Bass Fishing and Cover

This is one of the most basic concepts of bass fishing. Bass and cover is similar to peanut butter and jelly. It's like the chicken and the egg. They go together. The Bass is a creature of prey. He uses cover as a point of ambush to attack. Cover also provides protection from other species. Cover can be the obvious like stumps, laydowns, docks, vegetation. Or it can be subtle like the change of two types of rock, or deposits of bottom siltation on a sand bottom, or even shade. Cover is some physical object separate from the actual bottom contour. It is often mistaken for structure. Structure is the actual bottom contour (breaks,drops,humps,etc.).
As a general rule the more extreme the conditions the tighter to and into cover. (heavy current, bad cold front, super hot water, really muddy water) The more stable the conditions the looser a bass will relate to cover.

I. MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS TO COVER
No matter whether your crankbait fishing, or jig fishing, or spinnerbaiting, it's key to present multiple angles to the fish. As a general rule I always like to start with the outside of cover first. This cast will be less likely to snag and may first catch the very active bass. After outside casting I will probe deeper into the cover. I feel this presentation helps me maximize the amount of fish I might be able to catch from a particular piece of cover.

II. UNIQUE COVER PRESENTATIONS

A.THICK MATTED GRASS - the tunnel effect. This occurs when vegetation mats together. It is most often seen in reference to vegetation such as hydrilla and milfoil. The obvious targets are the outside or inside edges or bringing a weedless bait over top. The tunnel effect means that at the bottom of this matted vegetation lies a series of tunnel and canals. By taking an extra heavy lure, such as a ¾ or 1 oz. Jig or plastic craw, you can penetrate the mat to get inside the tunnels. It is often the case that you will only be able to achieve that initial fall, but that is enough. The flipping technique caters to tunnel fishing. Most of the time you don't have to worry about silent entry. In fact sometimes letting the bait crash down will help penetrate the mat.

B. WAY UNDER DOCKS - Skip-Pitching technique. The Skip Pitch combines the traditional pitch with a side arm cast to enable flat surfaced lures, such as the Stone Jig, to skip way back under cover. In this presentation you actually want to hit the surface of the water a few feet before you target. This allows the bait to gain momentum while skipping on the waters surface. The unique thing about the skip-pitch is that it's done with heavy line and conventional equipment. This allows you to fish in nasty stuff and have the power to bring out big bass.

C. BUMP THE STUMP - multiple angles are key. This technique is super with both crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Every time your lure is deflected off a piece of cover at a different angle, the lure will create a distinct movement. Often it takes the perfect movement to trigger an inactive bass into a reaction strike. By circling a piece of cover you can usually hit it from 4 or 5 different angles.