I'm having a tuff time fishing at a lake that I am sure is packed with quality bass. The problem is, it's like 200 feet deep straight down, all the way around the entire lake. I know bluffs should be good but how do I dissect a lake that is all bluffs, what could I try for tackle and techniques?

Can you give a name to this lake? No lake has steep sides all around it. Rock quarry lakes have steep walls, however there will be an area where a road bed enters. How big is this lake, approximate surface acres?

Tom

Rock lake in eastern Washington. There are some ledges, but they come out like 10 feet and drop straight off. Usually they have about 3 feet of water above them but the water is pretty low this year.

Rock lake is interesting, 9 miles long,1 mile wide, 360' deep natural lake, very unusual.

This is a trout lake with most anglers trolling for brown and rainbow. The lake has a population of both LMB and Smallmouth, crappie,bluegill, pumpkin seeds, suckers, crawdads etc.

The bass spawn somewhere in this lake and you need to locate those areas to start with. It's not all walls, there are points and pinnacles. Find spawning coves and fish any point nearby.

To learn this lake I would use my sonar unit, Navonics map and troll as close to the bank as it's safe staying 15 to 30 feet of water with a deep diving crankbait or A-rig. When you find something of interest or catch a bass, stop and fish the area using a drop shot rig with 4 1/2" curl tail oxblood-red flake Roboworm. 4" #330 twin tail hula grub on GYCB 3/8 football head jig.

There was something about old railroad tracks along one side, look for any old tressel and underwater rock piles or train cars along the track route near the lake edge. Any wood would be good locations for bass to hang out, docks etc.

Tom

wow looks beautiful.. but also alot like Lock Ness

Thanks for the tips. Love the twin tail hula, awesome bait. I believe many years ago a railcar derailed with a bunch of ford cars... Can't wait to find it with my new side scan.

I have wanted to fish that lake. I know there are some videos of guys on Youtube fishing Rock Lake catching them on a jerkbait pretty good. 

 

I used to love fishing bluff walls and did it quite often for a couple of years. I figured out eventually that around here its not a great way to catch big fish but a great way to catch big numbers. I fished them with three different baits, a drop shot, a 3xd crankbait and a LC pointer jerkbait. Crankbaits will catch them in the morning basically just get next to the wall and cast parrallel to the wall trying to make contact with it during the retrieve. Jerkbaits will also work mornings but mostly work when there is chop as the fish tend to get away from the wall a bit are aren't facing the wall anymore to bite your crankbait. The easiest way to fish them however is with a drop shot. I have DS sinkers up to 5/8 ounce for really deep water. I have caught them as deep as 80 foot on bluff walls but typically the fish will live on the walls that bottom out around 15-35 foot. You flip the bait to the wall and just walk it down the wall. The weight of the sinker will be dictated by current and depth, always the lighter the better but you also want to get your bait down quickly when its really deep. If you start fishing a wall and you are not getting bit right away find another area, smallies will bite the DS right away in most cases and almost always gang up heavily on the "right" bluffwall with the depth combination they prefer. 

Awesome advice, I was thinking about dropshot on that wall, maybe a swim jig or an underspin. I have a few deep diving crankbaits I can throw. I picked up a six inch weedless hud I'd like to try as well, in a trout pattern. I also have a large a-rig I haven't caught anything on yet hehe.

Awesome advice, I was thinking about dropshot on that wall, maybe a swim jig or an underspin. I have a few deep diving crankbaits I can throw. I picked up a six inch weedless hud I'd like to try as well, in a trout pattern. I also have a large a-rig I haven't caught anything on yet hehe.