How To Fish This?

[JG233 202]

The lake I fish has been deliberately drawn down a few feet exposing all kinds of stumps--the place is lousy with them. It's a couple hundred acres total. I actually never have much luck fishing the stumps there because there are so many of them. I fish the weeds, and the edges of pads. I've attached some pictures so you can see what I mean. The water is very muddy. Temps two weeks back were around 52 on the surface, I would think they'll be approaching 60 this week when I fish the place again. The depth in the pictures is roughly 4-8 feet. I think there should be a lot of fish cruising this area since we should be approaching the spawn. 

 

What would you do? I tried throwing chatterbaits, wacky worms, and paddletails in through this and didn't have much luck. I feel like I'd hang up anything with treble hooks. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

UPDATE (4/24/19)

 

So I headed out this morning at 6 AM to fish the same spot from my original post. Unfortunately, they've taken down the water level so low--it's basically unfishable. There were dead bass near the shore. This really doesn't seem to bode well for this lake. 

 

In situations such as this, provided they don't completely drain the lake, how long (in your experience) would it take a 200 acre (roughly) body of water to recover from this kind of treatment?

Edited April 25 by JG233

[scaleface 6,704]

That is what the 200 acre lake I fish would like if they dropped the level three foot . Standing timber everywhere  .I just fished it last week with the visibility at 1 foot, the surface temp  started out at 57 in the morning and rose into the  60's by  afternoon . The bass were in bays ,pockets and back of coves . I counted 58 bass caught near the bank with about a dozen over 15 inches and the largest 5 lbs  all on a spinnerbait .  The lake  has a 30 foot max depth .

 

 

[JG233 202]

Yeah, I don't think this place has as much forage as your lake, although they sound VERY similar otherwise. 

 

I was thinking spinnerbait as well. Although I fished a different lake last week, and didn't have one bite all day, fishing a spinnerbait for a lot of the trip. 

 

I don't know, fishing in Ohio is just kind of terrible. I'm looking forward to being home in New England for the summer. 

[Paul Roberts 1,957]

Things to look for, to pick out from all the rest. This is what the bass are doing too:

-Depth changes within: A channel, hole, pocket.

-Unique cover piece -bigger, and/or more complex than the rest.

-Prey aggregations

-Heat?

-Substrate -for spawning, since you mention spawning.

 

Any one of those stumps could attract a bass, and an angler. But, only if there are very few of them. And, it is in proximity to more important things, like those in the above list. Start looking closer! 👍

[Bluebasser86 24,600]

Spinnerbait through those trees would be my first choice. Colorado blades and reel it slowly. Second would be bumping a crankbait through them. 

[NittyGrittyBoy 601]

KVD a sqaurebill around every stump

 

Drag a T-rig ribbontail.

 

Place looks really nice though. 

[GreenPig 86]

I'd throw a Super Fluke

[Fishes in trees 963]

Right now, I don't know.  What I do know is that post spawn and going into summer patterns, every one of those stumps has a root wad on the bottom and to me that screams pitch a 10" Power worm, parallel the standing timber on the drop, down into the root wad.   Real muddy water, to me, says lead off with Red Shad or for me Blue Fleck is an all purpose color.  If the lake ever gets 3 to 4 feet of visibility, same pattern but use a wacky rigged senko.

[Dens228 424]

3/8 oz spinnerbait with a paddletail trailer...........double willow blades.......

I'd go with a white blade or a gold/silver combo depending on sun.

[CrankFate 401]

If I had water like that around, Instead of going on the internet, I would be too busy throwing everything in the world to find out what works.

[Dens228 424]

7 hours ago, CrankFate said:

If I had water like that around, Instead of going on the internet, I would be too busy throwing everything in the world to find out what works.

Well sometimes it storms, sometimes it's freezing, sometimes it's 40 mph winds.  Oftentimes people like to come to these forums to share information and get other opinions.   

[NittyGrittyBoy 601]

Or they're sitting at work, dodging the boss, daydreaming about the Bass jumping in the river right next to work..

[scaleface 6,704]

 That type of old timber is a perfect   place to use square-bills . Buzzbaits and plastic worms are faves too . Try to find structure like points , humps and channels . The trees on good structure are better than the rest .

[BassNJake 677]

My home lake is 95% rock.

Many people spend all day trying to find where amongst all the perfect looking rock the fish are at.

