Phrases similar to that occupied much of the conversation between Dave and me both days of our year-end Classic held weekend before last. It was amazing to watch how fast the water was returning to all the creeks we fished. It made for some very tough fishing, to say the least.
Despite the less-than-stellar conditions, Dave, like most other contestants, managed to put some fish in the boat. Meanwhile, I remained fishless through the first day and didn't stick one on the second day until near the end. Unfortunately, it took the fish all of about 10 or 15 seconds to figure out how to get rid of the crankbait I had hooked him with and seal my fate with a stinging two-day skunk.
So, how should you deal with a ton of water from rain, a hard-charging tide, or both? That's the question I decided to Google, in case I'm ever faced with these conditions again. Just so happens, I found some sage advice from one of the best in the business: none other than $6-million winner Kevin VanDam.
What you don't do, as I learned from him, is to freak out over the fact the bass have scattered. "You just have to fish what's thrown at you," he said. "If there's shoreline vegetation, that's usually a magnet for bass in fast-rising water--and nearly every body of water will have some sort of flooded vegetation when the water gets super high.
"With so much new habitat in the water," he explained, "you can't get caught up trying to fish every single little piece of flooded cover. You have to stay on the move and cover as much water as possible. I rely primarily on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, and a hollow-bodied frog.
"Often times," VanDam continued, "fast-rising water means you're getting a lot of rainy days, plus the water is usually dirtier. When that's the case, I use a lot of black-colored lures. If it turns sunny, then I'll go to shad colors, but I'll still throw the swim jig, buzzbait, spinnerbait, and frog."
While I pursued this information for myself, I figured there might be a few other fishermen out there who also would appreciate having the advice of KVD...hence my reason for sharing. Hope it pays off for you.
The above advice and photo came from a Wired2Fish article by Alan McGuckin
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