This year I've been fishing a slop bay. You wouldn't even think this bay would be conducive to big bass, but it is, so I'm guessing the key to this area is the lily pads and weed growth. 

I've been enjoying buzzing around lily pads and also flipping the pads for nice LMB in less than 5 ft of water. My question is this: At what point do bass leave the slop bays? Is it after the pads die off? After summer turnover? When they transition to their winter patterns?

 

I've never heard of the term "slop bay"!  What is it, is it like a slough?

44 minutes ago, blckshirt98 said:

I've never heard of the term "slop bay"!  What is it, is it like a slough?

It's a shallow bay with dense weed growth. Usually lily pads are the typical weeds found in these areas. 

Some stay around them year round. There's several old bill dance shows of him fishing old dead pads in winter. Most he is fishing jigs and finesse jigs but I've also caught fish around dead weeds in the middle of winter shallow. Most fish move out into deeper water though