The Power-Fishing Playbook: Cover Water and Find Aggressive Bass

When the temperatures are on the rise, chances are that the bass are going to be more aggressive than they were in the colder months of the year. Rather than sticking to slow-moving finesse presentations, it’s time to break out some of your bigger and faster lures. One of the best ways to do this is to implement power fishing into your day on the water. 

Power fishing is a method used by many bass anglers around the country. With this style of fishing, you’re going to be tying on some lures that you want to fish fast and then covering a ton of water. You’re really going to be looking for reaction bites with this method, rather than spending a ton of time in one area trying to get fish to bite like you would with finesse rigs.

The best time to try power fishing is when the fish are aggressive. However, power fishing can also be a great way to gather intel on the fish. If you start by power fishing and realize that the fish just aren’t committing as they should be, then you might need to slow things down and adjust your presentation.

There are a few conditions that you should look for when deciding if it’s a good time to try power fishing or not. The first is on windy days. These days create a ton of chop on the water, which makes bass much more likely to commit to reaction baits when the visibility is reduced in the water. Similarly, stained or murky water is a great place to try power fishing for the same reason. In water like this, fish are going to rely much more heavily on vibration and sound to find their next meal, making fast-moving big lures more effective.

When water temperatures are rising, that’s another time to try power fishing. As the temperature rises, bass metabolisms increase. This makes them far more likely to eat first and ask questions later, rather than spending a ton of time inspecting what they’re going after. Lastly, days with overcast skies are solid days for power fishing too. Overcast conditions reduce light, which can help to pull bass off of cover and into wider areas for feeding.

So we know what power fishing is and when it can work really well, but what lures should you be tying on to do it? Here are some tried and true options: 

Spinnerbaits are one of the best search baits on the market for power fishing. You can fish a spinner bait all throughout the water column, finding fish on the surface, on the bottom, or anywhere suspended in between. If you’re using a spinnerbait, it’s important to use the right blade in the right kind of water. Use a willow leaf to get more flashiness in clear water, or a Colorado blade for more vibration in stained water.

When you’re power fishing a spinnerbait, don’t be afraid to bounce it in and around cover. Making contact with the cover can oftentimes lead to a bass biting reactively. It’s also important to try to mix up your speed and cadence. Try mixing in some fast retrieves, then pausing or slowing it down before ramping the speed back up. These changes can also get an aggressive bass to strike.

Crankbaits are another solid option for power fishing. You can fish a crankbait for both suspended fish and for those holding closer to bottom cover. Shallow diving crankbaits work great in shallow water around rocks and other cover, while mid and deep diving cranks can work great around drop-offs and channel edges.

Similar to spinnerbaits, you can also try bouncing your crankbait in and around cover to get strikes from fish. Plus, some of them are designed to create a lot of vibration in the water, which can be a key factor for having a successful day of power fishing.

Chatterbaits give you a ton of vibration capability wrapped in a smaller jig-sized package. A chatterbait is going to be your go-to option when power fishing around grass edges, laydowns, and mixed cover. The blade on the chatterbait is going to easily create a ton of commotion under the water, without too much risk of getting hung up in the weeds.

One key thing to think of when using a chatterbait is the soft plastic trailer you decide to pair it with. Swimbait trailers can work great when covering a large area of open water. Craws are a good choice when fishing in dirtier water. You’ll want to keep a variety of options with you and mix it up to see what the bass reacts best to in any given scenario.

If you notice that the bass are aggressive, but not slamming the big noisy baits, it may be a good idea to try a swim jig instead while power fishing. These jigs don’t offer a ton of vibration or flash that some other options have, but they can still be a big profile that bass want to strike while power fishing.

Swim jigs are designed to be weedless, so you can fish them through more dense cover where other options may get hung up. These are also similar to a chatterbait when it comes to the soft plastic trailer you pair it with. Open water might have best results with a swimbait or minnow-style plastic, while fishing tight to the bottom might be more successful with a creature style.

Who doesn’t love a big topwater strike from bass? Ploppers and buzzbaits are solid options to keep in your tackle box for power fishing. It’s best to try these when there’s a little less wind, and the fish are pushed shallower.

Similar to a swim jig, if you know the bass are aggressive but aren’t committing to the speed and commotion of a plopper or buzzbait, you can slow it down with a stick bait that is designed to be fished with the walk the dog method. These can still cover a lot of water fast, but give bass that extra few seconds they need to fully commit to that topwater strike.