| Tired of fishing with your GPS and finding nothing, | | | | would be a prime pattern Some good lures for |
| tired of dragging that Carolina rig all over the | | | | this would be a shad colored crank bait like Rebel |
| bottom of the lake, tired of trying to come | | | | Wee R or 5A and 6A Bombers to crank the |
| across that magic spot on the lake. Well you may | | | | rocks, also the bomber long A jerk bait is another |
| be ready to try your hand at fishing rocky riprap | | | | good choice. Cast parallel to the rock line and |
| or seawalls, those obvious shoreline, hugging | | | | concentrate on deflecting the lure as often as |
| features found on lakes, rivers and reservoirs | | | | possible. The biggest key in the fall is repetitive |
| across the county. These forms of cover can | | | | casting, you ask why, because the bass have |
| held bass throughout the year. These spots are | | | | seen lures all summer. So its important to cast |
| simple to find and are easy to fish. Here are | | | | repetition to a good looking area like a point of |
| some tip for fishing riprap and seawalls. | | | | the riprap or a tree or brush laying down along |
| SEAWALL PATTERN: When theres a large | | | | the riprap. |
| surface mat of water hyacinths has blown up | | | | PARALLEL PARKING FOR BASS: When it comes |
| against a long stretch of seawall. When you tie on | | | | to bass fish there are not to many hard and fast |
| a Gary Yamamoto custem bait 3 inches fat baby | | | | rules but when you come across a seawall and |
| craw, with a big bullet weight and begin picking the | | | | lines of riprap, one rule rings come to mind. Take |
| floating vegation apart. Fishing floating mats | | | | a casting angle that enables them to be paralleled |
| against a seawall or near the seawall, there's | | | | with a lure. Another lure of choice for fishing |
| usually clean water underneath it all the way to | | | | seawalls and riprap or bulkheads are throwing a |
| the wall. This is a good spot do to combined | | | | topwater and spinner baits in the morning, then a |
| horizontal cover with vertical and its open | | | | lipless crank bait or shallow diving crank bait later |
| underneath. That crawl space will attract a lot of | | | | in the day. But regardless of the lure, always |
| space. | | | | parallel them as much as possible and at least 45 |
| Flip right through the top of the mat and start at | | | | degrees them, depending on the water depth and |
| the deep edge. But don't forget to fish the seam | | | | position the fish are in. Remember to put your |
| between the mat and the seawall. | | | | lure as close to the wall as possible, or even bang |
| GIVE THE SEAWALL A HUG: One technique is | | | | it off the wall as you bring it back to the boat. |
| paralleling the wall with hard plastic lures and buzz | | | | RIPRAP ROADMAP: Riprap can be intimidating to |
| baits. Also hugging the wall with a lizard, tube, | | | | some fisherman or woman. Whether it is the |
| worm and creature is just as important. One of | | | | foundation of a bridge, current break or erosion |
| the most important things if your pitching against | | | | control for a stretch of shoreline, riprap can look |
| the wall is to get the bait to fall as close to the | | | | over whelming in some situations. You may have |
| wall If you are using a baitcaster you have to | | | | riprap two miles long and it all looks the same, so |
| feed line out to allow the bait to fall up against the | | | | where do you start bass fishing. You got to |
| wall. If you are using a spinning reel it's the same | | | | understand what lies beneath the surface is not |
| just don't close the bell until the bait hits the | | | | exactly the same. Its important to locate irregular |
| bottom. The other you can do is pitch the lure | | | | features in an otherwise uniform line of riprap. So |
| toward the wall and have it hit 1 to 3 inches | | | | you look for visible things like logs, treetop or |
| before the wall, and then peel off line. It tends to | | | | flotsam that has drifted against the rocks or an |
| fall more toward the wall. | | | | unusually large rock is always worth fishing. But |
| FALL PATTERN: When fall comes the bass are | | | | there are concealed irregular features that will hold |
| migrating into and out of creeks, so the riprap | | | | a lot more bass. On lakes, a small ditch or creek |
| provides an easy, dependable way to intercept | | | | may run into the riprap and come to a stop. |
| bass. Fishing in the fall the bass are moving | | | | Usually, a bridge crosses a channel and there will |
| shallow or coming back out and they have to go | | | | be a culvert nearby on one side of the riprap |
| through bridges to do that. So riprap along bridges | | | | foundation. This can be an outstanding spot. |