Entry 137-3 

Bass Fishing with Chad Brauer

How to Fish a Logjam with Chad Brauer

Strike King LuresEditor's Note: How would you like to go fishing with one of the Strike King pros and have him coach you on how to fish different types of cover, which lures to use and which presentations to make to catch the most bass? This week, we'll put you in the boat with Chad Brauer where he will operate the trolling motor as you stand right beside him. As we approach different types of cover, Brauer will tell you what type of lure to use and how to fish that specific kind of cover each day.

Situation: Okay, Chad, we've finished fishing this grass line from day 1, and at the end of the grass line, the shoreline cuts back into a small pocket. And in the back of that pocket is a logjam - a fairly big logjam. How are we going to fish this logjam?

Brauer: A logjam is the ideal place to flip and pitch a jig. Therefore, I'm going to continue using the jig I've tied on and attack the logjam. One big advantage to a logjam is that you have a lot of vertical as well as horizontal cover. The logs in a logjam may be pointed in many different directions. But the logjam is about more than just logs. Most of the time, on top of a logjam and even out in front of a logjam, you'll have some type of what I call sawdust. This can be leaf debris, small sticks and limbs, bottles, jars and even pollen that create shade and cover out in front of the logjam. Because we're fishing in the spring of the year, this is an ideal place to catch a really big bass.

Strike King LuresOne thing that's important to know about a logjam is that the wood in the logjam and the sawdust out in front of the logjam are soaking up the heat from the sun and transferring that heat into the water. Therefore, the water in and around the logjam will usually be a degree or two warmer than the water out on the main lake. Since we're in the pre-spawn time across much of the U.S. in April, we know that the bass are looking for warmer water to start the spawn. Since we know that the females that do the spawning are generally the bigger bass in the lake, we know when we find a logjam in a pocket at this time of year that this type of fishing situation may produce some of the biggest and best bass caught on the lake.

On my home lake, the Lake of the Ozarks, this time of year is when I'll target logjams with pockets. Although the logs down in the water are providing ambush points for the bass, the debris on the surface (the sawdust) is what's soaking up most of the heat and transferring it into the water. When I make a flip into a hole in the logjam, I let my jig drop vertically. Once it hits the bottom, I shake my rod tip to make my jig shake and quiver along the bottom. After I've shaken the jig two or three times, I'll pull it up until I feel it touching a log. Then, when it touches a log, I'll hold it at that point and shake it two or three more times.

Bass will often be suspended under logs and in a logjam and may not be feeding on the bottom. So, if I'm not getting a bite on a vertical drop, and I don't get a bite when I shake the jig on the bottom, I still want to keep that jig in the bass' strike zone. Therefore, as I pull the jig up from the bottom, every time I feel it touch a log, I'll let it sit in that spot and shake it two or three times before I pull it up any higher. This way, I'm able to work that jig under every log in that logjam as the jig comes back to the surface.

Strike King LuresMany times if you flip a jig into a logjam, let the jig drop to the bottom, pull it up and flip to another hole without shaking the jig under every log it touches, you'll miss the bass. The bass aren't going to see the jig nor have an opportunity to bite it because they're holding up off the bottom. So in April when you fish a logjam, remember to fish for the suspended bass with your jig that are holding on those logs in mid-water that you can't see, as well as fishing for the bass that are on the bottom under the logjam.
 

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