06-05-2012, 04:07 AM
I looked at your map. You stopped before getting to the best spot. Continue around that cove where you stopped fishing till you are on the other side and a lot closer to the Dam.
The bass are seldom threatened by the stripers, in fact when the stripers are tearing up the surface killing shad, bass...big bass ...will hang out underneath them and pick off the easy meals.
Right now - this time of year...I am catching bass from 2 ft in brush to over 30 ft. I am fishing down to 50 ft at times. A lot of time that point where you can no longer see a white lure on the bottom is where they are. Don't forget shading pockets formed by boulders, but the high percentage spots are 45 degree chunk rock banks...rocks the size of oranges to small melons. A little later in the year they may be up marauding on the flats in wolf pack schools. I haven't seen that yet in the lower basin.
OK...I gotta say something about that 10" power worm on a jig head. You are swinging for the fences. That setup could be good but a little later in the year and rig it shaky head style so its weedless. Right now I would not give that lure as much time as a juicy jig, a senko, a dropshot or a Texas rigged worm with a glass bead or a crankbait. If you had fish located then you might consider tying one of those on and going for the Kicker fish. A good alternative is a 3/16 oz. darter head with a 5" Kalins or Yamamoto grub. Swim it and drop it into holes. Add a little crazy glue to keep the grub on the darter head.
That first main point is a spawning flat but with the water dropping the bass may not be on it...except to feed. It is shallower to the north (where the boats zoom by) and as you remarked falls off steep on the south side.
Breaking out your bass fishing textbook...remember it is known bass follow a path up onto a flat. Rock to rock or bush or some other object cause they are object oriented. You would have to wade a bit to reach the entry point where they come on the flat...probably in about 25 ft of water right now. That's unreachable without a big stick so if you throw a few casts and don't hook up then move on. They are not there right now. They could be there first thing in the morning, mid day or late at night.
Going into that bigger cove you show on your map, I'd bet you a doughnut there are some shad in there; surely some baby bass. You could drop shot that steep shore you fished, effectively to see if they are deep. Cast out as far as you can, feed out slack and wait for your line to go slack. You are on the bottom. Let it sit there. One thousand, 2 thousand, 3 thousand, 4 thousand for starters. If a bass is in the vicinity he is eyeballing your worm right now. The current is moving your worm for you. Slack your line a bit then pick it up till you feel the sinker move (that will "pop" your worm). Slack again and then stroke the rod upwards to lift the weight up off the deck and bring it uphill, slack the line a little, then let it sit again. 1,2,3,4,5..Repeat. some people shake the worm without moving the weight (they would use 3/8 oz for this). That takes a bit of practice, but you know, it may be how they want it. Really tough to do fishing uphill from shore without donating to the tackle gods. Hint: bend the drop shot sinker into a soft curve and it will get through rocks easier.
In the back of the big cove ( I would consider it low percentage place, but worth a few tries) you can cast to some brush piles and some huge boulders. I'd use a Senko here. Bluegill and baby bass country...A week or so from now I'd try a popper in low light or even a frog. Throw out a medium distance and let it sink on a slack line. If you keep a tight line it won't vibrate like the designer intended. Still I believe there is no wrong way to fish one. Let it sink till your line goes slack and then lift the rod to 11:00 and lower as your reel in a bit of the slack. When you are reeling in (spinning rod) you can have your hand fingering the line...Then you feel the bite and also keeps loops out of your spool. Wait...1,2,3,4,5. Lift your lure again- let it sink and flutter down. Once you feel you are out of the strike zone don't waste time fishing dead water.
Ideally there should always be a sag in your line as it enters the water. Watch that spot for anything un-natural. a tick...it moves to the side, a little jump, you lose contact with the bait...That fish doesn't have hands!. you just got bit.
We are not getting the aggressive strikes all the time that we were getting during the spawn. now the pick up can be much more subtle as the bass suck it in...you almost feel nothing or like a baby bluegill is pecking at it. Point the rod, bow to the fish, reel in some slack....Remember Swings are Free!
Now you get to the main lake secondary point you did not get to last time.
