I fish in a small bass club and I mean small, about 6 active members. We are going to be fishing a small river lake this month and I have never had much luck there. The lake is full of lillypads, some grass lots of boat docks and boat traffic to go with it the water flow in the lake is very slow. We have fished this lake hitting the available structure with little success. I have used mostly worms from 7" down to 4" and assorted crank and spinner baits. This lake was severly flooded about a year ago and a massive cleanup was conducted to remove most or all of the debris since there is a lot of skiers. About the only thing I have not tried are tubes and grubs.
What would you guys be trying; any advice would be very helpfull.
Thanks
Help on small river lakes
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
Help on small river lakes
Hello Fishingfool,
Thanks for stopping in. I would recommend picking a smaller soft plastic that you have confidence in (3" tube or grub, or a 4" worm) and spend your practice time covering as much water as possible while searching for active fish. When you connect with a fish, slow down and work the area thoroughly.
Have you tried to break down the lake/river into areas? For example, it has grass, but what grassy area has the most potential to hold fish? Same goes for the docks and lily pads. Personally, I would be looking for areas that have all 3 types of cover you mentioned present.
Do you have a good contour map of this place? You can eliminate a lot of areas before you even get to the lake.
I don't think the problem is "what" you are throwing, I think it may be "where" you are throwing it?
Help us help you... any more info you have will make it easier for us to point you in the right direction.
Hope to hear back from you soon.
Brendan
Thanks for stopping in. I would recommend picking a smaller soft plastic that you have confidence in (3" tube or grub, or a 4" worm) and spend your practice time covering as much water as possible while searching for active fish. When you connect with a fish, slow down and work the area thoroughly.
Have you tried to break down the lake/river into areas? For example, it has grass, but what grassy area has the most potential to hold fish? Same goes for the docks and lily pads. Personally, I would be looking for areas that have all 3 types of cover you mentioned present.
Do you have a good contour map of this place? You can eliminate a lot of areas before you even get to the lake.
I don't think the problem is "what" you are throwing, I think it may be "where" you are throwing it?
Help us help you... any more info you have will make it easier for us to point you in the right direction.
Hope to hear back from you soon.
Brendan
Brendan C.
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johnnie crain outdoors
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2002 5:00 pm
Help on small river lakes
FishinFool,
Brendan has offered some good advice, it's a little hard to toss three to four inch baits, but they do work. A 3-4 inch tube might be the answer. Since you mentioned the lake/river is covered with lily pads, weeds and docks, have you tried to find areas with very little cover, like a single stump or fallen trees, rocks or brushpiles? These may be the key to fishing that lake. When there is too much structure, no structure may be the best structure. Learned that from Al Lindner a few years ago. Try some sparce cover areas, you may do well. Keep in touch. Johnnie
Brendan has offered some good advice, it's a little hard to toss three to four inch baits, but they do work. A 3-4 inch tube might be the answer. Since you mentioned the lake/river is covered with lily pads, weeds and docks, have you tried to find areas with very little cover, like a single stump or fallen trees, rocks or brushpiles? These may be the key to fishing that lake. When there is too much structure, no structure may be the best structure. Learned that from Al Lindner a few years ago. Try some sparce cover areas, you may do well. Keep in touch. Johnnie
Johnnie Crain