Well it's that time of year when I seem to really struggle, I fish 2 small lakes (600ac and 60ac) and they take turns drawing one or the other lakes down so this year the smaller lake is the one that is full pool. Water is pretty clear in the small lake 3-4ft visibility if not more, lake has some deeper sections to it about 35ft and the water temps have dropped to the lower 50's. There is lots of shad in the lake, gizzard shad, and I assume the bigger fish follow them around but I do not have FFS so I am just guessing at that. I have tried lots of stuff in shallow to mid shallow depths with not much luck so they do not appear to be shallow or I am just trying the wrong technique. I have tried a-rigs, traps, small swimbaits, cranks on brushpiles mid depth (10ft), spinnerbaits, jerkbait and tried a big flutter spoon yesterday around the shad ball, actually snagged one of the shad small gizzard about 4-5". Had the most luck on small traps but only caught dinks. I fished a small stunna yesterday but didn't throw it a lot, maybe just need to spend more time throwing a jerkbait, maybe try a +1. Just not sure how to target larger fish this time of the year.

 

Just looking for suggestions, I have decent electronics but not sure whats a bass vs other when trying to look for them. Had this issue last year when water cooled off to about the same temp, just thought I would ask and get some feedback...thanks!

In that water temp here, we find bait balls and schools with electronics in deep water and drop blade baits on them there’s always a few up shallow with Ned’s as well.  

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

In that water temp here, we find bait balls and schools with electronics in deep water and drop blade baits on them there’s always a few up shallow with Ned’s as well.  

Thanks toxic, I can find the bait like I did yesterday, I have hbird 360 and it helps me to find them easier once I see them on 2d etc. I have some blade baits but did not try any yesterday. I guess that will be my main tatic is to find the balls of bait and then try different things. Tried a flutter spoon yesterday and no takers, actually snagged one of the shad but wasn't sure what else to try.

Fall to winter transition the bass going deeper the big bass are hunting high protein prey. Small bait fish are being targeted by school size bass, the larger bass usually look for larger fish 8” to 10” size and crawdads migrating to clay areas to burrow into.

Structure spoons work good on bait balls that indicate the bait is under attach by predator fish.

Jigs are my go to lure during late fall early winter big bass. I look for long major lake points with both rock and clay having steep sides. This time of year the presentation is a slower drag and shake retrieve working down hill about 45 degree angle that helps to slow the rate of fall.

You want to work down about 8’ deeper then low pool depth.

Tom

1 hour ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Fall to winter transition the bass going deeper the big bass are hunting high protein prey. Small bait fish are being targeted by school size bass, the larger bass usually look for larger fish 8” to 10” size and crawdads migrating to clay areas to burrow into.

Structure spoons work good on bait balls that indicate the bait is under attach by predator fish.

Jigs are my go to lure during late fall early winter big bass. I look for long major lake points with both rock and clay having steep sides. This time of year the presentation is a slower drag and shake retrieve working down hill about 45 degree angle that helps to slow the rate of fall.

You want to work down about 8’ deeper then low pool depth.

Tom

I need to try more jigs, like I said lake towards the dam might have some spots 35ft, but  what depth do you think I should be focusing on. lake is so small there are really only a couple of points. I think I have some 1/2 oz jigs and will add that to the list. Always seem this time of the year we have wind so fishing the jig may be interesting but would like to catch some bigger fish. What kind of trailers are you usually using, I have lots of craw baits.

Craw trailers are OK try to use trailers with less flapping claws, the old #11 frog type chunk works good and Yamamoto twin tail grubs.

Colors should be simple dark green or brown both with black & red flakes.

1/2 is OK use 12 lb FC line.

Banks with clay transition are good, try the points. Deep is relative to the lake depth 8’ from low pool is deep enough for crawdads to burrow.

Tom 

Bucktail jig and crazy cow jig strips?

 

Look good but no experience with them.

Tom

Try pitching shallow wood on sunny days. Mid morning on is best.