I consider this a high percentage area. After scrambling to where I was going to cast, I'd rest the area a few minutes. Fish it carefully first with a senko near shore and I mean in 15 ft to 0 feet. Then if the water is calm to 25 ft. One presentation might take 3 to 5 minutes if you are going deep. Walk that senko back up from the depths and if you do things right and a bass is around you are going to get bit. From his viewpoint as the bait target gets shallower there are fewer and fewer places for the prey to escape, but he also has to make a decision to commit in coming shallow because he has to adjust his swim bladder. In between movements you can feel the line in your hand perhaps. I hold my baitcaster in such a way my fingers are always in contact with the line. Play a game...you are only allowed 7 presentations from this spot. ...make each one count. then it's time to move.
From that one spot I'd be throwing from parallel to shore to a far out as I could. These smallies sometimes suspend over deeper spots and wait to ambush baitfish. They will also during high sun use the submerged rock shade for cover. You never see them till they move.
No bite there then begin to move south down the rocky shoreline. You got 300 yards of prime territory. Here you can change it up depending on your inclination...cranks, drop shot, bullet weight and standard worm, jig or even the senko thrown parallel to shore - 15 to 20 ft off shore in front of your direction of travel. The hollow body swimbait, I start out slow retrieve...just enough for some tail action and fish by letting it sink between pulls so it looks like struggling shad. Stealth is key here as grinding rocks together or dropping stuff in the water is not natural...even the sheep seldom do it.
Stripers hang out there usually deeper than you can reach shore fishing...except if they surface chasing shad schools. You see them boiling. .
On that shore the brush line ends with dropping water now about 27 ft. A lot of bigger fish hang on the deep side of the brush line. To get feel for that thrown off shore as far as you can and bring a worm rig uphill till you feel yourself hit the brush. use the Bill Murphy "stitching technique" to feel the wood out. There is no substitute for learning the place and that takes time to identify the better zones. I taught my friend how to fish and she went 13 times before she caught anything...it's that hard a lake.. Then she fished everything on her dropshot wrong and kicked my ass with the biggest bass of the season. .
Generally ...if it's calm to 10 mph winds...slow dooooown. if it's windy and frothy with waves slapping the shore be throwing your crank bait and burning it. Or fish the spook or pointer or Rebel jumping shad. That wave action starts a current and the fish will face into it. Cast accordingly. Similarly when the engineers begin a run water through the dam a current is present along that shore and the fish face east.
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The bass are seldom threatened by the stripers, in fact when the stripers are tearing up the surface killing shad, bass...big bass ...will hang out underneath them and pick off the easy meals.
Right now - this time of year...I am catching bass from 2 ft in brush to over 30 ft. I am fishing down to 50 ft at times. A lot of time that point where you can no longer see a white lure on the bottom is where they are. Don't forget shading pockets formed by boulders, but the high percentage spots are 45 degree chunk rock banks...rocks the size of oranges to small melons. A little later in the year they may be up marauding on the flats in wolf pack schools. I haven't seen that yet in the lower basin.
OK...I gotta say something about that 10" power worm on a jig head. You are swinging for the fences. That setup could be good but a little later in the year and rig it shaky head style so its weedless. Right now I would not give that lure as much time as a juicy jig, a senko, a dropshot or a Texas rigged worm with a glass bead or a crankbait. If you had fish located then you might consider tying one of those on and going for the Kicker fish. A good alternative is a 3/16 oz. darter head with a 5" Kalins or Yamamoto grub. Swim it and drop it into holes. Add a little crazy glue to keep the grub on the darter head.
That first main point is a spawning flat but with the water dropping the bass may not be on it...except to feed. It is shallower to the north (where the boats zoom by) and as you remarked falls off steep on the south side.
Breaking out your bass fishing textbook...remember it is known bass follow a path up onto a flat. Rock to rock or bush or some other object cause they are object oriented. You would have to wade a bit to reach the entry point where they come on the flat...probably in about 25 ft of water right now. That's unreachable without a big stick so if you throw a few casts and don't hook up then move on. They are not there right now. They could be there first thing in the morning, mid day or late at night.