I spent a lot of time chasing rocks instead of chasing fish.

 

I started having much more success by targeting the isolated rocks/laydowns along the mud/clay banks.

Which led to finding the better spots are little turns or breaks where the isolated rocks are located.

Now if I can find a small bend on a clay bank, with a few isolated rocks or a laydown and a slight change in depth; thats getting a waypoint dropped.

 

Try to find the subtle differences near the stumps - changes in bottom composition or bottom depth.

Try targeting the stumps in the shade lines or in your case in April in Ohio try targeting the ones that are in the sun.

Some days it could be the stumps that are at an angle as opposed to the ones that are straight up and down.

[JG233 202]

So I headed out this morning at 6 AM to fish the same spot from my original post. Unfortunately, they've taken down the water level so low--it's basically unfishable. There were dead bass near the shore. This really doesn't seem to bode well for this lake. 

 

In situations such as this, provided they don't completely drain the lake, how long (in your experience) would it take a 200 acre (roughly) body of water to recover from this kind of treatment?

[Munkin 1,355]

I fish two lakes that are similar and you would think there would be bass on every tree. Both places suck fishing around the trees! Slow rolled spinnerbait has done the best over the years but honestly I have given up on them. Personally I would look for some different cover that would hold them as that is what has been working for me.

 

Allen

[Dorado 677]

On 4/13/2019 at 9:21 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:

KVD a sqaurebill around every stump

 

Drag a T-rig ribbontail.

 

Place looks really nice though. 

I’d do the same!

[NittyGrittyBoy 601]

21 hours ago, JG233 said:

Unfortunately, they've taken down the water level so low--it's basically unfishable. There were dead bass near the shore. This really doesn't seem to bode well for this lake. 

 

How long would it take a 200 acre body of water to recover from this kind of treatment?

Months before it's back right. When they drop water levels fast enough to kill fish it's going to be a long time 

 

Sounds like it took the oxygen out of the water because of fast drop rates and it caused a fish kill. Find somewhere else to fish, and complain to whoever was responsible for dropping water levels. 

[flyfisher 3,019]

Fish areas like the stumps aren't there then fish the stumps in those areas.  I fish a lake that has a ton of standing timber as well and an older guy told me that advice and it flat out works.  The fish are going to relate to structure first and then cover in these types of lakes in my experience

 

 

[WRB 11,697]

Let me think....lake dropping several feet during the spawn cycle with dead adult size bass along the shoreline....find another lake this one is in serious trouble.

Tom

[J.Vincent 368]

If the fish population hasn't been depleted, the fishing should theoretically improve with a few days of heavy rainfall.....otherwise find the greenest vegetation available. Submerged aquatic vegetation and algae will produce oxygen with the help of sunlight, in a small pond the process doesn't take long but in a larger body of water with poor light penetration it may require months. 

[FishinBuck07 24]

On 4/13/2019 at 1:00 PM, JG233 said:

Yeah, I don't think this place has as much forage as your lake, although they sound VERY similar otherwise. 

 

I was thinking spinnerbait as well. Although I fished a different lake last week, and didn't have one bite all day, fishing a spinnerbait for a lot of the trip. 

 

I don't know, fishing in Ohio is just kind of terrible. I'm looking forward to being home in New England for the summer. 

What lake is this in Ohio?  I spent a couple years down in that area when I was at college, just don't recognize it from the pics?

[scaleface 6,704]

It might be worth going back to , you will never know  unless you try .

 

On Mark Twain lake one year a major arm had a fish kill before the biggest tournament of the year . Anglers avoided that area like the plague .  Friends of mine went up there and won that tourney . 

[WRB 11,697]

The problem to me is poor lake management by draw downs during the spawn cycle kills off the years recruitment cycle and the fish kill factor when the water temps are stable is troubling on several levels. 

Aquatic plant growth this early should be just starting and not a major DO producer until the plants are green. The problem lowering water levels also stirs up bottom debris that are decayed and that usues up DO the fish need to survive.

Bottom line the lake sounds like it's sick.

Tom

[JG233 202]

6 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

What lake is this in Ohio?  I spent a couple years down in that area when I was at college, just don't recognize it from the pics?

Tycoon Lake. 

 

To be fair, there's some kind of issue with the dam they seem to be investigating, hence the reasoning for dropping the water level. However, it seems like they dropped it an extreme amount.