Spring 2019
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Spawn: Shallow Post-Spawn: Shallow cover, moving toward deep Summer: Offshore / Deep Fall: Offshore Deep early, moving to shallow in mid to late fall.
Hines chose the winter, post-spawn and summer into early fall times to focus on learning to fish offshore.
STUDY, STUDY, STUDY
Once he figured out when to target offshore patterns, Hines said that he began to experiment with studying on his Lowrance units’ mapping systems, and by using Google Earth. “I’ve used the mapping on my Lowrance units and Google Earth to give me different views of the lake’s structure for a long time,” he said. “Now that I fish on the FLW Tour, it’s almost vital to me because I can’t be on the lakes all of the time.”
He said he uses the Lowrance mapping on the unit in conjunction with the Navionics chips that he installs because it helps him get a little different perspective.
“The Lowrance mapping has different shading that allows me to visualize how a piece of structure is laid out, and how the water flows over it,” he said. “I can also switch to the Navionics chip and see a little bit more detail of the actual contour lines and find the steepest drops and ledges that will likely hold the most bass for me to throw too.”
After looking at his map, Hines said that he often incorporates Google Earth to see the actual lakebed at different water levels by selecting the date of images.
“I can scan through the different images and zoom in to see the lake at different water levels,” he said. “I can see the hump I’m researching and if there was an image taken during drought conditions and see if there is a brush pile or rockpile on it to give the potential for that ‘spot on a spot’ type scenario. Utilizing these different pieces of technology and information can help me identify which areas I want to check first when I get to the lake.”
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OFFSHORE ARSENAL
Hines said he has four basic lures he likes to throw when fishing offshore. His approach gives him something to utilize in just about every condition he faces.
“I’ve got to have moving baits, baitfish presentations, and baits to slow down with,” he said. “I’ll have a football jig, swimbait, crankbait and a Shaky Head style rig set up all the time, because I know they will produce bites.”
If the fish are aggressive, he will begin with a Strike King crankbait, selecting a 6XD, 10XD or 10XD depending on the depth he is targeting. His other moving bait is a swimbait, and depending on the size of the baitfish, and the bass he is after, he will select a Strike King Rage Swimmer, a Shadalicious or even a Huddleston Deluxe.
He revealed that he can tell if the fish are aggressive or not based on their positioning in relationship to the bottom.
“If I look at my Lowrance screen, and they are lifted off the bottom slightly, I assume that they are in a feeding mode,” he said. “That’s when I try the crankbait or swimbaits.”
For the crankbaits, Hines prefers to throw a 7’11 Lew’s Magnum Crankbait Rod from the Mark Rose Ledge Series, he matches that with a 7.5:1 Hypermag reel and 12- to 15-pound-test fluorocarbon fishing line, depending on the lure. He throws smaller swimbaits are thrown on a 7’4” Team Lew’s Custom Pro Magnum Pitching rod paired with the 7.5:1 Hypermag reel and 15- to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon.
For larger swimbaits like the Huddleston, he selects the 8’ Lew’s Custom pro Magnum Swimbait rod and 6.5:1 Super Duty 300 reel with 20- to 30-pound-test fluorocarbon.
If the bass are positioned tighter to the bottom, he’ll start with the Strike King Tour Grade Football Jig matched with a Rage Craw, Baby Rage Craw or Menace Grub. He selects his jig size based on the depth he is fishing; but said that a 3/4-ounce jig would match most conditions.
He likes the same 7’4” rod and Hypermag reel he throws his smaller swimbaits on for this application and opts for 15- to 20-pound fluorocarbon line.
If the bite is tough, he moves to a finesse application. For this, he puts a 6.5-inch Strike King KVD Finesse Worm, and pairs it with a stand up jighead made, the Frenzy Baits Nail, by longtime Northern California friend Greg Gutierrez. He said that there is a reason he chooses the stand-up head.
“I’m going to let that worm sit on the bottom for long periods of time, and a head that makes the worm stand up is best for this,” he said. “A standard Tour Grade Shaky head is best when I’m dragging the lure a lot, but when I’m dead sticking a lot, I want the tail of that KVD Finesse Worm to be up in their face; it just seems to draw more bites.” He throws this rig on a 7’1” Custom Pro All Purpose 1 spinning rod paired with a Custom Pro spinning reel and 15- to 20-pound- test braided line with a 6- to 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader.
BOAT POSITIONING
Hines said that positioning his Ranger is very important in offshore fishing.
“I always start with a standard shallow to deep presentation with fishing offshore, but there are times that it is better to do the opposite thing,” he said. “Sometimes a hopping retrieve is best, but if they are tight to the bottom, I will move my boat to allow myself to retrieve the lure ‘uphill’ and keep it pinned to the bottom. By moving my boat to the top edge of the structure, and casting out deeper, I hit every little piece of the bottom on the way up the hill, and sometimes that helps me generate bites.”
CRITICAL TIP
Hines said that the most important thing he can say to an angler learning to fish offshore is consistent practice.
“Spend as much time with your face in your electronics as possible,” he said. “If I don’t see fish on my Lowrance, I typically won’t make a cast on a spot.
“Other than that, slow down and take your time. Don’t go so fast that you miss the bottom composition. Count the rocks with your lure, and I bet you’ll start catching more fish offshore.” •