Fall 2018
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“You must not use your lure to break up the school of bait, “said Ponds. “If you do, then the whole effort has been wasted. Also, don’t be blind casting because you’ll miss your opportunity. Wait for the school to come up and cast ahead of them; that’s how the best results happen.”
FOLLOW THE BASS
Ponds said that there are times he can repeat the process on the same school by letting everything settle down for a little bit once the schooling activity dies down.
“I will always use my StructureScan to relocate the school of bass once they have sounded after the feeding activity,” said Ponds. “If I know where they went, and the baitfish come back to the surface, I can wait a little while and come back to them again. You’ll usually only catch one or two fish a time, but if it’s the right school of bass, then it’s worth it.”
He said that once an angler begins to work this program, they will begin to get a sense of
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where the bass are going and be able to get ahead of them.
“Being able to see their path is important and after doing this awhile, you’ll be able to track them,” he said. Once you get to where you can see where they are going, you can get ahead of them, and the process becomes less reactionary; and results come easier.”
IMPORTANT TIPS
The Mississippi pro said that there are keys to making this approach successful.
“It is vital to not use rattling lures for this approach,” he said. “The rattles tend to spook the baitfish and break them up. “Also, as I said before; don’t get in a hurry, these baitfish can be moved around and guided with a gentle coaxing. Learn to have the right touch, and you can begin to call your shot and dictate the day; it’s a really great feeling to know that you made it happen and were able to capitalize on it when it happened.” •