Entry 54-5
Eliminating or Establishing Water with Mike Wurm
Look At the Fish's Nose
Editor's Note: Mike Wurm, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, has fished professionally for 12 years. He's fished in six BASS Masters Classics. In seven of the eight tournaments he's fished in this year, he's earned a check, and he's finished in the top 16 in three of those tournaments. Wurm is one of the most-consistent anglers on the B.A.S.S. circuit. This week, Wurm will explain five secrets to his consistent bass fishing.
Wurm: Look at the nose on your fish to either establish or eliminate water. Often the most-obvious places where you see the most boat traffic are the places that receive the least amount of fishing pressure, including the boat ramp at a busy dock, a boat dock at a busy marina, the bridge pilings that lead into or out of an extremely busy harbor, the riprap where you always see people fishing on the banks and the weigh-in station at tournament sites, etc. People drive past these spots every day, but very few folks consider fishing them.
Most fishermen put their boats in and run either up or down the lake. Therefore if you put your boat in and never turn on your big motor but start using your trolling motor from the launch site, you'll be fishing an area most fishermen don't fish. You'll catch bass that most fishermen won't catch. Another spot that many fishermen overlook is near a dam intake. The first point up from that dam intake will block current, and you'll often find bass there. When the current is running at the dam, you'll often catch bass around a point like this.
This year I was fishing the Harris chain of lakes in Florida when on Lake Eustis I found three little sections of bank that had grass growing on the bottom. I was fishing about 150 yards of bank with a Carolina rig in these little patches of grass that no one else had found. I caught enough fish to place 7th in the tournament.
I'd eliminated all the water except those three little spots of grass, and I'd established those three spots where bass would hold. In that tournament, eliminating water and establishing water earned me a $12,000 paycheck. If you learn to eliminate water and establish water I promise you, you will more consistently catch more bass.
