Some bass holes require a different approach

They say that there's more than one way to skin a cat.
To paraphrase that expression, you can also say there's more than one way to catch a bass.
And with June 23 signaling the start to another season of bass fishing in Southern Ontario, anglers will beat a path to their favourite body of water to try and coax what might be, pound-for-pound, the feistiest of freshwater gamefish.
Among those places is Lake Simcoe.
The province's sixth-largest inland lake has given up smallmouth bass that tipped the scales in the seven-pound range and largemouth bass in the five to six-pound range.
Live bait, crankbaits, soft plastics imitating worms or minnows, tube jigs, drop shot rigs, Senko soft jerk baits, crawfish, flipping jigs tipped with pork rinds, spinner baits and top water baits are proven bass attractants.
As a rule of thumb, largemouth tend to favour warmer, shallow water locations while smallies tend to gravitate toward deeper areas where water temperatures are cooler.
Close to shore, bass can be lurking under man-made structures, such as boat docks, sunken logs, shoreline points, undercuts along banks or lilly pads and in weed infested areas with open pockets.
In these areas, it's imperative to use heavy tackle that includes a baitcasting reel spooled with braided or monofilament line of at least 20-lb. test that won't break when a bass takes your offering deep into the weeds or around a sunken log or boat dock.
Some of the more popular artificial baits used in these spots are flipping jigs or Texas-rigged plastic worms.
On a flat, calm day or at first or last light, surface or buzzer baits can entice a bass's curiousity.
Along weed flats or near sunken pilings, tossing a spinner bait tipped with a plastic grub can be effective.
In deeper water areas, such as rock shoals, or places featuring weed-rock transitions, crank baits, hard or soft jerk baits, spinner baits, tube jigs or Senkos with the hook running through the middle of the bait and drop shot rigs can catch their share of bass. With fewer obstacles in the water, you can get away with lighter tackle rigged up to an open-faced spinning reel.
For live bait, leeches, soft-shelled crawfish, worms and minnows work well in deeper-water areas. In areas closer to shore, small leopard frogs can also be effective.
When fishing artificial baits, it's good to have a variety of colours and sizes handy. As well, on days when the fish might not be as co-operative, such as when a cold front is rolling in, you may be forced to vary your retrieve to trigger a strike.