Give a rip – Summer bass at Lake Wylie are deep, and you’ve got to reach down and get them

Deep-diving crankbaits and spoons are the top weapons fishermen use to target Lake Wylie’s summer bass.

Lots of fishermen like to rip the lips off a big bass, and this technique for fishing a spoon in deep water fills the bill.

When polarized glasses become an option rather than a necessity and topwater baits and flipping lures get stowed deep in the recesses of tackle boxes, then shallow-water fishing for bass has given way to offshore structure fishing.

Deep-water, structure fishermen like Winston-Salem’s Tim Grein know the moment has come for them to dust off their deep-diving crankbaits, polish their jigging spoons, and review their electronic manuals.

“The fish move to their summer holding places to feed and fatten up,” said Grein, a regular competitor in Bassmaster Open tournaments. “On some lakes, as fish move to offshore structure, they congregate in huge schools because it’s easier for them to catch baitfish that way.”

On waters where schooling takes place, the deep bite can be phenomenal once fish are located. One of those lakes is Lake Wylie, the elder statesman of the Catawba River chain, completed in 1924 with its 12,455 acres meandering back and forth across North Carolina/South Carolina border.

Grein said Wylie ranks as one of his favorite summer lakes because of its penchant for schooling fish and for the ease with which the schools can be located.

With electronic units capable of  side-imaging, down-imaging, structure scans, and high-definition imaging, Grein said finding fish on offshore structure is no longer  the time-consuming chore it used to be. However, fishermen must be knowledgeable about their sonar devices.

Grein has a Lowrance HDS 12 unit mounted on his console for his structure and fish searches.

“With today’s units, there’s no mistaken fish or cover for something else or vice versa,” said Grein. “The color images on units help differentiate fish, batfish, and structure as well.”

With his unit on downscan, Grein said fish appear as dots rather than arches. Baitfish appear as tight balls.

Topographical maps, once considered essential for structure searches, have become a poor man’s option, with many sonar units possessing map-making capabilities of their own. Using map-making accessories, a fisherman can make his own map with detailed contour lines of a given lake.

Past success doesn’t necessarily mean that much while conducting fish and structure search at Wylie.

“Don’t make the mistake of doing fish searches based on history,” said Grein. “Just because you caught fish at a place before doesn’t mean that much when looking for schooling fish. They can be anywhere on deep structure.”

Grein said fishermen should start their search on the main lake, which has more offshore structure sites for schooling bass. Likely places include channel swings, high spots, tapering points, T-shaped points, channel drops and ledges.

According to Grein, the offshore structure does not have to have stumps, brush or other kinds of cover to hold fish. If anything, structure void of cover is desirable to avoid hang ups.

“With the two techniques I use — ripping spoons and burning crankbaits — snagging cover can be a problem,” said Grein. “A plain, pea-gravel point or high spot is better than structure with cover. The fish aren’t at offshore structure for cover; they’re there to eat.”

Grein likes the stretch from the Buster Boyd Bridge to the dam for his searches because of its clear water.

“Fortunately, water color usually isn’t an issue at Wylie because the lake is clear most of the time,” said Grein. “Muddy water hurts the deep bite because off-colored water makes the fish move shallow. The water level is also fairly stable.”

The depth zone for productive offshore structure ranges from 18 to 30 feet.

“Don’t be afraid to look for fish in deep water,” said Grein. “At some lakes, like High Rock, the fish rarely go very deep because of poor oxygen levels, but that’s not the case at Wylie.”

Grein also said not to limit your search to one school of fish because another school of fish could be nearby. Once he locates one or more schools of bass, he “drops way points on them” to make it easy to return to the same locations.

What’s the best time to find schooling bass lingering at offshore structure?

“From late May through the summer,” he said. “The best days are those days with high, bluebird skies, when you really don’t want to be fishing because it’s too hot. The combination of hot weather, clear skies and clear water puts the fish deep and makes them bunch up over deep structure.”

Conversely, Grein said cloudy days make the schools of fish spread out, and though fish can still be caught, those days are not as productive as sunny days.

Once schools of bass are located, Grein fishes for them with either jigging spoons or deep-diving crankbaits, sampling the schooling areas in a hurry.

“I don’t like to slow down; it’s not part of my personality,” said Grein. “Spoon-fishing and cranking allows me to cover a lot of potential places quickly and efficiently.”

For spoon-fishing, Grein favors a 1 1/2-ounce Hopkins spoon which enables him to cast long distances and reach a school of fish without spooking them.

“I can almost cast all the line off my reel,” said Grein, with some exaggeration. “I don’t use a vertical presentation with spoons because I would have to be right over the fish, and I’m afraid I’ll scare them off.”

Grein makes long casts using a 7-foot-6, heavy action 13 Fishing Envy Black rod in conjunction with a 13 Fishing Concept C 7.3:1 reel spooled with 20-pound P-Line fluorocarbon line.

After casting, he “rips” or yanks the spoon back to the boat, letting it flutter down before ripping it again, repeating the rip-and-fall maneuver several times throughout the retrieve as the spoon makes it way through the school of bass.

“If  the fish want it, they’ll just about take the rod out of your hands,” said Grein. “There’s no doubt about a bite, which usually occurs with the spoon on the fall. On rare occasions, the spoon just feels heavy when a fish inhales it.”

Grein rips the spoon with authority, making it dart 6 to 8 feet off the bottom before he lets it flutter back down.

