above ground!

BTwizy · Post by **BTwizy** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:39 pm

I have been fishing an above ground resivoir... Its perfectly round....absolutly no structure at all... nothing... I was wondering if u guys had any tips for fishing such a place. I apreciate any help u guys can give me...

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Tue May 06, 2008 7:20 pm

Hi BT,

How big is this place? Is there any weed? There is a natural lake I fish that is like what you are explaining and the bass are difficult to locate. Two immediate things I could recommend:

1: Look for changes in the bottom composition (i.e. Soft to hard bottom, etc.)
2: Fish the depth changes (First drop off, second drop off). If there are no major contour changes, you'll still find bass hanging at a certain depth. So you can start shallow and work out into deeper water until you connect. Once you catch a fish, take note of the depth that fish was caught in and focus on that depth range.

Let me know if you have a few more details about this reservoir?

Thanks,
Brendan

TableRockGuide · Post by **TableRockGuide** » Tue May 06, 2008 7:34 pm

BTwizy, I would look for any structure I could find, even down to the rocks on the bottom, break lines of depth anything that would change that contour of the bottom or sides. May take a little time to look over but it will pay off. Even if you have to walk around the lake looking for creeks or any inflow water source or even ditches that may go into the lake will pay off.

Next is there any type of food, like bait fish, sunfish, crawdads, lizards in this impoundment?? This will tell me if they are feeding on bottom or can they suspend and eat. That will tell me which bait I would need to use. Bottom baits like texas rigged worms and jigs or suspended baits like spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits ect..

If you can give me alittle more information on this mystery lake we can put together a starting pattern for you..

Good Fishing

Capt. Don

BTwizy · Post by **BTwizy** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:10 pm

Wow thanks guys for the feedback! Ok heres what I got, Its a man made resivoir which rises up in the air. Its made up of fist sized rocks. I cant seem to make a link work but here is a websight with a map!

Link to Lake Maps

Im fishing Riley if u guys look.
There is absolutly no trees....weeds......I mean absolutly nothing. U cannot put a boat in the water.... I guess what I need is a better understanding of what fish will do in a place like this. Do they continually swim? do they sit? I have caught some big bass on crankbaits but I put alot of hours on the water. I mean yes I have fun but Im somewhat new to bass fishing and cant help but feel that a few tricks could really improve my productivity
As far as food goes Ive seen thousands of crawdads at night. I also belive thats its about a mile and a half walk around the resivoir

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:56 pm

I fixed the link to the map of Riley in your post. Just out of curiosity why did you choose Riley and not the other two lakes to fish? Reservoir #4 looks like they put a lot of time into improving the habitat. They have added plenty of structure. It has nice flats with structure on them with some very nice breaks and drop-offs into deep water.

For Riley, if it has lots of crawfish, I would try fishing a jig and craw trailer... Those fish will roam a lot, but finding "any" structure will be key... a small rock pile will hold fish. In smaller lakes, ponds and impoundments, it is important to remember that the biggest bass are the most dominant and will occupy the best cover and structure available. One of the best tools you can use for finding structure and cover is a Carolina rig and it will catch big fish. Try dragging a Zoom “Baby Brush Hog” across that big flat in the south end of the lake. After working that flat, move to the breaks on either side of the flat (the contour map shows one on the west shoreline at the deep point in front of the 25’ hole and the other break where the lake turns north in the southeast corner of the lake). Try using a ¾ or 1 oz. egg sinker on your Carolina rig. This will allow you to make really long casts, get to the bottom quickly and cover water faster than if you are using a lighter weight. The trick with the Carolina Rig is to stop dragging the rig when you make contact with “anything”. Now you’ll want to slowly finesse the rig through whatever cover you have just found.

Looking forward to hearing back from you…

Brendan

BTwizy · Post by **BTwizy** » Wed May 07, 2008 4:50 pm

Man I cant tell you guys how much I appreciate the help. Anyways the problem is I do not have access to a boat as of yet. Reservoir 4 would be perfect with a boat...Unfortuanatly the shore is made up of huge rocks which is very uncomfortable at best. Plus it is surrounded by corn fields which offer little resistance to wind. Those spots on the map puts me directly in the wind which can wip through pretty good. I fish Riley for purly selfish (My comfort) reasons lol.

Oh and thank you guys so much for the advise, I'am going to impliment that carolina rig asap and will fill u guys in. Im not too sure on what the breaks are on the contour map but I defently see the flat... I actually do all my fishing on the opposite side....

Something I forgot too put in...at that big curve on the south shore right at the tip there is a little cement fixture that juts into the water..for the past 2 years during spawn Ive seen anywhere from 5 to 10 NICE bass just sitting around it. When I see that I know the spawn is on! At least thats what I think is happening. It is the only piece of structure that even remotly goes out in the water. Ive never gotten them to hit though...

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Wed May 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Here are the breaks I was talking about:

Not sure if you noticed on the full size map, but the NORTH is the left side of the map and SOUTH is the right side of the map. Making EAST the Top and WEST the bottom...

I should have rotated the piture... Ah, just turn your head to the left when you look at the picture! lol

johnnie crain outdoors · Thu May 08, 2008 6:38 am

Good job of breaking down this so called lake. We have a lot of featureless lakes in Iowa too, and they are tough. For Riley, I'd opt for the North shoreline to take advantage of all the breaklines and work it top to bottom. I'd use a lot of Green/ brown and orange color baits to simulate a crawfish. Also, fish where the wind is blowing into the banks stirring up the bottom. It's hard fishing into the wind, but often it really pays off. If allowed, you should fish this lake after dark-maybe some big olke bass on a jig and pig or over-sized worm? Good luck, Johnnie

BTwizy · Post by **BTwizy** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:53 pm

Yeah that north shore is where I do most of my fishing. Its amazing what that guy did with that map. Im so glad Ive found this sight. I have been chuckin crank baits on this sight for two years strait.. Gotta love them crankk baits...but u guys are really opening up my eyes to alot of possibilities(I have never even thought of hitting it at night) I can tell Ima have alot of fun this summer gettin out there and workin it.

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:51 pm

One other thing I noticed... take a look at this satellite image from google. It looks like you have a nice deep cut in the southeast corner: