I have three older flood control reservoirs near me. They have little weed growth, better water clarity, and less timber than newer reservoirs. They are 300 acres or less. They get much less attention than the newer lakes. How do you approach fishing older lakes? Do you do anything different?

Learn to fish weeds instead of learning how to fish timber.

All of our lakes and reservoirs in KS are old and silted in. You learn to appreciate longer lasting cover and structure like rocks and creek channel swings. 

Question: is there less timber because there never was much to begin with or because it's no longer above the surface?

 

On 5/27/2017 at 4:50 AM, Catt said:

Question: is there less timber because there never was much to begin with or because it's no longer above the surface?

I think the timber was removed before it was flooded. Now, when they build newer reservoirs, they leave the timber there.

On 5/27/2017 at 2:58 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

All of our lakes and reservoirs in KS are old and silted in. You learn to appreciate longer lasting cover and structure like rocks and creek channel swings. 

yes! and points and drop offs (and wind?)

Over the years I've learned that when in doubt... Throw a jig.. you can pitch, hop, swim and drag it everywhere and they work year round. 

10 hours ago, dszal said:

 

I think the timber was removed before it was flooded. Now, when they build newer reservoirs, they leave the timber there.

 

Most generally timber was clear cut & what is sellable is sold off; you should still have stumps. In cases the under brush is bulldozed into small brush piles.

 

Either way this limited "wood" & sparse vegetation will be key target areas. Like Bluebasser86 mentioned "rock" both large & small come into play.

 

Older reservoirs do fish differently from new ones due to changes structure & cover.

I always try to find older bodies of water. Newer ponds or reservoirs may be stocked with fish, but they have had less time to grow, while your older ones may have some real trophy fish in them that have had years to grow.

I fish a 200 acre 50 year old lake .The timber was left in but is no longer visible.  Its almost impossible to target  unless the water is low .  Most of the channels are silted in . It was void of vegetation  because of the introduction of grass carp  , last year coon tail grass showed up in the shallows . A thirty fish day here is a bad day .  Fifty is the norm . One hundred is not unusual  . I fish a major point  , shoreline cover , sunken brush-piles  the remnants of the creek channel in one section . I keep my eyes glued to a depth finder because sometimes I'll run across a school of bass feeding on shad . These fish are often found near the mouth of one of the five major coves .

 

  Crankbaits , spinnerbaits , buzzbaits , and Texas rigs pretty much cover it all . There are rare days where another lure is needed such as a jerk bait , floating minnow or soft swim bait .