“That’s why I use a heavy action rod and heavy line,” said Grein. “I can’t rip a spoon effectively with light gear. The high-speed reel enables me to retrieve line quickly and catch up with the ripped spoon to avoid slack or to catch up to a fish that’s struck the spoon. The fluorocarbon line has less stretch than monofilament line which aids in firmer hook sets even with long casts.”

Grein fan-casts the school of fish, beginning with a silver Hopkins. If there’s no takers, he ties on a gold spoon. If neither spoon produces, he moves on to the next school holding near offshore structure.

Veteran guide Jerry Neeley said the ripping technique gained notoriety years ago when legendary angler Tom Mann of Eufaula, Ala., produced the Little George tailspinner.

“That was even before we had depth finders,” said Neeley. “Instead of a spoon, we would rip the tailspinner back to the boat, yanking the lure as hard as we could and letting it drop on a tight line to feel strikes. It was hard work, and at my age, I don’t rip tailspinners or spoons any more. But when I did, I favored a 1/2-ounce gold spoon and had more success downsizing to 6-pound line. I would catch the heck out of bass from 2 1/2 to 3 pounds from sandy flats.”

When the spoon bite fades, Grein changes his approach by cranking a school with deep-diving crankbaits such as Luhr Jensen’s Hot Lips, Spro’s Little John, or Norman’s  DD Series. These baits can achieve running depths of  20 feet or more.

If the water is clear, he selects the Little John DD in spooky nasty or clear chartreuse, two translucent colors. Should the water have some color, he ties on a Little John in nasty or citrus shad. In muddy water, he chooses among the cell mate, chartreuse blue, chartreuse nasty, and home boy hues.

Grein may tinker with the baits to get them to run even deeper if that’s the only way to reach a school of fish.

“I’ve got hung in 30 feet of water when I had to go deep,” said Grein. “I may add  Storm Suspendots or Suspendstrips to the underlip of the crankbait to make the bait dive at a steeper angle and run deeper.”

Long casts are essential for giving a crankbait time enough to reach its maximum depth.

To make long casts, Grein wields a 7-foot-11, medium-heavy 13 Fishing Envy Black Crankinstein rod coupled with a 13 Fishing Concept C 5.3: 1 reel filled with 10-pound P-Line fluorocarbon line.

Grein subscribes to the line of thought that burning a crankbait back to the boat triggers schooling bass to bite.

“I retrieve a crankbait  as fast as I can with a 5.3:1 reel,” said Grein. “I don’t use a high-speed reel because it will wear you out before too long fighting all the water pressure created by the lure. A high-speed reel also makes some baits run wildly through the water.”

Grein admits the fast retrieve is not endorsed by all fishermen as the most effective way to fish, but he follows the thinking of Britt Myers, a Bassmaster pro from Lake Wylie, S.C.

“Britt once told me why he burns a bait back to the boat,” said Grein. “He said if he pulls a steak by one dog as fast as he can, the dog might just look at it go by, but if he pulls a steak as fast as he can by 10 dogs, they’ll all chase after it.”

Grein said schooling fish react in a similar fashion. Their predatory instinct kicks in, and they all react and attack a fast-moving crankbait.

“Anglers have often said if they can get one schooling fish to bite, the others will follow,” said Grein. “It’s the same principle.”

At Wylie, Grein said there’s no rhyme or reason as to the size of schooling bass. The fish can range in size from 12 inches to 6 or 7 pounds within a given school without any particular size dominating the school.

The number of fish caught from a school varies as well.

“You can catch fish for 30 minutes to an hour almost non-stop or catch a few and have the school suddenly shut off,” said Grein. “That’s why it’s wise to locate more than one school before you begin fishing, so you can move on.”

Unfortunately, summer offshore structure fishing has all but vanished at some lakes. At High Rock, poor oxygen levels at deeper depths and limited water flow keep the fish shallow. At Tuckertown, the growth of thick elodea grass in the shallows attracts fish despite the heat, plus the appearance of black mat algae restricts  opportunities for deep-water cranking. At Kerr Lake, the introduction of blueback herring puts deep fish constantly on the move.

Wylie hasn’t experienced these offshore fishing obstacles. Instead, the deep bite keeps going strong and makes purchasing all those this expensive high-tech electronics for finding fish and structure a worthwhile investment.

DESTINATION INFORMATION

HOW TO GET THERE — Lake Wylie, southwest of Charlotte, can be reached from I-85 and I-77. The most-popular boat ramp is the Buster Boyd Access off NC 49. The South Point Access of Robinette Road and the Ebenerzer Park Access off Mount Gallant Road are also popular.

WHEN TO GO — The best offshore structure fishing takes place from late May throughout the summer.

BEST TECHNIQUES — Use your electronics to find concentrations of bass at offshore structure, including long points, high spots, ledges and channel drops. Use crankbaits capable of reaching depths of 20 feet or more or cast heavy spoons, such as the Hopkins Shorty, and retrieve using sharp jerks.

FISHING INFO/GUIDES — Riverstop Bait & Tackle, 803-548-5926; Jerry Neeley, Jerry’s Fishing Guide Service, www.carolinasfishing.com. For lake level, call 800-829-LAKE. See also Guides and Charters in Classifieds.

ACCOMMODATIONS —  York County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 803-329-5200, www.visityorkcounty.com.

MAPS — iFHS Maps, 800-ALL-MAPS; and Kingfisher Maps, 800-326-0257, www.kfmaps.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply