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Summer 2018
Angler Eric Allee. Jeremy Cassidy
Jeremy Cassidy. Eric Allee
so, there’s minimal water going out of the reservoirs and the volume of water coming in seems to grow daily. All it takes is a few good downpours to the ball rolling and the western reservoirs will flood a wide variety of areas that fish quickly inhabit.
Out of all the areas to flood, my personal favorite to fish are heavily treed shorelines. The further back the water gets into these areas, the better for kayak anglers.
It’s no secret that bass of all species will utilize flooded trees to ambush prey; so, everyone in the angling community will quickly start fishing these areas. However, most anglers only focus on the outside edge and maybe a short pitch’s worth deep into the trees.
For kayak anglers, this translates into large areas of flooded cover that goes relatively untouched by other anglers.
My two go-to baits for outside edges – during the summer months – are spinnerbaits and squarebills. More specifically – double willow spinnerbaits in either white or white and a hint of chartreuse and a Lucky Craft 1.5 squarebill in a bluegill pattern.
Between these two baits, I’ll cover the gamut of forage fish in most reservoirs and be able to make quick adjustments, after I get clues as to what bass are keying in on. Phenomenal success can be found working the outside edges of flooded areas; but sooner or later, it’s likely that company will appear… that’s when it’s time to utilize the kayak in a way they work best – as an all-terrain vessel – an ATV.
BEFORE ENTERING THE FLOODED JUNGLE
Before we get into the jungle of cover with our kayaks, it’s always worth fishing the outside edges of flooded heavily treed areas.
When I’m fishing the outside edges of these areas, I’m also looking for avenues into the thickest cover. I want to find those untouched areas that I can weave my kayak into. The fish that live here sometimes haven’t seen a bait in a week or two, even on highly pressured waters.
Eric Allee
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