Hey guys, I will be going to Briery Creek for the first time this year on the 26th. Can anyone tell me what the bass will be hitting this time of year? I am also not sure where to start. I have only been there 2 times and was a little overwhelmed, everyplace looked good. Any help would be great.

Thanks

I fish there quite a bit.  This time of year, there will generally be a thermocline so look for that on your depthfinder.  The water might be starting to cool off a little so the bass might start pushing up a little shallower.  The last time I was there (beginning of August) I saw a lot of bass chasing bait so look for that.  I would try senkos and shakey heads.  Once you start catching fish, start to make a pattern (water temp caught in, structure, lure used, etc.)  Try to limit where you fish.  I think putting in at either ramp you will be successful.  Look at a map and say "i will fish this area". Don't run and gun looking for fish becasue that takes a LONG time to get anywhere.  pick an area and pick it apart. 

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correction: e-mail sent with attachment

Thanks for the advise guys. I will give it a try. ;D

Follow the good looking and fat guy around in the bass tracker.

Yesterday the thermocline is gone at the 15'-20' depths it was a couple of weeks ago, I didn't check any deeper than 25' though.

Yesterday the thermocline is gone at the 15'-20' depths it was a couple of weeks ago, I didn't check any deeper than 25' though.

Do you need an external thermometer to see the thermocline? I have a Lowrance HDS 5X. I only have what came with it, the unit and the transducer. I can't figure out how to see the thermocline. any help would be great.

Thanks

Follow the good looking and fat guy around in the bass tracker.

If you turned the lights back on you would see that your not very good looking. ;D

Yesterday the thermocline is gone at the 15'-20' depths it was a couple of weeks ago, I didn't check any deeper than 25' though.

Do you need an external thermometer to see the thermocline? I have a Lowrance HDS 5X. I only have what came with it, the unit and the transducer. I can't figure out how to see the thermocline. any help would be great.

Thanks

You have to set the senstitivity up to around 90 to see it.  Plus, Wayne drops an external thermometer to check the water temps down at the thermocline.  But you can see the thermocline on your Lowrance.

I use Humminbird units and the 50% sensitivity setting shows the thermocline very well.

It is also shown on Down Imaing and Side Imaging.

I verify the thermocline with a remote temp sensor thermometer since plankton can look like a thermocline occasionally.

The dense clutter in this screen shot is the thermocline:

Here is a thermocline screen shot in deeper water that I took last summer

Here is another screen shot of the thermocline at the previous body of water a month earlier where I was adjusting the sensitivity to "thin out" the return to better determine it's exact depth.

This was taken with a Humminbird Martix 97 as well as the previous snapshot.

Thanks for all the information. I will have to mess around a bit more the the depth finder. maybe I will see you guys out there on Sunday. I will let you know how I make out.

Thanks,

I did find some creek channels but the wind made keeping the boat stable and fishing soft plastics difficult. I ended up fishing in the backs of the coves that were protected from the wind and running a scum frog over the pads. I had my brother-in -law with me, he missed quite a few, I didn't really have much action. I was fortunate to catch this future 12#er ;D

A couple of friends of mine fished there Friday and told me about the windy conditions. They didn't do very well since they didn't know the lake like I do. With the lower water level, it is very easy to fish when it is windy, just hold the boat againt a stump or tie up to one near the channel edges and fish down wind with the rod tip held just above the water.

When the water level is at the normal level, I just run the boat up on a stump to hold in place when it is windy so I can fish an area without all the trolling motor disturbance.

It was very breezy most of the day when I fished there Wednesday and the heaviest presentation I used was a 1/8 oz shakey head.

I didn't take any pictures, my largest was 7# 7 ounces. Too hot to hold them out of the water for weighing and picture taking.

I checked out it for the second time on Sunday since I was passing by on Rt15. I fished from the dock on Landing Rd for an hour and got one 12"er on a pro senko.