Understanding Bass Movements - Lake Guntersville Fishing

One of the most common issues with catching largemouth bass and staying on a bite leads to the question what do I do next? There is no doubt that the cost of operating a bass boat with the cost of fuel rising everyday can be a big factor in answering that question. Where do I go, how do I find the next bite and what bait do I use to insure I am catching bass and accomplish it without moving 10 or more miles and using your fuel for no reason? These are all questions that need to be answered and answered quickly while you are on the water or you are wasting time!

Location, location, location, just like anything else where you fish has much to do about catching bass as it is a proven fact that 80 % of the fish live in 10% of the lake. When you are bass fishing a big lake, like Lake Guntersville, where you go next is your most important decision each day. The decision is not easy, but we all attack that question every time we are on the water!

I know we all have way points that we believe in and many times they are miles apart forcing you to crank up that gasoline engine to move to the next way point. Sometimes you can just have too many places to bass fish with too many miles to travel to get there and when that happens you must think about what you need to do to find fish! This can be a real issue for folks on a larger lake similar to Lake Guntersville. The biggest advice I give folks is to understand what the natural details of the spot or area where you have found fish without making a big run. In other words, is the area a point, a contour drop or break; does it have wood on it, what are the specifics that surround you so you can move to another location close to where your fishing? There are many questions to be answered about the immediate area in which you are catching bass and when you understand its uniqueness, you can then expand your catching spots to more similar locations close to the area you are in currently. Looking for similarities by reading your mapping like the Lowrance C map; looking for inside change in contours, marking hard cover like stumps showing up on your Lowrance side scan, and observing current breaks can be keys to what is next.

The biggest advantage about expanding your bass fishing spots is you generally do not have to travel far to find more fish. On Lake Guntersville and most lakes, bass move to similar locations within proximity and are generally not too far away from where you recently caught them. The key is to expand to locations that have similar characteristics. So, the first thing to do is find those areas on your Lowrance Electronics within a mile or so and start checking those areas when your bass bite dries up. If that does not produce, then change depths again within short distances but similar in bottom structure. A point is a point whether it is a point dropping into 5 ft. of water or dropping into 20 ft. of water. Stumps are in shallow locations as well as deep locations. Today, we all have tools that have unique abilities to help you locate more bass. Use them and make those technological advances from Lowrance work for you!

If you are struggling, use your tools and you will be much better off because traveling cost money and there are no guarantees that moving 15 miles will produce more fish. The bass are not going to move ten miles so why would you? I believe that the bass only move short distances especially when the elements are similar or constant like springtime bass fishing or winter bass fishing and so on. Look for bottom changes around you and you will find bass, read the natural elements around you and you will find more fish, look for more similar map detail and you will find the fish; you just must be persistent!



Captain Mike Gerry

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service

www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com

www.facebook.com/FishGuntersville

Email: bassguide@comcast.net

Phone: 256 759 2270