Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

Thanks Johnnie for the advice, but let me add a few notes to my post. Even though the water is clear the nesting stumps are deep so you can't sight fish them, in fact, none of the lakes in Southern Il. can be sight fished. Chad Morgonthaler, who's on the tour and doing quite well, has said this area is tough, because you can't sight fish. I've never had any luck with Slugos, and by the time we're over the stump we are definitaly gonna spook the fish, so there's no dropping bait into the nest. Who knows what the weather and water temps will be April 2@3. My guess is they will be in prespawn, but where? The channel that runs the lake goes from sixty to thirty feet. Would they hold on drop offs not far from the channel, even though the channel is loaded with stumps and tree tops? My plan is to use white spinnerbaits, jigs, and goofy colored "senkos". After that, natural colored jigs. Note: I got Yamamoto's news letter who the guy who writes it (forgot his name) said the most important item in a jig was not the skirt color, but the trailor. He went on to say that plastic was better than pork for numbers, but pork could pull in few larger fish. ??? Thanks, Carl :rolleyes:

Carl, during the first week of April, the fish will be in shallow water even in extremely clear water. They need the warm sun rays to fully develope their eggs. This are the places and times to twitch the Slug-O-/senko type baits.
As for the submerged stumps, I recommend locating them with your depth finder, throw out some marker bouys, wait awhile and return to fish around the bouys. Seems like a deep diving clear or light shaded crankbait would be an excellent choice.
I wouldn't expect much from spinnerbaits in very clear water unless there is a lot of wave action. Spinner spook bass easily. If you do fish one, fish it fast. As for jig trailers, give me an old piece of pork any day. Pork rind, Eel or chunk all work well.
Don't forget Zara Spook type top water baits over those stumps. Those fish will come up over twenty feet in clear water to attack a slow moving, splashing top water. Don't give up, they are there-catch 'em. Johnnie

Once again thanks for the advice, and the time. Carl