What a golf course sandwich revealed about bass fishing

Hey, Keith here.

I’m sure you have heard the saying: "Find the bait and you will find the bass." While that statement is absolutely true, sometimes it's hard to actually find the baitfish.

What if instead of searching for baitfish, you could make them come to you?

When I was 12 years old, a golfer threw half a sandwich into my favorite fishing pond at Brechtel Golf Course.

What happened next turned an average day into one of our best outings ever and taught me a lesson about bass fishing that I still use to this day.

Today, I am breaking down how to use chum for bass because understanding how to attract baitfish is the key to consistent catches all season long.

BEST LINKS

What I looked at this week

• Using oatmeal chum mixture to attract baitfish (Watch Your Lip)

• How to chum for bass (Take Me Fishing)

• Fish chum and chumming (America Go Fishing)

• Chumming a POND with 20 lbs of bait . . . then FISHING it! (The Fishing Magician 2.0)

• How to make the most impressive chum (FittedToFish)

Deals of the week

• Walmart has a mesh floating fish bucket marked down from $8.09 to $4.30.

• Pure Fishing marked down its 4-pack of Berkley PowerBait Gilly from $10.99 to $4.99.

• Bass Pro Shops knocked off 40 bucks reducing a Lew’s KVD spinning reel from $99.95 to $59.95

DEEP DIVE 

The sandwich that changed everything

Growing up in the city, we did not have vast swaths of water to fish, so we had to make the best of it. That meant fishing canals and golf courses.

I recall a trip to Brechtel Golf Course on the Westbank of New Orleans when I was about 12 years old.

My buddy Matt and I snuck through a hole in the fence to fish our favorite golf pond, which ran along the eighth hole at the back of the course. We always did well fishing there and ended up with three or four bass a piece on an average day.

One afternoon as we were walking up, there was a foursome of golfers cutting up. They probably had a few beers in them by the eighth hole.

Matt and I waited until they teed off and moved down the course a bit. We watched as one of the "gentlemen" cursed and threw half a sandwich into the pond.

We didn't think much of it, just started fishing when the golfers drove down the fairway in their carts.

But where the sandwich was thrown in, we watched as a piranha-like feast broke out on the water.

Matt cast down the shoreline into the commotion, and after a few turns of the reel handle, a huge explosion erupted on his Rapala Crackback Minnow. He set the hook and reeled in a nice 2.5-pound bass.

After the fuss was over, I made a cast and missed one. Matt cast again and connected with another nice bass.

That one spot produced over 15 bass and was one of our best days at that pond, and it was all from that golfer throwing half a sandwich in.

On the way home, Matt and I discussed what we thought happened and came to the conclusion that it was the sandwich that attracted the smaller fish—bream and minnows I assume—which in turn attracted the bass.

Understanding the chumming chain reaction

What Matt and I discovered that day is the fundamental principle behind chumming: You are not feeding the bass. You are creating a feeding opportunity by attracting their prey.

Bass are ambush predators that follow baitfish schools. When you chum, you are essentially creating an artificial baitfish congregation.

The chum attracts shiners, shad, minnows, and bream. These small fish gather to feed on the chum, and bass instinctively move in to feed on them.

This is why chumming works so well in smaller bodies of water like ponds, canals, and golf course lakes, where baitfish populations are more concentrated and bass patrol regular routes looking for feeding opportunities.

Different chumming methods for bass fishing

Throughout my years of fishing I’ve tried several types of food that attract minnows and bream. Here are a few for you to try. 

Frozen chum blocks: Available at bait shops, these blocks slowly dissolve and release particles that attract baitfish. Place them in a mesh bag and position them in the area you plan to fish. They work for two to three hours and create a consistent chum slick.

Bread or sandwich pieces: Like I discovered at age 12, bread products work surprisingly well. Tear bread into small pieces or use leftover sandwiches. The floating particles attract bream and minnows near the surface, which brings bass up to feed.

Canned corn: One of the most effective and legal options in most states. Toss a handful of corn into your fishing area. It sinks slowly and attracts bream, bluegill, and shiners. Wait 15 to 20 minutes before casting.

Dog food with holes: Take a can of dog food with gravy, punch holes in it, tie a rope to it, and toss it where you plan to fish. The scent disperses gradually.

Chopped baitfish: If you have access to shiners or other baitfish, chop them into small pieces. This creates an oily slick that attracts smaller fish quickly.

The minnow trap technique: Chumming without chumming

Here is a technique I use that eliminates any concerns about chumming regulations: the minnow trap method.

Take a standard minnow trap and bait it with any of the above mentioned attractants. Lower it into the area where you plan to fish. Technically, you are trying to catch minnows for bait. Legally, you are not chumming because the attractant is contained inside a trap.

But here is what actually happens: The scent from the bait inside the trap disperses through the water. Small fish gather around the trap, trying to get inside or picking at particles that escape through the mesh. This activity attracts more baitfish, which creates exactly the feeding opportunity you want.

Bass notice the commotion and move in to investigate. They position themselves near the trap to ambush the concentrated baitfish.

The beauty of this method is that it is completely legal everywhere minnow traps are allowed. You are not depositing chum into the water. You are simply using a legal method to catch baitfish, and the side effect is that it attracts bass to your fishing area.

Leave the trap in place for 20 to 30 minutes before you start fishing near it. Check your state regulations on minnow trap size and placement, but this technique works in any state where minnow traps are legal.