If Robert Frost had been a serious bass angler, “The Road Not Taken” would have focused less on that yellow wood divergence and more on this simple principle: Don’t overlook roadbeds. Granted, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet described a deliberation on dry ground. But when it comes to reservoir fishing, there’s no debate.
“The most appealing aspect of a roadbed is how hard the bottom is,” said 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year Drew Cook. “Most of the time, a roadbed will start at the bank and go all the way across a pocket or the lake, and that gives you hard bottom in whatever depths you want.
“If you’re in a grass lake, you have a large area where the grass won’t grow. So, it’s like you have a big, long dinner table.”
Indeed, the paved routes once linking towns and connecting neighborhoods preimpoundment now offer prime bass fishing opportunities for anglers with the skills to locate and exploit them. Some of it is trial and error with a good dose of persistence, but there’s a definite reason to this rhyme.
