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DEFINING A SUMMER PATTERN
Nico Oosthuizen on Fanie Botha (Tzaneen) Dam
Fanie Botha, during the heat of the summer, can be one of
the most daunting dams to fish and many a bass angler has
experienced a fishless day here. This is the home dam of
Nico Oosthuizen, the 2002 Bass National Champion, and living
a mere 10 minutes from the dam ensures that he is able to
spend any free time he has available practising his favourite
pastime, bass fishing.
In competitive bass angling there is no greater tool than
experience and time spent on the water. When you have all
the tools of the trade, big boat, bigger motor, expensive
rods and reels, all the latest hi-tech equipment and lures
it is experience that plays the crucial role. The more time
you spend on the water the better you start understanding
the fish and how they react to changing weather patterns.
Nico has spent a great deal of time doing just this, gaining
experience. He believes in a more technical approach to bass
fishing and has gone out of his way to gain knowledge and
understanding of the bass's behaviour, breeding habits and
seasonal movements by reading any available material, watching
video recordings and keeping track of his favourite professional
bass angler's careers in the USA. Living so close to Fanie
Botha means that Nico is able to fish several hours during
the week and as many hours as he likes during the weekend
and by doing this he gains valuable experience each time
he is on the water.
Nico knows Fanie like the back of his hand and if there
is anybody that could put a summer pattern together on this
dam it would be Nico. Book knowledge always seems very simple
but I have experienced that when you think you know exactly
what the bass should be doing at a specific time of the year
and exactly where they should be situated it does not always
work out that way. A person needs to be adaptable and not
get stuck on the theory but be able to read the situation
correctly to try to establish a pattern and pinpoint the
fish to be consistently successful. I was curious to see
how close the theory in the first part of Summer Doldrums
would come to Nico's strategy and whether the theory and
the practical would come together as a unit or blow each
other out of the water.
I arranged to meet Nico at the dam early in the morning
for a full day's fishing but, as fate would have it, what
was supposed to be a blistering summer's day turned out to
be a cold, drizzly frontal system moving through. My first
thought was: 'there goes my summer's day' and as the day
progressed and I tried to figure out how to change the angle
of the article I realised that frontal systems definitely
play a role during the summer and that we have to learn to
contend with them too. Thus, I would continue as planned.
Each fisherman has a basic game plan to try to establish
a pattern as soon as possible when starting out their day
and I was curious as to what Nicos would be. I asked him
the question:
When you start fishing how do you start and where would
you go first?
His reply: "When I pull up to a lake, the first thing I look
for is the water colour. Is it clear, stained or downright
muddy? These factors determine what types of baits and colours
I would use and where to use them. A lot of the time water
clarity dictates a primary pattern. For example, if the lake
is clear and it is a bright sunny day I know the fish are
not going to be really shallow. In a lake with stained water
I know the fish will sit tighter to cover.
My most productive area to fish in summer is the main lake.
I'll usually begin on shallow flats with an irregularity,
casting topwater lures like poppers and jerkbaits like a
Smithwick rogue. Areas with deep water access close by are
usually the most productive. Main lake primary points are
hard to beat but fish will usually move to secondary points
or suspend over the primary points with a lot of fishing
pressure. If I do not make contact with fish in shallow water
I will move deeper, fishing a crankbait, spinnerbait, mojo-
or a Carolina-rigged lure. Depending on the cover that the
fish are in, I may also fish a jig.
In shallow water I concentrate on cover like brush, weed,
laydowns and submerged stumps. In deeper water or lakes without
much visible cover I will concentrate on bottom features
such as humps, ridges and river channels.
During midday, in hot weather, I usually move offshore and
target underwater islands and humps with some cover on them,
which are at the thermocline level. The cleaner the water
the deeper the thermocline level will be. In early summer
look for deep areas that have humps, ridges, creek beds,
old road beds, flooded timber or a grass/weedline in the
region of 10 20ft depths. Look for the same kind of structure
at 20 30ft depths during late summer.
Current also plays a major factor during summer."
With the cold front that had moved in we obviously had to
change our fishing tactics slightly to adapt to the situation,
so instead of starting by fishing the shallow flats we immediately
went to an area that had a lot of surrounding shallow areas
but dropped quickly by means of a ridge from 5ft to 18ft
and deeper as you moved along the ridge into deeper water.
We suspected the bass would be suspended in the deeper water
all along the ridge. I fished with a mojo-rigged Zoom fluke
and Nico with a mojo-rigged Zoom lizard. Lizards have long
been a staple of soft plastic lure fishing but in recent
years has waned slightly in popularity amongst serious anglers
due to the introduction and availability of many new interesting
lures. It is now mainly used during the spawning season because
it is believed that bass instinctively know that a salamander
is a major threat to the nest and freshly laid eggs. I asked
Nico why he chose the lizard at this time of the year and
not one of the other more popular lures. He replied that
during stable weather conditions he would generally use a
fluke but that he has found lizards somehow generate more
strikes during frontal systems than the fluke. It is a lure
he greatly relies upon when he has to fish during a cold
front when fishing is usually tough. He proved his point
after a couple of casts and catching a bass not long afterwards.
How does changing weather affect bass?
"During stable weather periods you will generally find fish
shallow and when a front moves in it pushes the fish out
of the shallows and onto the first breakline, the first
major change in water depth, where they generally suspend
in or close to cover, if available. Fishing pressure after
the spawning period will also cause bass to move away from
targeted areas and suspend in deeper water.
During cold fronts, concentrations of bigger fish are found
primarily on severe breaks or changes in depths. When a drastic
weather change occurs, the fish are able to quickly move
deeper to avoid exposure to the new condition. After a cold
front the fish will re-adjust but remain deeper for a while
than before the front arrived. During extremely hot weather
conditions bass will relate to more gradual slopes since
there will be less fluctuation of thermal conditions."
