I've read about anglers saying they found a spot or structure that "reloads".  I have found such a spot, I think.  It is a ridge between 2 channel bends, 4 ft on top dropping to 10 ft on each side.  Stumps and coontail are abundant.  I have fished this ridge once a week all summer, some days catching 5, some days 25.  I always catch and release.  Very rarely do I catch one that I think I caught before, no hook holes or tears in the mouth.  I'm assuming it takes longer than a week for a hook wound to disappear (does it?).  There are bluegills there too.

So, if this is a place that is reloading where and why are the bass moving to and where and why are fresh bass coming from?  Maybe that's not the right way to ask this question as I know bass move according to conditions and forage.  I keep thinking that the bite here will go away because of the once a week hammering but it has not (yet), and they appear to be fresh fish.

What are your thoughts on this?

Prime feeding spots do reload. I once camped on an island across from a small waterfall. 

 

I'd ask my fishing partner, "Want to go catch ten fish?"

 

"Sure!" she'd reply.

 

So, we paddled over to that waterfall and would catch ten fish, a walleye and smallie mix.

 

And we'd do that three or four times each day, catching ten fish in about 20 minutes.

 

One day, we tried to catch an 11th fish and it took us a good ten minutes to do so. 

 

It took about an hour for it to reload with ten new fish.

 

 

16 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

So, if this is a place that is reloading where and why are the bass moving to and where and why are fresh bass coming from?

 

I assume the fish at that Canadian waterfall and the fish using your stumpy, weedy ridge to eat get their fill and move to adjacent deeper water, staying close until they're hungry again. 

It sounds like you found a good structure spot. These spots will continue to hold fish.

2 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

These spots will continue to hold fish.

 

And Al will continue to catch them. That man sure can cowboy. Heck, he caught them yesterday with a Bomber lure that is likely decades old. 

My experience is that usually they stop biting if they get fished for enough - maybe they are not fished for enough!? -but they will never stop using that spot!  You found key structure and bait uses structure in current to filter plankton and algae and bass are never far from bait.

We had an area that " reloaded", a stretch of undeveloped shoreline, with low overhanging bushes.

If you could snake a t rigged Senko under the bushes tight to shore on a summer afternoon you were guaranteed a bass. We would catch a dozen or more in a hundred yards. Come back the next day and do it again. Unfortunately that shore line is now covered in new houses. 

23 minutes ago, jbmaine said:

Unfortunately that shore line is now covered in new houses. 

 

This makes me so sad. At my pond, all houses must be set back 250' and three of the four shorelines are wetlands. I wish all ponds and lakes had the same protections, both manmade (250' back) and natural (wetlands) in place. 

54 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

And Al will continue to catch them. That man sure can cowboy. Heck, he caught them yesterday with a Bomber lure that is likely decades old. 

Thank you, Katie!  That Bomber was bought in 1970 when I got out of the army, along with a pistol grip fiberglass rod and an Ambassador 4500C.  An article in Bassmaster magazine by Floyd Mabry taught me how to fish it.  55 years ago and still works!!!!!

1 minute ago, Lottabass said:

Thank you, Katie!  That Bomber was bought in 1970 when I got out of the army, along with a pistol grip fiberglass rod and an Ambassador 4500C.  An article in Bassmaster magazine by Floyd Mabry taught me how to fish it.  55 years ago and still works!!!!!

 

I love it even more now, Al! FWIW, you have an amazing memory.

9 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I love it even more now, Al! FWIW, you have an amazing memory.

Memory?🤣  I haven't forgotten my Mother's name yet but that's probably next! I still got the rod and reel and I got only 2 of those Bomber baits left!

28 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

This makes me so sad. At my pond, all houses must be set back 250' and three of the four shorelines are wetlands. I wish all ponds and lakes had the same protections, both manmade (250' back) and natural (wetlands) in place. 

I've been fishing some waters all my life and for the most part not much changed. Then hit Covid and our Governor encouraged everyone to get outside and go fishing. Remember the license free fishing she offered for a while. Couple that with working from home and the lake population in Southern Maine has exploded. I can't tell you how many seasonal camps I've seen torn down and replaced with million dollar plus ( very plus) McMansions going up, not to mention empty shoreline being bought up and built on. If you ever get down this way I'd be happy to take you around a couple of lakes so you could see for yourself. It's not pretty.

4 minutes ago, jbmaine said:

If you ever get down this way I'd be happy to take you around a couple of lakes so you could see for yourself. It's not pretty.

 

Yeah, I can imagine. However, many people think their mansions are prettier than a natural shoreline. Freshwater shoreline lots here in mid-coast Maine are increasing exponentially in cost.

 

I bought my five acres for $75,000. There's a same-sized lot listed now just down the road for $850,000, which is why the realtor who sold me my lot whispered into my ear after the deal closed, "You understand that when you sell your lot one day, you won't sell it for what you just paid."

 

I assume your coastline was slammed with those two king tides and gale force winds a couple winters back. The consequence is that area oceanfront lots, which used to be covered, are now lingering on the market...and I think only fools are buying them. I saw seawalls comprised of boulders the size of F-150s dismantled by those king tide waves. So, the wiser rich folks are looking inland and building the mansions that they used to build on the sea on freshwater lakes instead. 

42 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

That Bomber was bought in 1970 when I got out of the army, along with a pistol grip fiberglass rod and an Ambassador 4500C.

