aclark609

I fish a fairly deep, fairly clear reservoir. Average depth is about 75 feet and water temps are around 55 degrees as of present. Aquatic vegetation is nonexistent. I'm fairly new to lake fishing on my own since I just purchased my first boat and was wondering what the best approach would be for a successful day out on the water. I understand that in prespawn bass are looking to stage for the spawn on points, breaks, and whatever structure lies between their wintering hole and their spawning grounds, but there's lots of holes in my train of thought on just how exactly they do it. Do they travel a long distance from wintering holes to spawning grounds? Should I be focusing deep or shallow? How do they relate to channels if the main lake channel break ranges from 80-100 feet deep and the creek channel breaks range from 60-80 feet deep? Should I still focus on places where there is bends in the channel or points that drop into the channel if the breaks are that deep? My plan is to start fishing the points on the creek mouths and work my way back fishing likely (to my knowledge anyways) prespawn staging areas until I find fish. Is there a more logical method? Will the fish be schooled up or scattered out for the most part?

Screw that buzzbait. Jerkbait, jig and pig, or plastics with little action would be your best bet. Long pauses on the jerkbait. Fish the jig and pig around wood and let it sit on the bottom for a little while after it sinks and after every time you work it; same goes with the plastics. Water temps in that range are never too promising but usually the bites you DO get are big ones. If the water is muddy, you're in for some tough conditions and you can forget about the jerkbait. A single colorado blade spinnerbait worked from deep water to shallow water really slow would be a good choice as well. If you know any good wintering holes on your lake, a vertical presentation like a spoon or a drop shot would be my strategy if nothing else produced. Good Luck!

You can call me Inferno 3000

Terry Scroggins, Shaw Grigsby, or Edwin Evers. Those are my picks to win, and it would be awesome to marshall the winning boat and witness all of the excitement.

I agree with you on keeping smaller fish to weed out the competition for bigger fish in some lakes, but Kentucky Lake is known for its massive shad population, from what I've read and heard, so I don't think it would be a problem as much on that lake, but also, for a fish to grow to a massive size, it has to have the genetics as well as a prime food source that is readily available. The share lunker program would do wonders with that if everyone who caught a double digit bass would participate. Is the share lunker program still around?

Muddy water fishing to me is like night fishing. I like bulky baits worked slow as possible. Topwater paralleled right on the bank wouldn't be a bad idea either; muddy water fish generally prefer shallow water from my experience.

I definitely try to read a topo map of an area before I fish it. I look for points, ledges, channel swings, changes in bottom composition, or even a mixture of some or all of these. Doesn't mean there's fish there but it helps a lot.

I read the article on that. They said they are gonna run tests to see if it's Florida strain or Northern Strain. I've always wanted to believe we had Florida strain bass throughout the state but I've heard from some folks that we don't so I figure I'd post it. Thanks for the responses fellas. Anyone with any extra info feel free to chime in.

thanks man.

I know warm states like California, Texas, and of course Florida hold this strain of largemouth bass, but what about other states? I live in Northwest Arkansas and was wondering if anyone had any info on if they are here as well.

GYCB Hula Grub is a great bait that can be fished all year round. Tons of colors and will get bit when nothing else will. I can't hardly get my dad away from them. I've always fished them on a football jighead.

I'm in. Good luck to you all!!

It's kinda hard to advise you on what to do without knowing more about the river but here are a few key things that will definitely help. River Fish base almost their whole lives on current, especially smallmouth. Fish anything that causes a break in the current. These places are bass magnets because they allow an easy place for bass to ambush prey and the bass don't have to fight the current which means they don't have to expend as much energy. Fish tight to these areas. Fish in low light conditions. Be patient. Fish a lure you have confidence in.

Hahahahah . . . you know it!

I personally don't fish any natural lakes because there aren't any near my home. However, If there is any sort of flowing water that feeds into the lake, there will be a channel. Also if the lake is damned up at one end, when the d**n is turned on there will be a channel in that vicinity. That's my thoughts on it but if you're looking at a topo and don't see a defined channel, then there most likely isn't one significant enough to actually be considered a channel.

Thanks for the link man.

He sure can. I'm usually the type of guy that goes more for the underdog, but if you calculate how many times he's been in the money with how many tournaments he's fished, he blows almost everyone else out of the water. KVD is too legit to quit.

Downsize on your lure and line. Try fishing a very subtle lure with little action and the just the opposite as well to see how they respond. River bass, or any bass for that matter, during the middle of the day will hold tighter to cover with a smaller strike zone. Unless it's overcast or pretty windy. I'd go sublte or look for a reaction bite TIGHT to some cover or structure.

When a bass jumps the only thing that needs to happen to keep him pinned is keeping the line tight. When I feel one about to jump I will dip the rod down and pull hard to keep him from jumping. If the fish isn't too far away, it'll work almost every time. Just keep a good constant pressure on the fish and you won't lose him. Thats to say if you got a really good hookset on the fish in the first place.

Fish eddies and anything that breaks the current. These are the places where they can ambush food effectively without consuming a lot of energy. Also topwater is pretty effective in stained water if the water is warm enough. I've caught em' this time of the year on topwater. Don't let anyone tell you that it won't work.

Jerkin', Jiggin', and Topwater.

1. Rebel F30s in Gold and Black 2. Finesse Jig with curly tail trailer 3. Jackall I-shad on a shakey head 4. Tube 5. Jitterbug (Night time) Number one is really hard to find but a real treasure if you do. These baits are all I would ever need for river smallies. I guess I could also add the Zara Spook for covering water in the last hour of daylight. I've really slayed em' more than once with this line up.

I've snagged and even gotten large snapping turtles to bite my lures in a pond I used to fish. I really don't enjoy getting those hooks out of their mouths.

I live on the Arkansas/Missouri border. It's kind of outlawed in Missouri (3 hooks are allowed) but not outlawed in Arkansas. The lakes I fish run through both states so if I was going to throw it I'd have to be aware of which state I was in. I'd probably own one but wouldn't throw it unless I was having a terrible day and didn't want to leave empty handed.

Fishing Crooked Creek here in Northwest Arkansas. Seventeen inch smallmouth can be caught all day from this glorious creek.