Time it right and the bass are doing great on the Butler Chain of Lakes. Hit that cold front as she is coming in and the bass go deep and lock up. The other day I heard a lot of grumbling at the ramp how the bite was way off. People moaning they didn't get a bite all day. I guess they were not on the back side of Bird Island on Butler itself. The guys boated four quick bass in one small stretch and had another big bass snap the line out in the bay.
Deeper waters are holding the bass when the cold front comes in, but the shallows are the place to be when the air temperatures warm up. Bass beds were spotted all over the place but were empty as the front rolled in and kicked up the winds.
Plenty of bass are being caught out here, you just have to know where to go to get them and what to toss to get them to bite. Live bait under a float is not always a sure bet to catch bass out here. When bass go deep, I try to tell people to get rid of that float and send the shiner deep, the success is much better when you do this. Bass we caught were in 8 to 14 feet of water and the guys were slow trolling live wild shiners right over the deep drop offs to catch their bass. Crappie fishing has also been doing pretty good out on the chain. A few locals have given me some reports of some pretty good limits out here using tube jigs and minnows in 10 to 14 foot of water and along the grass lines with deep water.
