Bass just stopped biting.....

I just started fishing this pass summer so I'm still very new. I generally fish(from bank) at a little 54 acre reservoir that's close by. All summer long in the heat I was fairly consistent at brining in some fish. Mainly on trick worms Texas/carolina rigged. Pretty much just open water fishing. I'd throw it about 30-40 yards drag it a bit and get a hit.

Now that fall is here I'm getting nothing. In about 80+ hours of fishing I got 2 1lb bass. I've thrown everything in my arsenal at them. Jigs, crankbaits, buzzbaits, spinners, swimbaits, frogs, poppers, you name it I've tossed it out there. I'm up north so the weather has cooled off a bit. It's been cloudy and around 65-70 degrees with the water temp sitting around 63-66. I think my main problem is not knowing where the bass are. Obviously I'm limited cause I'm bank fishing. The thing is there's not a lot of natural cover for the bass there. It's a oval lake some grass along the edges but the water is only about 6 inches where the grass is. There's no downed trees. Little shade, one small dock. I know when they started stocking the lake years ago they put PVC piping in for this fish to make a habitat but I'm not sure where they are placed I've look around can't find any info.

Any ideas would be great. Sorry the post is long but I wanted to give as much info as possible and I'm sure I missed something so if you need anymore information I'd be glad to answer.

Tell us what state you are in and maybe the local guys can help. As a general statement,

water temperature 63-66 calls for crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and maybe topwater

in low light.

Are you fishing the same spots you did in summer? Fall is a transition time between two stable seasons (summer and winter). Post a pic of the reservoir maybe? A topo map would be great.

Are you fishing the same spots you did in summer? Fall is a transition time between two stable seasons (summer and winter). Post a pic of the reservoir maybe? A topo map would be great.

 

I'm in PA, here is a link to the Lake on the fish and boat commission site, it's got a map and some pictures. http://fishandboat.com/water/lakes/briar_creek/00briar.htm

I've basically tried everywhere but the northwest corner.  It's raining the next couple of days so hopefully i'll get out this weekend and have better luck.

Kinda difficult to suggest spots without a topo map. I was hoping to see some points and stuff with the aerial, but apparently things are pretty subtle there. Or probably I don't have enough experience. Tell me this, have you tried covering some water near the creek (does it have an inflow now)? Is the north shore steeper than the southern one? How clear is the water? And where did you catch them in summer? Any isolated cover you can cast to?

I'm in PA, here is a link to the Lake on the fish and boat commission site, it's got a map and some pictures. http://fishandboat.com/water/lakes/briar_creek/00briar.htm

I've basically tried everywhere but the northwest corner.  It's raining the next couple of days so hopefully i'll get out this weekend and have better luck.

Did you even look at this?? Holy molly it pin points all the structure in the lake and includes the depth!!!

Did you even look at this?? Holy molly it pin points all the structure in the lake and includes the depth!!!

 

Apparenlty i'm blind.  That's what i was looking for! Thanks a lot.

Apparenlty i'm blind.  That's what i was looking for! Thanks a lot.

You are new, so you get a free pass, this time  

 

Thats some great stuff to have on a lake, I would go looking for other in your area now!! 

I took a look at it on google maps.  My suggestions would be to hit the rip rap on the eastern shore.  Looks like you can get a good shot at it from either side.  Also, the creek mouth on the western shore comes out to a point on the lake.  From the arial views it looks like there is a ledge/drop off if you cast north while standing on the point.

 

Edit: disregard since you found the PDF file

 

 

- Dale

the surface temprature is always coldest, so knowing smallmouth bass they could be where the deeper more comfortable water is as well as near structure and flowing water. pair this up with good fishing weather, time and good lure choice and you should be fine. sometimes a trick worm isn't flashy enough (could be color, size, technique, and even smell) to entice a bass thats hugging the bottom. I hear slow-rolling a spinnerbait right by their nose does well lol lipless cranks do good too. just dont snag the bottom!

Supposed to be 71 and cloudy tomorrow, gonna take the information I gained here and hit the water tomorrow after work, see how things turn out.

Assuming there is a fishable amount of grass on the shorelines, I'd run a spinnerbait high in the water column through the thickest parts of that grass I could find. Reel it over the top of the real thick parts and let it drop nicely into the holes.  This works well any time of the year for me besides the dead of the winter. Make sure that spinnerbait is really going through that grass deflecting off of anything it can find.  I like a War Eagle 3/8 oz in the Herring color. I would think there was something wrong with the lake if I don't get a few good bites this way.    

The small lake being primarily a stocked rainbow trout you may want to broaden your horizons a little and think about using swimbaits or wake baits if you want to target larger largemouth bass during the colder water periods.

I would start at the launch ramp then work my way to the dam and target that rock pile structure they added.

If the dam is walkable fish the entire face area and the opposite side corner. You can do this with your C-rig set up. Keep in mind you can C-rig a Yamamoto a Hula grub, like fishing a jig without a jig.

Tom

Trick worms worked great for me in the summer as well. Most of my quality fish have been caught on spinnerbaits and paddletail swimbaits lately.

Tom is right tho. If they stock trout ,I would be targetting the larger fish with trout stlye swimbaits.