Points 'point out' deep water bass

Tournament pro Scott Rook may be known as one of the pioneers of “power fishing with finesse” because of his expertise with tubes and heavy lines on the Arkansas River, but he’s equally as efficient with Carolina rigs and crankbaits when bass are deeper.

Anytime the weather and the water are warm, you’ll rarely see him in the shallows.
   
“Finding bass in deep water is not difficult,” the veteran Arkansas pro explained, “but it can be time-consuming, which is what discourages so many anglers. You have to totally commit yourself to it.
   
“In summer, offshore bass tend to be heavier, they usually gather in large schools, and those schools replenish themselves quickly, so there are a lot of reasons to make that deep-water commitment.”
   
Rook’s first choice for locating these schools is fishing main lake points, which he studies first on regular lake maps and then on GPS.  No matter where he’s fishing, the depth range he concentrates on is between 15 and 25 feet.
 
“One of the primary keys to this pattern is finding a fast-falling point that ends either in that 15 to 25 foot depth range, or close to it. On a good lake map with contour lines, find the lines that represent this depth and then trace them through the lake until they cross some points. 

“Those crossing points are where you want to begin studying your GPS, and if you locate several of them, the chances are good you’ll eventually locate bass, because points do ‘point out’ fish in the summer.”
   
Once you’ve chosen some areas on a map, simply go out and study them with your GPS, but don’t start casting immediately. Instead, idle over these points and look for baitfish as well as bass on your electronics. 
   
“Always look for schools of baitfish, because bass follow them during the summer months. Sometimes they’ll even wait for bait to come to them, because during the summer bait frequently moves along somewhat predictable paths from shallow water in the early morning to deep water by late morning, and the bass seem to know this.  
   
“This is usually the most discouraging part of deep-water fishing because initially you won’t have any confidence in the technique. Believe me, because I went through this same learning process myself a few years ago, and the reason I did was because I wanted to get away from the shoreline where everyone else is always fishing. Just keep doing it, and I promise you it’ll be worth it.”
   
If Rook sees anything of interest, such as fish activity, bottom cover, a sharp break or ledge, or a channel swing, he begins fishing, normally with some type of imitation crawfish on a Carolina rig with a one or one and a half ounce tungsten weight.
   
“The tungsten weight is so much more sensitive than a regular lead weight. I want to find hard bottom because that’s where bass will be, and tungsten will tell you that. Last year I finished fifth at Lake Toho in a tournament because I fished small shell beds that I found because I could feel them with a tungsten weight.
 
  
“Normally, I sit in deeper water and cast shallow so my lure is coming down the slope and over a drop, but I will move around so I can cover that 15 to 25 foot depth zone from different angles.”
   
Essentially, Rook is just looking for any bite, because that very first bass will tell him the right depth, how bass are relating to the structure and the correct retrieve speed. If he has marked bass on his electronics but does not get any strikes, he only stays on the spot about 30 minutes before leaving for another point.
   
Before he leaves, however, he also works the area with a deep diving crankbait like a DD-22, Strike King Series 6, Fat Free Shad or other diving lure capable of reaching at least 15 feet. While he works the Carolina rig on 20-pound fluorocarbon, he normally fishes his crankbaits on 10 pound fluorocarbon.
   
“I have seen many times when bass would not hit a Carolina rig because that’s normally more of a feeding bite, but I could bring a reaction strike with a crankbait. Generally, when you do find bass in a tight school, they’re feeding and it doesn’t take long to get a strike, but if nothing bites and you do leave, make sure you return later.”
   
Sometimes, when Rook catches one bass and brings it to the surface, others follow; he’s seen as many as 20 bass behind a struggling fish.


“When this happens, it often breaks up that school and you won’t get anymore strikes. So don’t stay and try to force them into biting. I leave for about an hour, then come back.  That’s often all the time it takes for those fish to re-group and you can start catching them again.”

After he does catch a fish, the Arkansas pro looks for similar places on the lake, since this type of pattern can be extremely reliable during the summer months. He does, however, stay away from large flats and slow-tapering points because he wants a faster depth change.

“The general depth range is only around 15 to 25 feet, and it’s good just about everywhere I’ve fished,” Rook concludes.  “If you can find several points that extend through that range, you’re going to be close to summer fish.”