BEAUMONT —  Really big largemouth bass are rare creatures and are a combination of good genetics, age and an ability to elude anglers. Of those three traits, elusiveness falls mainly on the hands of the angler who tends to tackle the obvious and avoid the mysterious.

    Anglers love fishing the spawn because bass move into shallow water where they are much easier to find than during the rest of the year. That is most bass move shallow, but not all.

     Lake Fork guide Jeff Kirkwood said beginning as early as the spawn anglers target trophy bass in too shallow of water.

   “When you start talking with a lot of the guys that catch the Sharelunkers and the really big fish during the spawn you find that most of those fish are caught out in a little deeper water. I mean during that time of year, they will not be out in as deep of water as they will during the summer, but they are usually out past the super shallow spawning beds a lot of the people target,” Kirkwood said.

    A typical fishing report put out by Kirkwood who is extremely detailed about all of his fishing is as follows.

    “The fish appear to be literally everywhere, not really, but the fish are relating to banks, points, main lake shorelines with absolutely no cover whatsoever, to areas with grass and no stumps, and areas with nothing but trees and stumps. One thing remains consistent though, the depth of water. Keep the boat in 17 to 20 feet (casting in) of water or 10 to 14 feet (casting on both sides of the boat) or six to eight feet casting out, towards deeper water.”

    Kirkwood emphasizes the importance of finding the break line, where one type of structure or depth breaks over into another.

    “There is usually a pattern to what the bass are doing. Sometimes it is hard to figure out but when you do is when you catch those elusive big fish,” he said.

    A variety of studies in the South have proven the bigger largemouths tendency towards deep water including a comprehensive project conducted by Auburn University in Lake Seminole in Georgia.

    “During the day largemouth bass were offshore in deeper water near large woody structures and moved little. Movement was lower during dusk and night periods, and a general movement towards shoreline areas was evident.”

    “Largemouth bass appeared to divide their time between an offshore resting area, primarily occupied during the day, and a near-shore area, where foraging presumably occurred, primarily used during low-light periods.”

    With bass spawning season approaching, think about looking to some deeper water instead of the standard super shallow stuff you normally fish.

    You might just find the bass of a lifetime.