I'm new on here. But was looking for some advice from fellow bass fishermen. I've been fishing a small lake that produces the occasional 8 to 10 pounder. So I know there are large fish in there, but they seem to be super smart. The lake is only 26 acres and gets fished pretty hard, with a barrage of lures and presentations. The only prey sources are bluegill, crappie, and whatever other critters the big ones may eat (crayfish, snakes, frogs, etc.) I was wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar situation and what styles of fishing they incorporated to catch these fish??

I would try to talk to some of the local fisherman. Are you on the bank or?

Think BIG !!!!!!!!!!!

I've talked with many local anglers and I can discern no pattern. One person caught a 10lber on a rat l trap in 10 ft of water and another caught an 8 lber in about 2 ft of water on a worm. There seems to be no reasoning with these fish.

Try using something flashy. right now look for the reaction bite. So like a jerk bait or a deed rattling crank or lipless crank-baits. When it warms up maybe try something that causes a lot of commotion like a good popper. something on the surface like that. Remember to always try to "match the hatch" when your choosing a bait like catch a sunfish or crappie and try to match their colors so to fool the fish even more. But who knows i could be completely wrong, just what i would do. switch baits if its not working. Good luck to ya.

I've talked with many local anglers and I can discern no pattern. One person caught a 10lber on a rat l trap in 10 ft of water and another caught an 8 lber in about 2 ft of water on a worm. There seems to be no reasoning with these fish.

or there might not be reasoning with the anglers... I know if i was throwing at 8 - 10 lbers i wouldnt be flashing my info all over the place