Hello all. I am fishing a tournament this weekend. Yesterday the water level in the reservoir I am fishing rose 5 feet due to heavy rains the past two days. Any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. Air temp should be around 75 with water temp in the high 60's low 70's. Please help me out

Focus on structure in deeper water where the fish are not directly

affected by the rise in lake levels. Fish that have lived there are still

there!

8-)

if your not a structure fisherman,rapidily rising water will draw fish shallower.into areas that may have been dry before the rise.they are typically tight to cover so you'll have to pitch and flip to bushes and cover.they will also relate to the inside edges of grass lines.

gatrboy is right on

a lot fish are going to be rising

Focus on structure in deeper water where the fish are not directly

affected by the rise in lake levels. Fish that have lived there are still

there!

8-)

x2 deeper structure is a safer bet and more predictable and you won't have much time to locate where the shallow fish have scattered to.

RAIN?  you mean that stuff that used to fall out of the sky in Florida...nope, can't help ya

I like spinnerbaits as search baits during or after rain...not sure of the immediate pre-tournament weather, but if it stays rainy or cloudy, I'd put a spinnerbait all over the water column until I found fish.  

If the water level just rose 5 feet, and the tournament isn't for a few days, I'd focus on the structure that is shallow come tournament time.  If that doesn't produce, go 5 feet out.