Growing up on grass lakes taught Arkansas pro Scott Suggs to appreciate the merits of looking for offshore bass. He learned how to find pods of fish that were unmolested by the bank-beaters and rode them to early success in his fishing career.
That experience formed the foundation for the structure-oriented tactics he employs today in tour-level competition all over the U.S. – not just the weedy waters, but all the lakes with ledges, ditches and other deep bass hangouts.
Understanding Where and How
"My strongest point, what I really love to do, is fishing deep grass," he said. "I never fish the bank. I've been able to translate my grass-lake knowledge to deep-structure lakes without grass. It's a natural thing for me."
He said the key is knowing the kind of structure to seek during the various seasons. GPS also figures prominently in his tournament fishing, but the most important gadget in his arsenal is the common plastic marker buoy.
"It all comes together when you understand what to look for in the winter, spring, summer and fall," he said. "GPS makes it easy to find the general area and that marker buoy is essential once you've pinpointed the fishes' location."
Seasonal Locations
During much of the year, Suggs is on the ledges and distinct channel drops. Pre- and post-spawn periods find him working long, main-lake points where the fish hold before and after they nest.
"In late winter on grass lakes, the fish start getting up on the flats," he said. "But, as often happens, fronts come through and the fish back off the flats. That's when I look for structure like drains and ditches that I can slow-roll with a spinnerbait or work with a jig or a Norman Deep Little N."
During the spawn, he looks for deep structure near good nesting sites. "I like ridges and humps and the flat spots on top of them. If I can find these offshore near the spawning flats, I usually also find big fish that I can catch with a Carolina rig," he noted.
He returns to the main lake during summer – "as far out as possible. I want to find the sheerest, sharpest drops."
As the shad move to the creeks in autumn, he migrates to creek mouths. "I'm again looking for the sheer drops. I especially like a sweeping channel bend in the fall. If I can locate a 180- or 90-degree channel swing, I often find great numbers of bass on the outside bend," he said.
Difficult But Rewarding
Suggs acknowledged the challenges of deep-structure fishing.
"Not every ledge holds them. It takes time to understand structure fishing. It's one of the hardest types of fishing. GPS makes it simpler than it was back when you lined up, say, a tree with a V in the bank. Now you just pull up to your waypoints and start throwing, so a lot more anglers are learning."
While finding structure is easier, the real art remains pinpointing where the fish are busy.
"Say I'm fishing a 12-foot ledge that falls into 25 feet. I'm really picky about this because it's important. I have my crankbaits sorted so I know exactly what they'll be doing – all my Normans, Fat Free Shads, Bagleys, I know exactly what each will dive to based on the line size I'm using and which ones will come through certain kinds of brushpiles better and all the other variables."
Back to that 12-foot ledge. "I idle over and drop a buoy. I want my first cast to bump the top of that ledge for half of the retrieve. I do this over a ledge or two and note wherever I get bit. If it's on top of the ledge, I know the fish are active, so I then make longer casts over the 12-foot depth to cover the most productive water."
He said if the hit occurs away from the drop, he backs off the structure so his casts cover more of the suspected strike zone.
"And I keep another marker buoy where I can kick it off the boat to unravel right where I hook one," he added. "I line up that spot with something on the bank and spin the boat back around so I can fancast the area. A lot of times, I'll catch a limit in five casts on places like that."
Notable
> Suggs' decisions about 2006 competition hinge on securing a sponsor for a wrap deal. He definitely plans to fish the FLW Tour. He said he'll also send deposits for the new BASS Elite Series and FLW Series. "I know I'm going to lose my deposits for one of those series," he said. "If I get a big sponsor, then I'll go with BASS. But I'm not forking money out of my own pocket when I can fish the FLW Series for a lot less. My wife wants me to fish BASS, but I can't afford to jeopardize my family's security without help."
> He can add "coach" to his resume after advising the University of Illinois team prior to the recent intercollegiate bass tournament at Arkansas' Lake Monticello. They looked for – what else? – offshore structure. "I knew others would fish the banks, so we found some good structure. I caught one on the first cast. We got about 15 bites and shook most of them off." He coached the Fighting Illini about how to position the boat and fish the structure effectively.
