Mark Burgess commonly positions his boat where other bass fishing anglers are landing their casts during late summer, having learned that clear-water largemouths and smallmouths commonly will move into extremely shallow water this time of year.
“If you find an isolated piece of cover in very shallow water on a clear lake this time of year, you can almost bet there’ll be a largemouth next to it,” said Burgess, a professional bass fisherman from Norton, Mass.
Burgess noted that a number of factors draw the fish shallower than anglers might expect. He pointed specifically toward shade from shoreline cover, abundant bluegills and other forms of forage and higher dissolved oxygen levels than are found in deeper water.
“I’m talking about areas where you wouldn’t believe there could be a bass that you could not see,” Burgess said. “No matter how many bass I catch in this type of setting, most still surprise me because it just doesn’t look like a bass could be in a spot without me being able to see it.”
Making the extra-shallow bite extra exciting – and extra valuable for a tournament fisherman – the bass tend to be high-quality fish. Burgess spends quite a bit of time prospecting in skinny water late in the summer because he catches a lot of 3- and 4-pound bass by doing so.
One of Burgess’ favorite baits for working extra shallow is a BOOYAH Buzz buzzbait because he can cover a lot of territory and pinpoint cover that’s likely to hold bass. “You’ll draw a lot of reaction strikes with a buzzbait,” he said.
If Burgess believes a subsurface offering will serve him better, he generally will fish either with a 5-inch green pumpkin/purple flake YUM Dinger on a weightless Texas rig or a YUM Wooly Hawgtail or Mega Tube on a traditional, weighted Texas rig.
He’ll typically keep a buzzbait, weightless Dinger and Texas rig ready and will mix them up as he works his way around the backs of coves. Burgess typically works quickly, moving from target to target.
If there’s no grass in the shallow areas Burgess is working, he likes to spool up with 10-pound-test Silver Thread Fluorocarbon. If grass is a significant factor he prefers braided line.
Despite the clear, shallow water, Burgess does not stay back. In fact he fishes quite close to the cover because quiet, accurate presentations are critical. In fact, he often works within pitching distance when he has his Wooly Hawgtail rod in hand.
Stealth is critical, however. Burgess keeps his trolling motor running on forward low instead of bumping it in and out of gear, and he raises the shaft as high as possible to make sure he doesn’t bump bottom. He’s also avoids quick movements and is careful not to bang things around in the boat.
“If you’ll commit to this approach, you’ll catch some nice bass,” Burgess said. “You have to stick with it, though, and you have to believe that no water is too shallow.”