Simple Reservoir Classification System

Looking for a few tips for your bass fishing trip to those new reservoirs this season?

Today’s post includes a tutorial video where Doc Bass guides you through the different primary classes of impoundments and how those classes relate to the bass fishing opportunities you’ll encounter in each one.

The Essence – Changing Landscapes Equal Different Reservoir Classes!

Everyone knows as you travel across this great country of ours, the nature of the landscape changes dramatically.  You likely also noticed, not only does the nature of the landscape change, so does the types of structure and cover found in the reservoirs created on each of these different landscapes.

Once you learn how differing terrains influence the nature of the impoundments found in the same area, you are well on your way to understanding what to expect with the bass fishing conditions on each body of water.

So give a listen to Doc Bass as he provides a few tips and pointers to help you plan your next bassing expedition to that new reservoir this coming season:

Fish Finder Buying Tips for New Kayak Anglers

Things are looking up…

You have taken the plunge…

Purchased your new kayak even launching it onto your local lake while mastering the art of kayak fishing.

After spending most of your first kayak fishing adventures probing the shallows, you’ve decided to up your game and invest in a sonar unit to explore the watery depths of your favorite honey hole.

So as most good Internet-oriented anglers do, you fire up the app to your favorite online tackle retailer starting your research into the different types of fish finders available to kayak anglers. It doesn’t take long to get mesmerized by the numerous models of fish finders available in the market today.

Question is, how do you identify the best fishfinder to meet your needs?

Since I am also a relatively new kayak bass angler, I developed this list of questions, thoughts and considerations developed as I work through my search for my ideal sonar unit:

What degree of portability do I want or need in a new sonar unit?

Most traditional sonar units come with sonar displays and transducers designed to be mounted on the boat or kayak and powered by the vessel’s 12 volt electrical system. These types of units work fine for anglers willing to dedicate the fish finder to a specific kayak or boat. For those anglers desiring a greater degree of portability with traditional sonar units, many manufacturers produce portable sonar packs including a protective case, an internal battery system along with portable transducer mounts.

One of the more interesting recent advances in the sonar industry is the development and introduction of wireless transducers and associated apps for mobile devices such as cell phones. It should be pretty obvious, these wireless transducer-type fish finders offer the greatest potential in portability. These wireless transducers are also “cast-able”, affording the user the option to either employ it from any kayak or when fishing from shore. Of course the increased portability of wireless transducers means less functions/features are available on these fish finder compared with traditional units.

What types of sonar display functions are desired?

A number of other exciting technological advancements have been developed by fish finder manufacturers over the last decade or more, These advancements include features like color sonar displays; down and side imaging displays; and GPS mapping and tracking functionality.

Each of these features offers the kayak angler different ways of viewing their favorite fishing environments but typically at a greater cost and lower level of portability.

How much of an angling techno-geek are you?

One of the major considerations you should give serious thought too…

How comfortable are you in implementing and using new technologies?

Let’s face it, not all of us are technically oriented and prefer to keep things relatively straightforward and simple. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with keeping things simple. Understanding your level of technical prowess and accepting it will minimize your frustrations when selecting your new fish finder both during set-up and during later use.

If you are the type of person looking to minimize your frustration and usually fish the same small lakes and ponds, you may want to consider either one of the wireless units or a traditional-type fish finder with sonar and/or down imaging displays. Kayak anglers more comfortable with technology who desire more features/functions and have deeper pocketbooks may want to consider units with GPS mapping and side imaging features to meet their requirements.

What types of water bodies do you normally fish?

As I mentioned in the previous section, if you fish a limited number of small lakes, ponds and rivers, a sonar unit with fairly basic displays and functions may well suit your needs.

On the other hand, if you fish larger lakes and rivers with more complex bottom structure and cover, fish finders providing the different types of sonar and imaging displays along with GPS mapping features may be a better option.

Bottom line…

It all comes down to a matter of personal preference and size of your pocket book relative to the set of features and functions that will work for you when buying a fish finder for your first kayak.

A Specialized Winter Bass Rig

Bass fishing during the winter cold-water period can be rewarding when you connect with the fish but it can also be very frustrating when they’re not cooperating…

Cold water means slower metabolism and less feeding so many bass only respond to slow moving or near-stationary baits…

Though suspending jerkbaits and the ultra-finesse “float n fly” rig are winter mainstays, other rigs can also be effective from time to time.

Let’s face it, sometimes even winter bass sometimes want a “big meal” as long as it’s slow moving that is 

In the second “What Doc Thinks” video, I offer some insight in how a few simple tweaks to the “float n fly” produces a rig designed to present larger baits to sluggish winter bass…

Closer Look at Canyon Reservoirs

When most people think of the western U.S., especially the desert southwest, they often visualize towering rock pinnacles, vast expanses of wind-blown sand and deep sinuous canyons.

As a matter of fact, many of us yet to travel to this part of this great nation, have only experienced the area and its relatively unique landscape via photos or videos.

Once the opportunity to visit this spectacular region becomes reality, the magnificence and grandeur of the scenery is more than breath-taking. The same reaction holds true for all of us non-native bass anglers when we first experience the nature of fishing canyon reservoirs.

A World of Rocks, Rocks and More Rocks!

Canyon reservoirs are characterized by deep, narrow, rock-rimmed valleys encased by steep rock walls and bluffs often reaching as high into the sky as they dive deep to the reservoir’s bottom.

Depending on the elevation of the water’s surface, many of the reservoir shorelines are merely the intersection of the water with the bluff rock walls. The nature of these shear rock walls can sometimes be a little more irregular providing a staircase of ledges at varying depths or piles of fallen rock debris that toppled from the canyon rim. Each of these situations provides different bass holding types of rock cover including rock piles, boulders on the ledges or overhangs where the bass hide underneath waiting in ambush.

In areas where less resistant rocks are found at the water’s edge, steeply sloping banks and points of weathered rock debris maybe present. Occasionally, these non-vertical banks also provide cover for the bass in the form of flooded brush or even a lonely cottonwood.

Is Keeping Bass Wrong?

Following the rise in popularity of bass tournaments during the latter part of the Twentieth Century, “catch and release” became the standard for bass anglers to help protect the health of our fisheries…

But is “catch and release” the ultimate answer in keeping bass populations healthy and thriving?

I decided to use my inaugural episode of my new video series named “What Doc Thinks” to address this issue 

I also decided to provide a few links to articles discussing the benefits of combining selective harvest with catch and release to preserve the health of our treasured fisheries below:

Selective Harvest 1

Selective Harvest 2

Selective Harvest 3

Selective Harvest 4