Going into that bigger cove you show on your map, I'd bet you a doughnut there are some shad in there; surely some baby bass. You could drop shot that steep shore you fished, effectively to see if they are deep. Cast out as far as you can, feed out slack and wait for your line to go slack. You are on the bottom. Let it sit there. One thousand, 2 thousand, 3 thousand, 4 thousand for starters. If a bass is in the vicinity he is eyeballing your worm right now. The current is moving your worm for you. Slack your line a bit then pick it up till you feel the sinker move (that will "pop" your worm). Slack again and then stroke the rod upwards to lift the weight up off the deck and bring it uphill, slack the line a little, then let it sit again. 1,2,3,4,5..Repeat. some people shake the worm without moving the weight (they would use 3/8 oz for this). That takes a bit of practice, but you know, it may be how they want it. Really tough to do fishing uphill from shore without donating to the tackle gods. Hint: bend the drop shot sinker into a soft curve and it will get through rocks easier.
In the back of the big cove ( I would consider it low percentage place, but worth a few tries) you can cast to some brush piles and some huge boulders. I'd use a Senko here. Bluegill and baby bass country...A week or so from now I'd try a popper in low light or even a frog. Throw out a medium distance and let it sink on a slack line. If you keep a tight line it won't vibrate like the designer intended. Still I believe there is no wrong way to fish one. Let it sink till your line goes slack and then lift the rod to 11:00 and lower as your reel in a bit of the slack. When you are reeling in (spinning rod) you can have your hand fingering the line...Then you feel the bite and also keeps loops out of your spool. Wait...1,2,3,4,5. Lift your lure again- let it sink and flutter down. Once you feel you are out of the strike zone don't waste time fishing dead water.
Ideally there should always be a sag in your line as it enters the water. Watch that spot for anything un-natural. a tick...it moves to the side, a little jump, you lose contact with the bait...That fish doesn't have hands!. you just got bit.
We are not getting the aggressive strikes all the time that we were getting during the spawn. now the pick up can be much more subtle as the bass suck it in...you almost feel nothing or like a baby bluegill is pecking at it. Point the rod, bow to the fish, reel in some slack....Remember Swings are Free!
Now you get to the main lake secondary point you did not get to last time.
I consider this a high percentage area. After scrambling to where I was going to cast, I'd rest the area a few minutes. Fish it carefully first with a senko near shore and I mean in 15 ft to 0 feet. Then if the water is calm to 25 ft. One presentation might take 3 to 5 minutes if you are going deep. Walk that senko back up from the depths and if you do things right and a bass is around you are going to get bit. From his viewpoint as the bait target gets shallower there are fewer and fewer places for the prey to escape, but he also has to make a decision to commit in coming shallow because he has to adjust his swim bladder. In between movements you can feel the line in your hand perhaps. I hold my baitcaster in such a way my fingers are always in contact with the line. Play a game...you are only allowed 7 presentations from this spot. ...make each one count. then it's time to move.
From that one spot I'd be throwing from parallel to shore to a far out as I could. These smallies sometimes suspend over deeper spots and wait to ambush baitfish. They will also during high sun use the submerged rock shade for cover. You never see them till they move.
No bite there then begin to move south down the rocky shoreline. You got 300 yards of prime territory. Here you can change it up depending on your inclination...cranks, drop shot, bullet weight and standard worm, jig or even the senko thrown parallel to shore - 15 to 20 ft off shore in front of your direction of travel. The hollow body swimbait, I start out slow retrieve...just enough for some tail action and fish by letting it sink between pulls so it looks like struggling shad. Stealth is key here as grinding rocks together or dropping stuff in the water is not natural...even the sheep seldom do it.
Stripers hang out there usually deeper than you can reach shore fishing...except if they surface chasing shad schools. You see them boiling. .
On that shore the brush line ends with dropping water now about 27 ft. A lot of bigger fish hang on the deep side of the brush line. To get feel for that thrown off shore as far as you can and bring a worm rig uphill till you feel yourself hit the brush. use the Bill Murphy "stitching technique" to feel the wood out. There is no substitute for learning the place and that takes time to identify the better zones. I taught my friend how to fish and she went 13 times before she caught anything...it's that hard a lake.. Then she fished everything on her dropshot wrong and kicked my ass with the biggest bass of the season. .
Generally ...if it's calm to 10 mph winds...slow dooooown. if it's windy and frothy with waves slapping the shore be throwing your crank bait and burning it. Or fish the spook or pointer or Rebel jumping shad. That wave action starts a current and the fish will face into it. Cast accordingly. Similarly when the engineers begin a run water through the dam a current is present along that shore and the fish face east.
Megastrike: [url "http://www.megastrike.com/#%21products"]http://www.megastrike.com/#!products[/url]
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