I often catch a few dinks around bigger fish that i also end up catching - especially this time of year.  The fish seem to get much more grouped up and you have to weed through smaller fish sometimes to hit a bigger one.  For me - anything that I can fish faster to make them react seems to work better.  I don’t do very well fishing slow until the fish are around their beds in the early spring.  YMMV

Went out to walk the bank in a couple of spots on the larger lake that they have drawn down a lot...and appears to be lots different than the smaller lake, shad are shallow way back at the end of the coves. Attached a pic of what I am dealing with LOTS and lots of these guys....snagged one when fishing and did see some appear to be busting them on the surface....

I'd keep tossing the spoon.   You've found gizzard schools and that is half the battle.  4 and 5 inch spoons.   If depth is 30' or less, let them drop all the way to the bottom.  I try 3 or 4 different presentations around several bait schools before I put the spoon down.  Big rips off the bottom, swimming through and under schools, casting to and dropping right in middle of nervous water on semi-slack line.  Not sure the fish really care, but I have most confidence if spoon has feathered treble. 

   Not often, but sometimes swimming a four or five inch soft swimbait above the schools can be better than a spoon.

19 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Bucktail jig and crazy cow jig strips?

 

What are these things made of?

6 minutes ago, scaleface said:

What are these things made of?

The product doesn't say but they feel like your everyday plastic lure. They are reinforced with some type of mesh. They have jig strips I use for saltwater. 1 actually lasted the season. I did lose another but I lost the lure. They just don't get torn up. 

 

If you remember pork frogs, you remember how hard it was to take them off. These are exactly the same way. And they don't dehydrate like pork

13 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

The product doesn't say but they feel like your everyday plastic lure. They are reinforced with some type of mesh. They have jig strips I use for saltwater. 1 actually lasted the season. I did lose another but I lost the lure. They just don't get torn up. 

 

If you remember pork frogs, you remember how hard it was to take them off. These are exactly the same way. And they don't dehydrate like pork

I'm old and thats what they reminded me of was the pork frogs...those were messy for sure...

Just now, bishoptf said:

I'm old and thats what they reminded me of was the pork frogs...those were messy for sure...

These are pretty clean to use. they do take on gel like scent well. That's about as messy as I want to get   

Pretty much what @Choporoz says except I would not overlook a blade bait.  It has been awhile since I fished a spoon, choosing instead to rely on Rapala  Rippin Blades.

11 hours ago, OldManLure said:

Pretty much what @Choporoz says except I would not overlook a blade bait.  It has been awhile since I fished a spoon, choosing instead to rely on Rapala  Rippin Blades.

Yeah I have some blade baits but haven't caught anything on them or a spoon...will keep trying to figure things out. Went out today and it was warm and windy and caught one dink on a big swimbait, another tough day.

I totally hear what you’re saying.  At the same time, every lake is different. if the bass aren’t eating those big gizzards then no point in using big shad imitations.  The lake I fished today has big golden shiners, minnows, and bluegill.  I can watch the goldens on FFS cruising in the open water.  I’m sure the fish eat them when they come around but the bass are up in the shallows still eating bluegill.  Every bass I caught today was in 2’ or less and the water was 47 degrees.  Open water had nothing going.  I scanned the middle 60% of the lake and fished a bunch of any piece of covert I could see but there was nothing there.  The bass were stuck against clumps of remaining grass in sunny areas.  The thicker the better.  That might not be typical of your lake but if what you’re doing isn’t working, then look for fish doing something else.  Today, all five bass were in a 60 yard stretch and came in a 1 hour period where the sun was high and the wind was low.  When the wind kicked up and it got cloudy everything shut down.  This time of year, the fish are concentrated a bit more, the bite windows are more concentrated, and they are more particular on what they want.  If you know this lake, then fish where they were with what you know they eat.  And be there when they are eating.  

