What To Look For On New Bass Water

What To Look For On New Bass Water

By Todd Reed

Spring has finally sprung around the state and the thousands of thousands of anglers searching for bass can once again take to the water.  Whether you fish a river system or a lake around Iowa there are certain areas where you need to try, and certain areas you need to stay away from in this early season for bass.

Angling for bass this time of year can no doubt be tricky, especially when you are trying a new lake or area of a river.  A lake fishes very different from a river system, so breaking this article in two parts is necessary.

Lakes: Arriving at a new lake in the spring can be filled with many emotions.  First, it is spring, so a chance of catching a giant bass is always possible, actually your best chance at a giant bass is right now.  This trip to a new lake should start with doing your homework at home first.  There are many resources online that can make this trip to a new lake a much better experience.  The Iowa DNR site have maps with contours and structures placed in the lake as well.  Contour maps can show you where streams inter the lake, but a closer look at Google Earth can reveal even more streams entering the lake.  This is a good place to start, however some first-hand experience can be gained from friends or online resources like iowasportsman.com.  Studying maps is vital, but getting up to date information from other anglers can shorten the learning curve to catching bass on a new lake.

As mentioned earlier, mapping can show anglers where streams and creeks enter the lake.  This can be a huge benefit or a major turn-off to bass in the spring.  If rain has hit the area in the past week or so, these creeks can get very dirty and make bass fishing a tough job.  However, if the weather has been stable and not an overly large amount of rain then creeks/streams in coves can be a great place to start.  These coves off bass everything they need in the spring.  Shallow areas to start looking for spawning areas, baitfish such as bluegills, and change in water depths with the creeks draining into the lake.  Most coves in lakes across the state will have a defined creek channel in them, giving the bass everything they need.

Another key area in the spring are the points that these coves create on the main lake.  If the coves are muddy or the water temperature is too cold, often times bass will hang around these main lake points.  They offer a variety of water depths helping the bass to adjust to baitfish as well pressure fronts that so often come with spring fishing on lakes.

One last area that often gets overlooked on Iowa lakes are large flats adjacent to the main lake channel.  These flats vary in depth, but those that are 8 foot or less seem to hold fish year-round.  In the spring these fish can be picked off with slower baits, as the temperatures rise over 50-degrees then spinnerbaits, crankbaits and topwaters can be fan-casted over these large flats to catch these roaming bass.

Rivers: No matter what size of river you have fished in Iowa, bass relate very similar in the different river systems.  You can use this advantage to take your fishing trips to new rivers this year and expand your bass catches.  As with lakes after heavy rains, rivers across the state can get high, turbid, and muddy.  When this occurs pick out a different river system that didn’t receive as much rain and start your search for bass on a different river.  This may seem complicated but really isn’t, especially for the numerous smaller rivers that meander their way through the state.  Again, before driving an hour or more to see a river you have never fished before, some homework is necessary.  Be sure to check local forecasts of rain in the area and get acquainted with the bends and turns of the river with some map work.  Google Earth is good for this, as well as any State of Iowa County website.  These maps will help you find good access points for a canoe, boat or a place to wade the waters.  After the research has been down it is time to put the river knowledge you already have and put it towards the new river.

With any river in the state, no matter how large or how small; current is king.  The current is the highway of the river, bringing food to bass and positioning the bait for bass to prey on.  Look for similar turns and sandbars to locate these high percentage places to find feeding bass.  Bass are bass, and they will all eat in similar ways, especially on smaller rivers.

The two large bordering rivers of the state offer a larger challenge if you have never visited them before.  The Mississippi River is touted as one of the best bass fisheries in the Midwest for good reason…it is full of largemouth and smallmouth bass!  The same type of homework should be instilled on these big waters as well, do your homework, pick an area of the river that offers current and backwaters without traveling too far on the main channel.  Current plays a huge roll on any given day on the big rivers.  In early spring it is all about getting away from the current, while in the summer you cannot be in too much current to catch bass.  When the river is high and muddy, try those backwater areas away from the channel as they can stay gin-clear during high water times.  Typically, the cleaner the water is, the better the bass will bite and feed on your baits.  The biggest advice is to keep moving on the big rivers and pay close attention to current to land you into a nice school of bass.  Each day is different, some experimentation is always needed.

Exploring a new body of water in search for bass can be a great adventure and lead you to many more trips to that body of water.  I encourage you to venture out and try some new areas and don’t overlook those smaller lakes in Iowa, those under 100 acres can have big populations of bass and keep you going back for more.  The smaller interior rivers of the state are smallmouth factories, do yourself a favor and pick one out to try this year.  No matter what, doing your homework on a new body water will lead you in the right direction, then paying attention to details and trying a variety of areas and lures will help you gain confidence in another Iowa bass destination.