Bassmaster Classic bass fishing tournament champion Mark Davis joins The Bass University in Gadsden, Alabama to talk about deep water structure fishing. Some anglers get structure and cover confused. Structure is the bottom contour, the makeup of the bottom, which can best be represented with contour lines on a map. Cover is something that the bass uses as habitat: a tree, rocks, docks, grass, or anything else. Bass fishing electronics have evolved a great deal in the 32 years that Mark Davis has been fishing tournaments, and he talks about utilizing the electronics and the setup he uses at the console and the bow. Mark encourages the Bass University students to get the best electronics that are within your budget and learn how to use them. Having confidence in your electonics, sonar, down-imaging, etc. means knowing you can identify what comes up on the screen.

Main Topics Covered in this Deep Water Structure Bass Fishing Instructional Video

  • 0:10 Defining deep structure
  • 0:45 What is structure? 
  • 6:30 Electronics for fishing deep
  • 13:30 3 Key ingredients to structure
  • 20:30 Structure fishing techniques
  • 29:10 Why are crankbaits so effective 
  • 34:00 Bottom baits
  • 41:45 Rod and reel for deep cranking
  • 46:25 How to breakdown deep water

What is a Transition and Why Are They Important?

Davis talks about what a transition is, and how to locate them with sonar and downscan. He also discusses what lures he throws to verify his findings after marking some waypoints.

Keys to Successful Structure Fishing

  • Learn what seasons are the best for deep water structure fishing for bass
  • Learn how water clarity effects the depth to fish
  • Great baits for targeting tournament-winning bass on deep water structure
  • Tackle for cranking various depths

Mark Davis also answers numerous questions from Bass University students.

Related Bass Fishing Topics

crankbaits deep electronics mark davis sonar structure

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