Bass_junky

This is an interesting topic. I may be a bit confused, so please correct me. I have read in many articles that draw downs put the fish on the move. Maybe this is why some people have issues re-locatig the fish. One of the many lakes I fish is a reservoir. It is river feed & fluctuates with the power demand. When the flood gates opens the lake will typically drop 1-5 ft. For this particular lake this is what we wait for. It seems to put the bass on the bite due to the forage relocating. We fish deeper points/structures on the downside of the flow. We have found this is where the bass will move to and wait to ambush their prey. Depth typically fished when the reservoir is being drawn down is 10-15ft.

dotz, Can you tell us is this a natural lake, man made lake (reservoir), or TVA (power generation) or flood controlled lake? These different lakes would be a contributing factor on what approach to take when the water receeds.

I think if we all followed this advice we would spend more time landing fish, then thinking about tying on a different lure or color. If I may ad one tip that I have found extremely useful, especially in waters that we only get to on occasion. Here it is: First this idea is from a article I read in Bass Times. I take a crawdad/minnow trap when i get to a lake that time does not permit me to fish often. I place the trap in a good location, come back in 1-2 hrs or overnight, check the trap. What this will tell you is what type of forage, so you can match the color. The biggest help I have found in doing this is seeing the color of the crawdad. I have read several articles referencing crawdad colors. It is stated that they do change colors according to the moon phase. I am going to document my findings this year and see If i can establish a pattern.

Roadwarrior, I guess this would depend on your location more than anything. One particular reservoir I fish, the dam does have deeper water. If you travel away from the dam about 1/4 mile it has 10-14ft flats that I know factually bass will move up during the pre-spawn to these flats. This is where I catch bedding bass "first". They seem to spawn first in this area.

Alan & Bassmaster, I should clarify my response regarding lower end (northend). The statement I made I was referring to man-made reservoirs. If the river is dammed. The dam end would be the lower end and the river entrance to the lake would be the upper end (southend). This terminology is referencing the river flow. I may be wrong but the northern end of the lake would warm the quickest after winter. But this is due to the wind direction coming from the south. Wouldn't it make sense that the wind is pushing the top layer of water towards the north end and warm water temps first? Sorry for the confusion.

I make my own spinner baits, buzz baits both in-line and safety pin style, & jigs. Why several reasons, 1) I won't fish through the 3ft of ice during wintertime. 2) I prefer to use hair vs. silicon/rubber skirts in spring time. This gives the bait a slower fall. 4) I like to take my bag of bucktails, maribu & tinsel with me so i am certain I can match what the bass want 3) I like to listen to my wife razz me over the mess I make.....

Bass will spawn in different part of the lakes at different times. Also, usually the largest females will spawn first. Then it goes down. Typically, the spawning duration in a large lake can be 3-5 weeks. Remember, fish the lower end first for spawners, when the numbers start declining work your way to the upper end.

Fisher 18 pro avenger - 19' lg. - welded Aluminum 135 optimax - 58-62 mph top end speed (depends on load) Laser II Prop 6" Jackplate Lowrance - front and back 136df Aqua-Vu - worth the money Megallen GPS Platnum

Well, this topic has stirred multiple responses. I have owned both at one time or another. Anybody stating that Aluminum are rougher in the water hasn't taken a ride in the newer aluminums. Now, I am talking about semi-v's or Modified V's for aluminum. Besides the ease of care with aluminum, nobody has mentioned top end speed. Being aluminum is lighter, your top end speed could be the same as a glass boat. The difference would be the glass boat could have a 150hp and the aluminum a 135hp. The aluminum will have higher top end speed for less cost. Most aluminum are sound proofed now. So that is not a issue anymore. MY only issue is with painted aluminum. It will scratch right down to the metal. Wind is a consideration also being as aluminum is lighter and sets higher in the water. Use a chute to control this movement.

Everyone has sounds ideas on loading/unloading. But I am a hillbilly . I have a 19' alum. fish/ski. I use my trailer wheel fenders as a guide to stop backing up. Wehn by myself, I put my truck in park with emergency brake on. I disconnect the wench strap, climb up into the boat start the engine and power off the trailer. Then i tie up to the dock, park the truck. Takes me about 3 min's start to finish. I never get my feet wet. Knock on wood, lol. When i load by myself, I power onto the trailer as well. Walk the trailer and secure the wench strap, tighten her up and pull out.

Sounds like you are picking up cavitation. See if the transducer is mounted directly in front of a rib on the bottom of the boat. If you have mounted the transducer per instructions check the following. Adjust the angle of the transducer to fine tune it. Every transducer has a specific angle for specific boat model, which will perform best.

Cold Water above 50 deg or below? I am fond of jerkbaits & plastics when water is approx. 48-52 deg. in the N.W. My only advice is to remember the bass will be moving back and forth from approx. 12-15ft of water up to the coves. Find the trenches using your electronics and follow them (casting of course)up to the coves/bays. The most important factor I have found is the time of the day the bass decide to move up. You can fish a spot for two hours not catch the first one. When the temp's are right the bass will move up then back to the depths. So hit a spot several times a day if you think they will be there. Also remember when water temp's reach 50 deg's the crawdads expose themselves. Try crawdad colors.

I currently use the Megellan Platinum. I do not believe I could be happier with another unit, especially if you have fat fingers. It gives me all the data I need, including current barometer, most active time of day for fishing hunting, everthing can be uploaded or downloaded. I would offer a word of caution though, check Navionics for lake topo's website before you purchase this software. Seems they are a bit bias against us N.W bass fisherman. Not all lakes are in this database and you should check before you spend that kind of cash. Food for thought.

Trojans are the best bang for the buck!!!