Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 09/28/09: Fishing Strategies for Strange New Lakes

Fishing a strange new lake can be intimidating for even the experienced angler. The lake may look like it can hold fish in every nook and cranny but unfortunately most of the time this isn’t the case. So let’s examine what the fisherman can do to narrow down his search time.

1-     Observe the current weather conditions. Cloudy, rainy weather can make the largemouth bass more active and shallow water techniques can be very effective. Cast or pitch soft plastics near timber, bulrush, cattails and grasses. Topwaters and spinnerbaits in the same locations can also be good.

Also try topped out weedbed edges and holes in deeper water with these weather conditions. Use the same lures along with a Zoom Fluke and work the edge slowly and accurately.

Sunny bright days can drive the bass to deep water or heavy mats. For the deeper waters try deep diving crankbaits or Carolina rigs tipped with a Zoom trickworm. In heavy cover/mat situations try flippin with a ½ to 1 ounce weight followed up with a craw imitation like a Sweet Beaver or even a straight tailed trickworm.

2-     Understand the prevailing seasonal patterns. The spring drives the bass shallow for their annual spawning ritual. Look for sandy areas near vegetation or structure and watch for bass on beds using polarized glasses.

The summer pattern usually yields actively feeding fish in the early morning hours near shallow cover/veggies but as the sun rises look for the deeper drops and ledges with cover on it such as timber or vegetation.

The fall can be a real treat and you can usually find bass feeding on shad in coves and flats. Work these areas with rattletraps and crankbaits as well as soft plastics.

The winter season can be tough on a new lake so don’t expect too many miracles in the cold conditions. If there is wood nearby, try fishing it in the 10-12 foot range with a slow moving crankbait or Carolina rigged worm.

3-     Check out what type of cover is prevalent on the lake. Hydrilla or coontail out in the middle of the lake can lead to big bags of fish. Timber above the surface can be great but even better is to find the timber near a river channel before a deep drop. Shallow veggies are a big plus especially bulrush and Kissimmee grass.

4-     The water depth can be key to locating fish. A shallow lake with nothing but shoreline cover can concentrate the fish on that cover. A deeper lake/reservoir can often move the fish deeper where they can use migration routes.  Find cover on the drops and you will often get a fish or two.

So the next time you are out on a strange new lake try out these strategies and you’ll sure to be doing more catching with less fishing.

The Largemouth Herald