Bass adapt to fishing pressure; so does Andrew Ragas. He’ll tell you how to use premium fishing electronics and boat control to find trophy bass in untapped winter spots.

Deep open water and offshore

Most of the angling pressure that bass receive from lake fishermen is near shorelines. But, smallmouth bass are primarily offshore and deep structure-oriented fish year ‘round, only to be found shallow, up on some shorelines, in spring and during specific summer and fall scenarios when food availability and water temperature is ideal. Big, adult smallmouths spend the majority of their lives in deep water, away from shorelines. While smaller members of the population are least educated and tend to favor living in the shallows until they reach a certain age and homing preference, the largest members of most smallmouth populations will usually live offshore, and around deep structure, where they will be least pressured and exploited. Largemouths, on the other hand, are more cover-oriented, eventually living on deep grass and green weed lines in summer and fall.

As our lakes’ near-shore habitats and locations continue to absorb the greatest number of anglers and exploitation, their much more expansive, vast main-lake and open-water basins have gone ignored and mostly unpressured. Their trophy bass fisheries are still largely untapped and undiscovered by anglers.

Most bass fishermen mistakenly believe a lake’s biodiversity and fishing productivity lessens as you fish deeper water down towards its thermocline. That belief exists in part because it’s more difficult to consistently catch fish as you cover greater ranges of depth and large expanses of surface acreage. Bass populations in these main-lake and open-water environments might also be of lower density. Even though these factors add to the level of fishing difficulty, don’t let fear of offshore fishing and reliance on fishing shoreline regions to dictate your bass fishing strategy. In summer and fall, these regions of the lake will contain the highest numbers, and greatest probability, of catching trophy bass.

Identifying ‘money spots’

The majority of trophy smallmouths reuse the same wintering holes every year.

Every lake has a handful of high-percentage locations and money spots that consistently and reliably attract and hold big bass. In order to be a good bass angler, you’ve got to think beyond a spot. Understand the big picture for why it’s being utilized by bass at any given time of the year. Visualize what could be happening underneath the boat, and how fish are utilizing the spot. When results are achieved, process why that bass was there, and what made it a good spot at the time you caught it.

Boat control

I have Spot-Lock on my MinnKota Terrova trolling motor, and this GPS anchoring system is the single most important piece of technology I have, typically utilized several times per day. Spot-locking expands anchoring ability over deep water. The majority of my trophy smallmouth in summer and fall are caught while the boat is “anchored” (held in position) over deep water with the Terrova’s GPS.

Trolling motors with GPS anchoring capability allow you to lock onto specific coordinates regardless of current, wind or waves. Spot-Lock works like an electronic anchor to hold your boat in place by firing up the trolling motor if you move over five feet off position and reassuming your original position.

Boat control and positioning will change the way you fish, making trophy hunting efficient and hands-free.

Electronics efficiencies

Fishing any lake successfully requires a keen sense and comprehension of electronics. In order to be successful at picking apart lakes and hunting trophies, you must use your units to their fullest potential and capacity, be good at map reading, and learn to understand the readings produced by your locators and navigation charts.

When navigating your way around the lake, idle around potential fishing locations and chart those areas first until you feel more comfortable fishing them. Being adept in mapping and chart reading helps anglers learn how and why bass might be relating to the specific locations you caught them from. This will help you fish smarter and more efficiently in the long run, and help you eliminate unproductive periods of fishing.

Pressured waters

Many of the best bass fisheries happen to be the most pressured lakes in the country. Their trophy bass are more elusive as a result.

Intimate knowledge of the areas you fish is vital. On busy lakes that receive a high number of visiting bass boats and weekend tournaments, you need to find spots that are off the beaten path. Seldom-fished areas will contain the least-pressured bass. To feel the pulse of a lake, you have to fish it a lot to know its intricacies.

To avoid angling pressure, fish at sunrise or after dark while nobody else is on the water. Also, try scheduling midweek trips on them and during off-peak periods. By doing this, bass are recovered and not being pounded. Bass that aren’t pressured are easiest to catch.

Each trophy bass fishery is unique, and you being able to figure them out for one big fish is what makes trophy hunting so fascinating, challenging and rewarding. Trophy hunting is my favorite way to bass fish, and these insights are just a few of my observations and systemic processes.

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