Deep, Deep Water

JoeM · Post by **JoeM** » Fri Nov 02, 2001 5:50 pm

About 6 month's ago another website produced a long thread of probably 30 plus posts on the subject "What is the deepest water you have caught bass?"

The answers were intriguing to say the least. Depending on what section of the country, depths ran from just over 10 ft. to the 100 ft. mark.

Now this isn't a race to see who can get the deepest. All we're trying to do is establish some ideas as to how to successfully locate and catch bass in the netherworld of deep water.

Until I fished with one of the BassinUSA Pro Staffers at the St. Lawrence River 3 years ago, my deepest bass came from 18 or 19 ft. at Amawalk Res.

Prefishing, we found fish between 40 and 50 ft. down. My partner Dan started catching them almost immediately. I did poorly at best and I came away happy that I wouldn't have to go through that scenario again.

Little did I realize that my boater for the 2nd day of the tourney had located good fish
in even deeper water. At the partner draw he would only say that we would catch fish. I felt like I was going on a Delta Force Mission; it was so secret. Anyhow, once I got on his boat and was far enough from my team mates, my partner explained where, how deep and with what we would catch them. I looked at him with a jaundiced eye and had visions of an empty livewell.

By the end of the day we had subdued 9 keepers on dark green pumpkin pepper tubes using 1/8th oz. jig heads inside.
Every fish caught came from 50' to 60'depths.
I had to cast in the direction the drift took me in order to have any feel of the tube. Didn't bother my partner. He fished all over. He limited early while I struggled to get 4 decent bass. To this day I can't believe that I caught them that deep.

I realize this is long-winded. But, it was a deep subject. That's why. lol
JoeM

JoeM · Post by **JoeM** » Tue Nov 13, 2001 4:33 am

Guys- I'm really surprised that none of you picked up on this deep water subject. As I said, this isn't a contest.
Speaking of deep water, I had to resort to C-rigging up at Candlewood back in late September. Around the 20 ft. mark, I could feel my weight bumping into all sorts of hard things down there. Is the "R" word correct to describe what I was feeling? Or would that be some of those old roadways and foundations? On really tough days, I was able to scratch out some decent (not big) bass.
C'mon, give me some answers. The Moderator doesn't like to be ignored. lol
JoeM

SMbass · Post by **SMbass** » Tue Nov 13, 2001 11:08 pm

I have never really fished more than 30ft of water, for I feel I am most effective and can cover more water by fishing shallower, but not shallow. Carolina rigs are a great deep water rig, especially to help the angler get a better mental image of the structure below. C-rigs are great at Candlewood and Mahopac. How does one determine the difference from rocks, road beds and foundations, has to do more with looking at your electronics, than feeling the bottom with the rig. Foundations at Candlewood tend to rise 2-4 feet off the bottom and is noticeable on electronics. Road beds are easy to find at Candlewood, as most have stone walls on each side of them, which come about 2-3 feet off the bottom, and usually have a small trench next to them (between the stone wall and actual road bed), caused by rain run-off when the roads where above water. A C-rig can tell an angler where there is a change in bottom composition, a key factor in catching bass. Bass like edges, whether it is a weed edge in 5' of water, or a composition edge in 20' of water. Mahopac is a text book place for one to hone his skills with this. Most of the bottom is basketball size rock. Mixed in with that is spots of just pea gravel, which is fairly easy to detect with a C-rig. The bass use these "gravel" spots to feed. Find one of those spots and it is not uncommon to catch several bass from it, on several consecutive casts. A C-rig may not always be the most productive lure to use, but in my opinion it is the best bait to get a mental image of the structure, allowing you to fish other lures more effectively.

JoeM · Post by **JoeM** » Wed Nov 14, 2001 1:11 am

Tim- Great post. Very informative. As I said, I was not sure if these hard areas were foundations, roadways or individual rocks. Now you've added the idea of rock
walls paralleling the roadbeds. That hadn't occured to me. Needless to say, I will try to be more aware of that fact when I get out there next year.
I was using about a 3/4 oz. egg sinker. Do you advocate a heavier weight as a better tool for determining what is down there? I'd be very interested in what you would suggest.
Thanks. It's extremely helpful. JoeM

SMbass · Post by **SMbass** » Thu Nov 15, 2001 11:41 pm

Joe--I usually use a 1/2oz egg sinker as long as the wind and wave action is minimal. I like the lighter sinker for several reasons. First, the lighter sinker crawls over the rocks better without wedging into them. Second, the light weight allows me to feel strikes better. Third, the lighter weight allows the lure of choice to be more natural by not impeeding the action. If the wind and wave action makes it hard to control the boat, or if the water is deeper than 18ft, i will use a 3/4 or 1oz weight, so that the rig remains in contact with the structure at all times. As far as determining what you are feeling, i can offer general statements. Road beds are usually smooth with little debris and very small pebbles. When dragging the rig through the road bed, you will only feed the occasion slight bump as the sinker contacts the pebbble, which is probably the same size. Another clue that its a road bed, is a slight drop off or stone wall which is easily detected. The best way to really determine what is under the water is by taking your C-rig on land. You can see what is on the land, such as a road bed, sandy area, or big boulders. Drag your rig over different composition on land, but close your eyes, so your body is trained to feel rather than see. You can feel the difference between each one, as they all have a slighlty different feel. When you are comfortable with each, go back on the lake. Now, when you feel your rig drag over what you think is a sand spot, you are probably right. you have trained your mind to associate certain compositions with certain feelings. Sorry for the long winded answer, I am getting excited about going to Florida to fish B.A.S.S. at the end of this month. I cant wait

JoeM · Post by **JoeM** » Sun Nov 18, 2001 5:56 pm

Tim- I will post more of a response about this subject a bit later (after I try a few things out in my lake.)

I do want to wish you the best in the B.A.S.S. Invitationals. Which lake in FL?
Kissimmee or Big O?

Go for it. In the spirit of Bryan Kerchal, you can do it and do it well. I'm sure everybody at BassinUSA will be pulling for you. Bass Wishes, JoeM

SMbass · Post by **SMbass** » Tue Nov 20, 2001 3:20 am

Thanks for you wishes Joe. The support means a lot I'll be fishing the St. John's River, should be fun. And to make it even better, the second day of the tournament is my 24th birthday. Guess what I'm wishing for as a present?
Tim