On the oxbows, six feet still encompasses a lot of water, but we eliminate much of that when we fish only shallow water which contains cover. Shallow and cover are the two key words. Let's view these rules from a seasonal standpoint. In the spring, bass move shallow to look for food which has been attracted to the shallows by warming water. Bass also move shallow in the spring to spawn.
Spring is definitely shallow water time for bass.
They stay shallow and bury themselves under cover or move deep into heavy weedbeds. The most compelling reason for this behavior is that deeper water contains little or no oxygen during the heat of summer. Our deeper water lakes such as ponds and small impoundments develop three distinct layers of water during the heat of summer. The upper, shallow layer contains warm water. Then there is a layer of water in which the temperature drops very quickly.