SHORELINES

13 Shor e l i n e S | 2016 Vol :3 Some fish live in the creeks and use the spot. There are sand and gravel bars where spotted bass can spawn and it has shallows that serve as largemouth spawning areas. The topographical feature and submerged vegetation attract baitfish. "Places that have everything a bass will need are really good," Nania says. "This has deep water, shallow water, access to a channel nearby. They live here year round." Fish move around with changes in the seasons and the rise and fall of water temperatures. In spring, Nania fishes around shallow docks and spawning areas. Beginning in May, he moves to offshore structure in 12-15 feet of water. As it gets hotter in the middle of summer, he moves to even deeper structure. As the weather cools in fall, Nania looks to shallow points. In winter, he looks for deep water with current. Knowing fish patterns is the key to catching bass. That's frequently why Nania's clients use his guide service. "The key is understanding the progression throughout the year and where they are moving," Nania says. "And you really have to learn those patterns from a guy like me. I take people who want to learn on monthly guide trips so that they can see that progression." For those who don't remember what the land looked like before the river was dammed and flooded, maps help. But there's no substitute for electronic depth-finding devices and GPS units to mark the location of underwater features. While the submerged point doesn't produce immediately, Nania is confident that the fish will be there sometime during the day. However, he doesn't have time to wait for them. If a location doesn't produce within about 15 minutes, Nania picks up his marker buoy and heads to another location. He has plenty around the lake. For his next stop, Nania chooses the holy grail of underwater structure in Logan Martin Lake. It's the location of a town that was flooded in 1964 after the dam was built. It's all clearly identifiable on Nania's depth finder. "There's a town under here," Nania says. "There are brush piles and foundations and a roadbed. Look, there's an old bridge." The roadbed is an excellent location to bass fish. Bass love a hard bottom whether it's the road or gravelly soils. "Anywhere you go across the country, you're looking for places with hard bottoms," he says. With a variety of tactics available, Nania can throw his arsenal at the bass on Logan Martin from big top-water plugs like a Zara Spook to deep-running crankbaits to little finesse worms on drop-shot rigs. But he knows that not every fisherman has all the accoutrements or the skill set to fully exploit a tackle box. There's a simpler answer for them, he says. When he reaches the old town, Nania sets aside the bait-casting reel he's been using and picks up a spinning rod with what he says is the go-to bait for Logan Martin – the Shaky Head worm. Pioneered by Alabama-based Davis Bait Co. the Shaky Head is the marriage of a floating plastic worm and a lead jig head. Above: Photo by Bernard Troncale – Nania shows off another catch from a successful day of bass fishing on Logan Martin.

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