Article
Date: 03-01-2008
Transition Areas
If you take a second to look around you'll quickly notice that spring as sprung. Yea, I know the water temperatures are still in the low 50's, if even that right now, but rest assured that spring and pre-spawn are about to begin. For most of us this is the time of year we have patiently been waiting for. This is the first time in months that we can feasibly fish without tons of cold weather gear protecting ourselves and more importantly we have a better chance at loading up the boat with hungry fish. Most anglers are pretty content with just finding fish again and with all the bass moving up shallow that is easily accomplished. Now for the angler that’s a little bit more serious about fishing we begin looking for that "big ol' girl". So where do we begin?
With all the miles of tulles and weed beds I try to begin my search with transition areas. What’s a transition area? It’s any area that has deep water transitions next to shallow flat areas or points. Usually these areas are semi-protected from fast water and generally have some cover. My personal preferences are small shelves near main current. These areas have always produced quality fish in decent quantities for me. They will replenish day after day, in fact tide after tide and are relatively untouched by other anglers that focus more on the major areas such as Franks Tract. But for us willing to fish confidently, methodically, and patiently the bites will come in these transition areas. These areas allow fish to move up and down with the tide and still shelve themselves in case inclement weather moves in. Transition areas also provide bass with the comfort of not having to commit to that specific moon phase that initiates actually spawning. In some cases transition area bites will last for a longer period because spawned fish will move into these deeper slots and eventually, if spawned early enough, will move back up for a second spawn.
Justin Dennison has years of experience on the Delta and we are excited to have him on the Fishdelta Staff
Pennies
on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more?
You be the judge!