I have quite a few metal lipped cranks that were given to me a few years back and have never fished them. I think most of them were the Hellbenders but not all. 

 

I do not fish for spawning fish, as they might represent the ultimate reload.

However, there are a couple of different spots on a couple of different lakes I frequent that "reload."

It's more of an early & late season reload than an all-season-long deal.

This phenomenon likely relates to the location of the bass's food at that time.

In this instance, the bait of choice is yellow perch.

So for about 4 weeks, I guess, these spots attract some very respectable brown bass. 

The exact timing is different every year and, as much as I'd like to, all but impossible to predict. 

The early season areas are totally different from the later season areas

and they all needed a lot of time on the water to find and learn how to put it all together.

When it's right though, it's really right. 

https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=2047

Finally for the past month I have been beating one of these places to a froth several times a week, waiting for the big fish to show.

I'm still waiting . . . . . .

A-Jay

4 hours ago, Lottabass said:

 

So, if this is a place that is reloading where and why are the bass moving to and where and why are fresh bass coming from? 

 

Why- because it's a good place to stop and do the thing they want to do right now.  In your case, that's eat.  They can hide in the grass or drop down over to the deeper part of the hump and just wait for baitfish to funnel to them.  

 

Where- all over. Bass roam.  That might be the biggest thing that FFS has demonstrated.  Bass roam until they find a spot that interests them.  They stay there until they are no longer interested.  So the bass in your lake are constantly roaming until they find your hump- which is REALLY interesting to a lot of the fish for the reasons above.  The reloading happens all the time all over the lake (and all lakes really) but it's the stopping that's important.  

 

I’ve got a few spots around Roosevelt and Apache I have identified that always reload, and fast too. Most are natural humps/ridges, a few are man made, and one that defies logic is an old section of concrete K rail that slid down the bank sometime in the 90’s. If the water is high enough to cover it, there’s fish around it.

I remember a Bill Dance show from years ago that talked about how good spots have a hierarchy of fish around them. The better fish (more mature, more aggressive) move in and take over the better spots. When those fish leave or get caught, lower fish move in to take that spot, keeping a rotating door of fish on the best spots. 

 

I don't have a clue if that is true. I just remember it was Bill Dance that said it. 

I did a little research and I think episodes he talked about it were "Three Successful Words", "Hey Listen To This" and "Look, Listen and Learn". That is AI supplied research. I haven't watched them but it may be worth finding. 

 

Edited August 28, 2025Aug 28 by Don Harris
Removed YouTube video

3 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Why- because it's a good place to stop 

 

Where- all over. Bass roam.  That might be the biggest thing that FFS has demonstrated.  Bass roam until they find a spot that interests them.  They stay there until they are no longer interested.  So the bass in your lake are constantly roaming until they find your hump- which is REALLY interesting to a lot of the fish for the reasons above.  The reloading happens all the time all over the lake (and all lakes really) but it's the stopping that's important.  

 

Agree 100%

 

The stopping part might be a minute or an hour and that's when you should be there.

Back in the day we called it a “honey hole” and kept it’s location a closely held secret.

Not all LMB roam most are home guards that find a sanctuary location and suspend until their need to feed activates them, imo.

There are wolf packs LMB that do roam but not the majority of the population. Smallmouth the majority tend to roam.

Timing the active feeding period correctly is a good day on the water.

Tom

I sure wish they would reload on the days I go fishing.  When I get to the lake the bass have shot all their amo, and don't plan on reloading until I leave.

33 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I sure wish they would reload on the days I go fishing.  When I get to the lake the bass have shot all their amo, and don't plan on reloading until I leave.

Definitely shooting blanks those days.  The fish of course.  

15 hours ago, Don Harris said:

I remember a Bill Dance show from years ago that talked about how good spots have a hierarchy of fish around them. The better fish (more mature, more aggressive) move in and take over the better spots. When those fish leave or get caught, lower fish move in to take that spot, keeping a rotating door of fish on the best spots. 

 

I don't have a clue if that is true. I just remember it was Bill Dance that said it. 

My father told me the same thing, but about bass, pike and walleye; probably around 1970

20 hours ago, scaleface said:

I have quite a few metal lipped cranks that were given to me a few years back and have never fished them. I think most of them were the Hellbenders but not all. 

They are more buoyant than most squarebills and that big lip will bounce off wood easily.  If you need to hit wood that is deeper than your squarebill will reach this is the bait.

I had a spot like that on Lake Wateree, SC. It was a main lake dropoff between two points. It would produce like fire in June after the bass had spawned and were moving toward main lake structure. It was best when the sun was high. We'd anchor against the bank and cast deep and drag a C-rig up the dropoff. You could try a Norman's DD22 when the worm bite slowed. Bass would be right at the top of the drop. We could expect 5 bass or so to bite very time we fished it, often several times a day. Unfortunately, the tourney anglers figure it out too. During a tourney morning there would invariably be a boat on it and one waiting for him to leave. We called that "staging". But on a good weekday it was a killer spot. The state bought the property and built a boat ramp and a recreation area. I'm sure it's ruined now.

 

In the small lake I fish most often now, there are two places that we just expect a big bass to be. One is a bluegill spawning area and another is a pine laydown. They don't hold lots of bass, just a big one pretty often.