Recently I got a chance to spend a day on the water with a new guide and tournament angler at Lake Oconee. Kevin Underwood is a newcomer from Lake Lanier. That is a good thing, in my opinion. It brings a fresh perspective to the lake. It did for me anyway.

I am from this area and have grown up bass fishing all around. Plus, watching bass fishing on TV way back to the days of Orlando Wilson. I remember, as the spotted bass fishery was getting better in Lake West Point and Lanier, seeing all kinds of stuff on drop shotting, ditch fishing, and the like. Yet the closest thing I was able to experience at Oconee was a really good shakey head bite, but to me, that was always around docks and rocks. Watching guys like O’Neill Williams and Capt. Mack Farr on TV catching these big bass on deep ditches and the like always intrigued me. Well, when Kevin offered a spot in his boat for me to practice with him before the March BFL on Oconee, I jumped at the chance. I thought it would be interesting to see how a dedicated tournament angler practiced.

The first stop was a spot I had fished many times before, but Kevin went at it a little differently. He put his boat closer and hit specific points in the structure rather than fan casting or working any offshore areas. He hit it close and with a spinnerbait. Wasn’t long before a 4-pound female pounded on that bait and the first fish was in the boat. I’ve never been with an angler who while holding a solid fish, said “dadgum I wish she hadn’t bit today!” Hard for me to grasp that. We hit two or three more similar spots and got follows and rushes. This confirmed the pattern Kevin wanted to see. We went from way up the river to a spot at the mouth of Richland Creek, Kevin tossing some crankbaits around. I was standing behind him on the deck watching the Humminbird 360 and MegaLive scopes. We saw tons of bait and fish hitting bait. A few tosses and we were out of there, this time hitting spots around the Ritz. There we found a real DITCH bite just like the videos on Lanier. He landed a couple of smaller buck bass chasing bait in the ditches on an underspin. 

The final stop of the day was up past Harbor Club. Kevin was hitting docks, rocks, and laydowns with a mixture of shakey heads and a DT-6 crankbait. That was a first for me. I’ve never seen anyone have success throwing a crankbait into laydowns and working them out. But sure enough, Kevin pulled another nice bass out of there. This is a tricky technique, and if you don’t use the right bait, line, and rod you will end up hung up more than catching fish. Be prepared still to lose baits and bang the dickens out of them as well. 

Here’s the takeaway for me. Tournaments are different than fun fishing with a specific period of time you must use to your advantage. Don’t waste time on unproductive water and learn to quickly decide where your productive water is. Pay close attention to details. He brought my bass fishing up a level that day. 

Check out Lipsticker Fishing on Facebook and tell Kevin I sent you.

Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at pressleyoutdoors@gmail.com