So, I went to the local reservoir on Sunday for a few hours, casting from shore. The main vegetation in the lake at this point seems to be these thick, brown stems that are hollow in the middle and love to steal lures. I lost my brand new jerkbait and a damiki marusin jighead with a rage chunk on it. As soon as there is an exposed hook the stems steal your lure. The whole lake is like this. I don't really feel a drop-off in my casting range. There is a dam that I didn't get to fish the tailrace of, do you think that's where they are hiding? I'm rather limited in winter as a shore fisherman. Please help! I'm hopefully getting a blow-up kayak boat with pontoons for christmas so I wont be as limited as I have been in the past. Do you have any suggestions for fishing this lake? So, it has a chunky rock bottom and those d**n stem weeds.

How recently did that area die off? If it was recent, the water in that area may be starved for oxygen. Happens in lakes with grass and pads in my neck of the woods.

No idea. I haven't been there in maybe two years.

Are the weeds along the shoreline or in the water? We have lots of lakes with weeds along the shore and into water up to about 3 or 4 feet deep called water willow. The stuff is very tough if you snag in them and I find tons of baits snagged in them. Dams are one of my favorite place to bank fish in the winter. The rocks warm the water and algae grows on the rocks that attracts small fish and crawdads that the bass come to eat. Just make sure you fish slow. Pretty much everything a bass is going to eat during the winter is cold blooded and will be moving very slowly so move your bait slow to look natural.

I remember reading somewhere that when a tree falls in the water that the fish will stay away from it for a while until all of the chemicals in the tree have dissipated. Maybe the same thing is happening when the plants die off.

if there is a academy store nearby wait for the sale and buy a Mettle baitcasting reel for 29.99.... Take my word for it- it will cast unbelievable distances... and this should help get the lure out to the fish...

It's their in house brand but it has 10 bb and feels very similar to the revo stx to me...