From the ridge we moved to a prominent main point that runs
far out into the main lake. After spending a fishless 30
minutes here we decided to move on to the next spot. The
second of our four divisionals was only two weeks away and
to be held at Fanie Botha dam so this trip with Nico also
served as time to prepare for the forthcoming tournament.
We had decided not to overfish a spot should we find fish
and also to cover as much water as possible in the quest
to determine where the fish might be found in a couple of
weeks time. We would be spending a maximum of 30 minutes
in each potential fish-holding area to see whether we would
find fish or not.
During my research I kept coming across articles and chapters
that listed prime feeding flats as one of the most productive
areas to fish during the summer. Nico had also mentioned
flats so I asked him to show me an example of a prime feeding
flat on Fanie. He took me to an area that was one of his
favourite spots to fish, basically a stretch of bank between
a point and a small bay with scattered stumps, some large
logs and a bit of brush in the deeper water. Once again,
the lizard was king and Nico had two fish before I could
say "mojo-rig". I was seriously considering changing my lure
but you know that small little thing called 'pride', I was
determined to prove that the infallible fluke would start
to weave it's magic soon.
What is your definition of summer structure?
"For me the most ideal summer structure is a creek or river
channel drop. There is usually shallow water close to deep
water, it has a large feature that allows a school of bass
to disperse along it's course and channels normally have
some degree of current flow, either natural or wind induced."
I have seen and heard of many bass anglers that fish the
cement pillars that support bridges across the water with
major success. In fact, I know that Alan Kenney and John
Bulpitt managed to win one of the Tzaneen Classics by mainly
targeting these pillars. I did not have a lot of confidence
fishing this kind of structure because I had never personally
caught any fish this way and as human nature dictates, rather
stick to tried and trusted methods. Nico accepted the challenge
to convert me to pylon fishing and prove that you can catch
fish this way. In most cases, bridges are built across a
dam at the dam's narrowest points from bank to bank and usually
span across a river channel, either the main channel or a
secondary river that come into the main body of water . This
creates ideal deep-water summer structure where bass can
relate to the main river channel and have structure to hold
to. It is very easy for them to move from deep water to shallow
feeding areas simply by moving up or down the depth of the
pylons. The pillars also force a break in current which may
be created by a flow of water along the main river channel
or by a constant wind blowing in one direction. Bass will
usually position themselves, facing the current, alongside
the structure where it breaks the current and creates an
eddy of quiet water.
We switched our mojo rods for a texas-rigged pitching rod
with a very light weight above the hook. To the hook we added
a Zoom Superfluke in watermelon candy but I believe watermelonseed,
green pumpkin or any of the watermelon colour variations
would also work as well. The idea is to pitch parallel to
the pylon, on all sides, and let the lure slowly drift down
alongside the structure. It is important to keep an eye on
your line because most times you will not feel the bass take
your lure but an observant fisherman should see the line
flick as the bass inhales the lure. If you didn't see the
flick in the line you would still need to pay attention as
soon as you pick up the slack in your line. If there is a
bass attached to the end you should feel slight tension in
the line, if he has inhaled the lure but still remains suspended
next to the pillar, or weightlessness, if he has swallowed
the lure and is swimming toward the boat. In this case you
might also notice that your line is moving in a different
direction or away from where you originally pitched the lure.
If you observe any of the above, set the hook.
Tzaneen dam has two sets of bridges, one commonly known
as Modjadji bridge and the other, Twin bridges. We caught
fish at both bridges; Nico completed his challenge with success
and I have decided that I will not pass these bridges again
without first stopping to check it out.
Which times during the day do you find most productive in
the summer?
"Usually early morning and late afternoon but during overcast
conditions I have caught fish throughout the day. There might
be a better bite later in the day in deeper water than early
in the morning or afternoon in the shallows. It is difficult
to say because a lot depends on location, weather condition
and the mood of the fish.
Which depths would you fish throughout the day?
Morning 1 to 7 foot
Midday 12 to 25 foot
Afternoon 3 to 10 foot
This is just a basic guideline as, again, a lot depends on
outside influences.
We moved throughout the day from one potentially good-looking
area to the next, fishing points, humps, flats, steep banks,
timber and brush, searching for fish. We did not catch fish
everywhere and I cannot say that the bite was very hot. We
had to work hard for the fish we found and, in most cases,
used a very slow, meticulous retrieve. We caught fish during
the early morning and late afternoon at mid-depths along
ridges, ledges and feeding flats and during the midday hours
from underwater structure in deeper water such as humps and
the bridge pylons.
I can definitely say, after a day's fishing on Fanie Botha
with Nico, that his strategy for finding summer bass definitely
comes very close to the theory one reads about in all the
books. So in this case theory and practice have come together
in sweet unity to produce a very productive summer pattern.
CONCLUSION:
FISH FOUND:
Ledge 1 mojo/lizard
Humps 2 mojo/lizard
Ridge 3 mojo/lizard
Flats 2 mojo/lizard
Bridge pylons 3 texas/fluke
Steep banks with brush 3 mojo/lizard/fluke
MONTH November
WEATHER cold, occasional drizzle, wind changing direction
constantly. Outside temp. 20 C.
WATER TEMPERATURE AND CLARITY 75 79 degrees F. 1 5
foot clarity with water murkier where rivers come in but
clearer in the main lake portion.
MOOD OF FISH negative to neutral, strike zone quite small
and lure placement very important.
Article reproduced
with permission from Stywe Lyne/Tight Lines Magazine.
Photos by Christie Thomas. All rights reserved.
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