9 replies to this topic

[HookSetDon]

Heres a spot I was fishing two weeks ago when the water temperature was still in the low to mid 70s, Id pull up on this spot and in a couple hours limit out on a decent bag of fish. I focused on casting to the rocks which created an opening surrounded by the grass on the shallow top of the hump. Long casts with weightless plastics, letting them soak until a fish picked it up, all quality fish 3 lbs +

Last weekend I went to the spot around 2 pm when water temperature was around 82 fishing the same way and had no luck. This looked like such a productive pattern before Im trying to figure out why its not working now. With the increase in water temp I'm starting to guess if they backed off the shallow flat and back into the deeper water. I tried fishing the area around 10-16' but couldnt get a bite. Im going back out this weekend and plan on going to that spot early to see if theyll be up there since the water should be cooler and hopefully the fish more active.

what would your approach be?

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[Crestliner2008]

Scout around in deeper water. Use your sonar. Locate likely structures with bait on it. They should be there. Start probing after the first break, out to deepest water. Focus on points or humps in that area. If you happen on a hump with bait, put a drop shot down there and see what happens.

[Nitrofreak]

Scout around in deeper water. Use your sonar. Locate likely structures with bait on it. They should be there. Start probing after the first break, out to deepest water. Focus on points or humps in that area. If you happen on a hump with bait, put a drop shot down there and see what happens.

X2

Nice post and great advice, one other thing to keep in mind, it takes time for the fish to adjust to major depth changes, so they could be in the same depth range just somewhere other than that location, a larger fish with bigger teeth could have roamed around that area and scattered the school, or any number of things for that matter.

[HookSetDon]

thanks guys, thats what I should have done, rather than just aimlessly casting deeper water.. use the sonar to find a hump or point deeper where they could be holding.

Hopefully it was a toothy fish that came by to scatter them, pike and musky in the lake too just havent caught any in that particular area but they could definetly have been crusing there.

[GOOCHY]

They seem to be out deeper where it's a little cooler and there's more dissolved oxygen. The shallows are so hot right now in Iowa that I'm having a lot of trouble catching fish right now (shore fisherman).

[AK-NJ1986]

They seem to be out deeper where it's a little cooler and there's more dissolved oxygen. The shallows are so hot right now in Iowa that I'm having a lot of trouble catching fish right now (shore fisherman).

x2

And let me add it is so frustrating. When I was pullin them in left and right earlier in the season now I can't get a bite it's crazy

[WRB]

The fact you are fishing in Ontario Canada would indicate the bass are smallmouth? And the hump is a rocky reef? The weeds are conntail/cabbage? The water temperatures are surface measured from a TD?
Smallmouth move around a lot and are not a primary predator if musky & pike are in the same waters.
Bass, both SMB and LMB like cooler water about 70 degrees. Locate the depth the bait fish are holding. The bass have found another location where they can feed when prey fish are available and don't need to compete with the larger faster pike and musky or become their food source.
Tom

[HookSetDon]

the bass are largemouth on this particular spot, actually the lake has more largemouth than smallmouth. Your right with the rocky reef and the weeds look like cabbage yes. If by td you're implying transducer than your 2/3! Im going to need to do some combing of the area and hope I find a spot where the bait is and theyre relating to them.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted on how it goes this weekend.

[flippinbass]

The fact you are fishing in Ontario Canada would indicate the bass are smallmouth? And the hump is a rocky reef? The weeds are conntail/cabbage? The water temperatures are surface measured from a TD?
Smallmouth move around a lot and are not a primary predator if musky & pike are in the same waters.
Bass, both SMB and LMB like cooler water about 70 degrees. Locate the depth the bait fish are holding. The bass have found another location where they can feed when prey fish are available and don't need to compete with the larger faster pike and musky or become their food source.
Tom

Just because it's Ontario doesn't mean it's smallmouth haha ... we have just as healthy a population of largemouth!

[Junebugman]

Same up here in polk cty wisc its the hot weather! Last tournament the bass eere found in tbe middle of the lk mud bottom and rocks equal cooler water nothing on docks slop etc! Figure em out just like women!!!! Lol. Junebugman