I’ve heard it said many times that bass fishing is the common link between fresh and saltwater fishing. Lately I’ve been doing a fair amount of spotted bay bass fishing. In order to speed the learning process, I’ve been reading a lot of largemouth bass fishing articles. I’ve found that many of the techniques, baits, and presentations used in one have direct transfer to the other.
One area where there’s a lot of crossover is shallow water fishing. Fishing amongst docks and pilings, strategies in how you’re going to attack a given area… a lot of similarities can be found. In this article from Fins ‘n Tales, FLW Tour Pro Stetson Blaylock outlines his approach to fishing shallow water.
The definition of shallow water will vary depending on who you ask. FLW Tour pro Stetson Blaylock hails from Arkansas and to him shallow water is extremely shallow by anyone’s standards. “For me shallow water is water that is less than three feet deep. I think the bass will get shallow and stay shallow throughout the year much more than people give them credit for,” adds Blaylock. His main goal for targeting shallow water is to cover as much water as possible with a select choice of techniques.
Blaylock is an eight time Forrest Wood Cup Qualifier and in 2009, he became the youngest professional to ever to win an FLW Tour event at age 21. Much of his success on the FLW Tour (where he has 7 top ten finishes) has come by targeting shallow water bass.
When asked for his top three shallow water baits, Blaylock said a vibrating jig, frog and squarebill crankbait cover just about every situation he needs. He also added a wacky-rigged Senko for when the fishing gets tough or when he needs to slow down
Photos: Tyler Brinks for Fins ‘n Tales