I've not caught anything shallow, the one I did catch was not shallow per se but off the bank on a point in about 5-10ft of water, nailed the swimbait. I do not see any fish shallow, the lake that I am fishing is really clear this time of the year, probably 4ft or more visibility. I do not have FFS so it kind of makes it tougher to know where or what they are relating to. It was bluebird skies and sunny and hit 70 today, our weather has been far from typical, water temp had risen to mid 50's from the low 50's early this week. Just going to have to keep trying different things, I did throw multiple things today, zman shadtron, trap, the big swimbait (like a 6in keitech) and even late in the day a plopper. Only thing I had hits on were the big swimbait, missed two other fish but think they were just really small.

Well, then that’s really helpful.  if there are not fish ‘shallow’ then you can eliminate that water.  And I bet on a lake that size there is a lot of water that is less than 4’.  If that’s the case, then you can eliminate all that water. On top of that, 4’ or not much more is my usual limit for topwater fish and certainly in the cold water.  So put them away.

 

So then where were the fish that hit the big swim bait?  And what is big?  If you’re throwing a 6-8” swimbait, then downsize in the same area to a 2” smaller than you just threw swimbait.  A 3-4” swimbait crawled slow through the same area might be an answer.  And if you’ve found fish in that area through a bigger swimbait then I’d pick up a different lure the pepper the area.  I’d start with a smaller swimbait of the type you threw but be open to another options that isn’t dissimilar.  A Carolina rigged fluke this time of year (on a long leader for instance).  

The bass I've caught this month have all been around rip rap.  If they aren't hitting moving baits then I cast out a Texas rig.  All the way down where the rock ends and the bottom of the lake starts.

I feel like the shallow areas fish are likely to use become much more specific this time of year.  Look shallow directly adjacent to deep and if you’re looking shallow look in direct sunlight and look at protected areas that are still in current.

Different conditions but similar struggles @bishoptf

 

I fished a 75 acre lake today for a few hours. Air temp at 48*,  47* water temp, 20-25 mph wind, half stump field in shallow water (1-3 ft) with deep water being 6 to 8 foot. This is typically a weed choked lake but everything has died off creating slime muck on the bottom.

 

Absolutely nothing in the “deeper” water and the wind made the stump field a nightmare. I spent more time getting unhung, both the canoe, trolling motor and lures trying to fish the sunny shallows than actually fishing.

 

Probably should have concentrated more on the reed/cattail line with less wind and sunny but the algae bloom was still evident all along the wind blown bank, which was probably a plus!

4 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I feel like the shallow areas fish are likely to use become much more specific this time of year.  Look shallow directly adjacent to deep and if you’re looking shallow look in direct sunlight and look at protected areas that are still in current.

Yeah there is this one point thats shallow flat and then drops to deep water. In full sun all day, where I caught the one fish. Made me think I was into something and nothing else. That one fish nailed the swimbait but no other takers, and with the wind and all the leaves it was brutal just trying to get a clean cast. Its a pond for the most part no current except the wind and the wind was coming over the point.

11 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Different conditions but similar struggles @bishoptf

 

I fished a 75 acre lake today for a few hours. Air temp at 48*,  47* water temp, 20-25 mph wind, half stump field in shallow water (1-3 ft) with deep water being 6 to 8 foot. This is typically a weed choked lake but everything has died off creating slime muck on the bottom.

 

Absolutely nothing in the “deeper” water and the wind made the stump field a nightmare. I spent more time getting unhung, both the canoe, trolling motor and lures trying to fish the sunny shallows than actually fishing.

 

Probably should have concentrated more on the reed/cattail line with less wind and sunny but the algae bloom was still evident all along the wind blown bank, which was probably a plus!

Dang thats some dedication, im for the more civilized cushy bass boat approach...I just need to get better at trying to find them on electronics and then figure out how to gonafter them, its a small lake and shouldn't be that difficult but it is for me, lol.

 

I enjoy fishing in the winter since its more peaceful but the cold water does concern me and not sure I would feel comfortable in a canoe...be safe.