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Fall 2020
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from water for the winter, or if the lake has been drawn down, there is no water underneath those docks.
In these circumstances, bass will move to the last remaining shallow water cover that is available – laydowns.
Some lakes or rivers have more laydowns than others. Regardless, they hold bass and typically more than one. That is why it is vital to find the key laydowns that can hold schools of them.
Photo: Tyler Mohr
LOCATING KEY LAYDOWNS
DEEP WATER POCKETS:
Laydowns are often located near deeper water, as the pockets of deep-water act as a bass wintering hole or an area they can move to, should a major fall cold front push through.
I like to take a look at my LakeMaster mapping chip to identify possible areas where deeper water butts up to shore and then idle those areas confirming the water depth with my Humminbird and scoping out the shoreline for wood both with my eyes and keeping an eye on the MEGA Side Imaging for any wood that extends out away from shore into deeper water.
BETWEEN THE CURRENT:
On a river system, a key laydown may be situated between current and backwater lakes. These areas will hold bass that are transitioning to the backwaters for winter or feeding on shad that have moved into the pockets.
Many times, a good series of laydowns will aid in slowing down the current and gives a bass a perfect ambush spot to grab a quick meal.
COMBINING FACTORS
WATER DEPTH:
One of the key things to look at when fishing laydowns is the depth of water around the laydown, focusing on both the depth at the base of the laydown near shore and the depth out at the tip of the laydown.
Paying attention to both of these depths is important as the bass will want to be positioned out near the tip of the laydown where there is deeper water, while other times they’ll be up near shore in a mere inches of water.
Photo: Adam Bartusek