Things that KD told me about top water BASS fishing

[Richard]

Here are a few tips that KD gave me that might be useful. For many of you this will be old stuff, but there may be a few who are just learning to fish the Delta. Those of you that are going to be there on the 22nd can get this in person, and more accurately, from the top water bass master himself.

When working a rock wall look for an established weed bed out from the wall. If it's not there keep looking along the wall until you find it. Fish between the wall and the weed bed. Toss the bug right up against the wall and retrieve it to the edge of the weed bed. Pause at the edge of the bed before picking up the bug to recast. Come to KD's presentation on the 22nd after lunch to see how to do the retrieve.

Look at the weeds, if they are leaning over there is a lot of current and largemouth are not big current lovers. Try it but don't spend a lot of time there.

Look for weedlines with open lanes in them where the bass can move in and out of the surge line between the weeds and the wall. Be sure to fish the areas inside the open lanes.

If you find weed beds with holes in them throw back into the holes. Have a strong rod because if you hook one and can't get your boat to the hole which is VERY hard to do you have to get the fish OVER the weeds, you won't be able to get it THROUGH the weeds.

When fishing tullies throw the bug IN the tullies not to the edge. Throw the bug back into all the pockets in the tullies. If you don't have a weedguard you are going to be one unhappy camper doing this If the bug is within six inches of the water you are fishing, watch the bug not the line. I wish I could DO this as easily as talk about it.

Watch the color of the water. If it is green it could be an algae bloom and you can forget fishing there. I don't carry an O2 meter, but I wish I had one. If the water is tan colored there is a lot of dirt being held in the area and it probably isn't going to produce many, if any, fish. Keep an eye on water temp. If it gets near 80 degrees try another area.

Practice your side arm or even better underhand cast. You can't really appreciate how useful these casts can be until you see KD casting into spots I couldn't reach if I were wearing scuba gear.

Well, those are just a few of the lessons I got yesterday. Some days are better than others, but a day on the water with KD is always one of the best.

[Hairstacker]

GREAT stuff Richard, thanks for posting it!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Everyone who like the idea of top water bass fishing, whether they are a beginner or a veteran, should go out with KD.

You can get a friend to help defer the cost and go out for a half day.

In my delusional state I thought I knew something about top water bass but I was really only scratching the surface.

After one day with KD I am so excited about fishing black bass on top in and around cover that it would be one of my top choices.

If you like lots of other things then try to fish around May and around October for them for the best windows.