How To Pull Bass From The Weeds

Serious fishermen have long known the merits of targeting transitions while pursuing their quarry. Transition areas concentrate fish because they work as travel lanes, buffet lines, and the ability to for a fish to quickly change scenery without traveling long distances.Although just one of many types of transition areas, weed lines are one of the most commonly encountered and productive transition areas for bass fishermen to concentrate their efforts.Weed lines are also commonly fished incorrectly by recreational and inexperienced anglers alike.Here are a 3 tips on how to pull bass from the weeds:

1. Fish Parallel

This is mistake numero uno for most anglers, and it will dramatically kick up your catching if done right. Many anglers position their boats a distance off the weed line and make casts perpendicular to it, trying to hit the edge with their casts. The problem is, doing so means only a small portion of your cast will be effectively targeting the edge. Instead, try lining your boat up with the weed edge, and make parallel casts along its length. Instead of just part of your cast being in the strike zone, you’ll be able to draw strikes the whole retrieve.

2. Dig In The Grass

As frustrating as hanging a lure up can be, it’s a necessity to effectively fish a weed line. Bass and other gamefish will usually hang right on the edge or even inside the weeds a little bit. If your cast travels along 4 or 5 feet outside the weeds, there are many days when you won’t get a sniff. Instead, you should ensure your cast is always close enough to the weeds to make periodic contact. You’ll get enough extra strikes doing this that you’ll forget about the increased snags in no time.

3. Look For Changes

Many anglers assume fish are just spread all along a weed line’s length. While that may be true in some cases, it’s far more common for the majority of the bass holding on a weed line to be concentrated in just a few key areas. Focus on things like points, bends, bare spots, and depth changes that occur along the weed line. Bass will gang up on places like that and once you find the sweet spot, you’ll be able to pull bass from the weeds all day long.Check out some more tips on pulling bass from the weeds from Jon B. here: