons down imaging is the most effective and reliable way to identify bass on a fish finder however it loses effectiveness as the water gets shallower the shallower the water the closer your boat and prop gets to the bass this often spooks bass before they're scanned by the transducer side imaging seems like the next best option however identifying bass on side imaging is not easy and takes a very trained eye
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The Most Important Video About Offshore Bass Fishing You Will Ever Watch (Probably…) by Fish the Moment → that the bass will set up at a maximum depth of about eight feet so you don't want to fish any deeper than eight feet that's the deepest you should look next we have stained water which in my model here is two to three feet of water visibility the way i get these water visibility ranges is i will actually tie on a white crank bait on the end of my fishing rod reel it to the tip stick the tip of the rod in the water and then when that bait disappears i will pinch in the rod and see if it disappeared two feet down three feet down four feet down not super scientific but it gets the job done you don't need to be super specific here this is just again a general rule of thumb so in that stained water you're looking in less than 15 feet of water 15 feet the maximum depth you want to fish the first major roadblock for new fish finder users is determining which settings to use if you struggle with this head to our website fishthemoment.com then go to our sonar guides page here you'll find our sonar settings guides which give detailed sonar settings instructions and walk you step by step on how to change all the settings in your fish finder they're extremely clear and detailed so even those who struggle with technology you can get the settings right first time i
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What Size Weight To Use For Fishing | How To | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → With current, yeah, you always have to heavy up a
little bit more, add more weight because you have to compensate for the current, the stronger,
the current, the more weight you need to use. But if you use too much weight, a lot of times
it'll get down to the bottom. The current will sweep that bait right up into a rock, under a
crevice. And it's gonna be hard to get it out. It'll lodge it right in there. So you have to
keep in mind that, yeah, you want the lure to slowly fall through the water column, but not so
slow that it's gonna be swept downstream before it gets, you know, to your target or before
it actually can go through the strike zone where the fish are at. At the same time, you don't
want it so heavy that it sinks to the bottom and then it gets stuck. So how do you figure this out?
Here's the rule of thumb I like to use when I'm fishing in rivers and streams. If I'm using a
light enough lure where it reaches the bottom. And if I cast up here, the
currents going down here, when I say reached the bottom, doesn't mean I
cast here and it finally reaches the bottom here. It reaches the bottom probably about here or so.
It gets through the water column fairly quick, but it's light enough. So once it hits the bottom,
the current will still push the lure long.
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