케빈반담의 저수온 서스펜드 배스 공략법

Clockwise from top: Strike King Wild Shiner Jerkbait, Strike King Thruster Tail Tailspinner, Leadhead Grub.

조금 때늦은 감은 있지만 아직까지 기압대가 몰려 올경우 가능한,,,그리고 내년을 대비해 공부해 둘만한것 같아서 올립니다.

Pro's Pointers: Fishing suspended winter bass
Suspended bass are the hardest of all to catch. Here's how one of the best anglers in the world makes it easier

By Louie Stout
Bassmaster, Jan. 2005
  
VanDam uses a spinning rod when fishing for suspended bass. This allows him to make superlong casts, which keeps his bait in the strike zone longer..
Kevin VanDam wore every piece of clothing he had stashed in his boat.

A brown stocking cap drooped over his fishing hat and draped the ears. A Gore-Tex, 100 MPH Bass Pro Shops rainsuit was zipped to the throat and cotton gloves covered numbing hands.

"This feels like home," mutters VanDam, who lives in Michigan and knows about cold weather.

The early February water temperature was in the mid-40s and the bass on Alabama's Smith Lake were catatonic. Even so, the three time Angler of the Year brimmed with confidence.

"The bass are suspended over deep water, and that's not my favorite way to fish," he grins, "but they can be caught."

Suspending bass may be the bane of winter bass fishing, but VanDam insists that you can coax them into biting by fishing slowly at precise depths.

"Fish will suspend beneath large groups of baitfish over open water but not far from structure," he explains. "They can be caught by swimming a grub, reeling a tailspinner (Strike King Thruster Tail), or teasing them with a jerkbait."

겨울 배스는 스트럭쳐에서 멀지않은 오픈워터 상에서,,,베이트 피쉬 아래에 서스펜드 한다. 이런때는 그럽을 스위밍 시키든지,,테일스피너를 감아들이든지,,,저크베이트로 약올려 잡을수있다.
  
Light Bite  
Don't expect bone-jarring strikes from suspended, cold water bass. Kevin VanDam says fish, especially spotted bass and smallmouth, will follow lures before gently sucking them in. "Bites are transmitted as a ticking sensation," he describes. "The key to remember is to not jerk. If you do, you'll take the bait away from the fish. I reel quickly and load up the rod, give it a good hard pull, then resume reeling."

겨울 서스펜드하고 있는 배스 입질은 투툭보다는 약간의 "틱" 하는 느낌이고(특히 스파티드 배스나 스몰마우스는 베이트를 부드럽게 빨아들임),,,챔질을 하기보다는 릴을 빨리감고 세게 당겨주는 것이 좋다.

Certain criteria must be met: Bait and bass must be present, the water must be fairly clear and less than 50 degrees.

VanDam monitors his electronics to find large pods of baitfish holding over structure. Key places are main lake points, bluffs, channel ledges or deep flats. Wind blowing onto those spots makes them even better.

"No matter what structure I'm fishing, if it has a point, that's probably where the fish will be," he offers.

VanDam prefers water clear enough he can see down about 8 feet. To determine that, he'll lower a white or chartreuse spinnerbait and watch for it to disappear, then measure his line. He'll add 5 feet to the visible depth to determine a depth range he wants to target.

Light penetration, he explains, often dictates where fish will suspend. They'll be shallower on cloudy days than on sunny days, which means you don't have to fish as deep, and depth control isn't as critical. The object, he says, is to fish near the shad but above the bass.
물에 햇빛이 얼마나 깊게 투과되어 들어가는가에 따라 배스가 서스펜드 하는 깊이가 달라진다. 구름낀 날은 맑은 날보다 얕게 서스펜드 한다. 새드무리 가까이,,하지만 배스 위쪽에서 낚시를 해야한다.
  
VanDam monitors his electronics to find large pods of baitfish holding over structure. Key places are main lake points, bluffs, channel ledges or deep flats. Wind blowing onto those spots makes them even better.
"If clarity is 15 feet or more, fish suspend deeper, and that makes it more difficult to be precise with these techniques," he describes. "But on most reservoirs, you're going to find suspending bass in the top 15 feet of water."

If water clarity is more stained, the jerkbait becomes the most effective tool because the bass suspend closer to the surface. Also, jerkbaits tend to work better when the water temperature gets into the 50 degree range.
물이 탁할경우, 수온이 조금 높을 경우는 수면 가깝게 서스펜드 하기 때문에 저크베이트가 좋다.

That's why the grub and Thruster Tail are his primary baits for dead-of-winter fishing. Both resemble shad and can be worked slowly through the water column the bass are using.

It's not unusual for VanDam to position his boat over 50 to 100 feet and make long casts to water as deep as 20 feet.

"The longer the cast, the easier it is to keep the bait in the primary zone longer," he explains. "If fish are suspended at 10 feet, I'll make a long cast, count down to 10, hold my rod low to the water and begin a slow, steady retrieve."
캐스팅을 멀리하면 할수록 루어 리트리브 할동안 더 오랜시간을 스트라익 존에 머물게 할수 있다. 만약 배스가 10피트 정도 수심에서 서스펜드 한다면 멀리 캐스팅후 열을 센후 천천히 지속적으로 감아준다.

He uses line size and lure weight to achieve the proper depth. He opts for 6 to 8 pound for grubs and 10 to 12 for tailspinners. Fluorocarbon is a must, he says, because it is sensitive to the light bites and the minimal stretch produces better hookups on long casts. Lure weights range from 1/4 to 3/8 ounce, with 5/16 his favorite. The shallower the fish are suspended, the lighter the lure weight.
6-8파운드 줄을 그럽에,,,10-12파운드 줄을 테일스피너에 감고 카본라인은 필수. 루어무게는 1/4, 3/8, 5/16온스. 얕은수심에 서스펜드 할수록 루어 무게는 가볍게 쓴다.

His lure colors are natural shad imitations, with brighter colors being better in stained water or on cloudy days. His favorite grubs are translucent bodies with a little flake.
루어 색깔은 내추럴 새드색깔,,,물이 탁하고 구름이 낄 경우는 더 밝은 색상을 쓴다. 내가 좋아하는 그럽은 투명바디에 점들이 들어가 있는것들이다.

"Heavier line on the tailspinner (which sinks faster) makes it easier for me to fish slower and keep the bait at a consistent depth, just as the lighter line on the grub (which sinks slower) helps with depth control," says VanDam. "Bass in cool water generally don't strike lures that fall, but will hit them if they're pulled horizontally."
차가운 수온의 배스는 일반적으로 떨어지는 루어보다는 수평으로 움직이는 루어를 히트한다.

The retrieve is simple — slow and steady. There's no need to impart hopping or jumping action, since suspended bass are lethargic and uninterested in a lot of erratic movement. If anything, he might hesitate to allow the bait to sink deeper, and then resume the retrieve.
감아들이는 것은 천천히,지속적으로 감는다.

"It's slow and tedious, but it's a proven method when the fish are suspended and not in an aggressive mode," he offers. "These tactics can produce fish when all else fails."


VanDam's favorite lures for taking suspended winter bass include jerkbaits when water is above 50 degrees and fish are suspended in upper 8 feet of water; grubs that can be swum through baitfish over the suspended bass; and tailspinners that swim horizontally and slowly above the fish.
내가 좋아하는 것은 수온이 화씨 50도 이상, 8피트 이상에서 서스펜드 하고 있는 배스를 위해서는 저크베이트, 서스펜드 하고 있는 배스 위쪽에 베이트 피쉬 사이로 그럽을 스위밍, 배스위로 테일 스피너를 수평으로 천천히 스위밍 시키는 것