Fishing After A Rain. Anything Special To Do?

[new2BC4bass]

Just asked a friend if fishing would be good today. He said no since it rained all night. What can I do to improve my odds this evening? Probably will go to the closer lake. It is small. shallow and weedy with plenty of lily pads in various spots. Max depth is about 14 feet. Gets plenty of fishing pressure.

Or I could head to the other lake. It too is small, weedy in places (no lily pads), but deeper than the first. No idea how deep though. Deep enough to contain a musky population put there by the original owner. Planning on taking my little Porta-Bote. Second lake has much more shoreline available to the angler, but much of it is just too shallow and bare to attract fish. This lake also sees plenty of fishing pressure.

I assume downsizing would be one place to start. Another to fish deep. Probably could try jigs at the second lake. Don't use them at the first lake because of the weedy bottom. Is that a mistake?

Thanks. Time to load the car while waiting for your expert replies.

[0119]

I dont know about Pa. but here fishing is great after the rain. especially after years of drought. Any place the water is trickling in to poaring into the main body of water is a hotspot. A new food source of washed in bugs brings minnows and bream. Added O2 to attract bass and bait too. In summer rain runoff brings much needed relief lowering hot typical water temp and adds to bass activity.

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Depends on if it's a high or low pressure front, me, I always go to top water, after the rain stirs up a lake and or a pond I fish shallow. Cools off the surface temp somewhat, the shad come to the surface and I break out the top-water baits.

[WRB]

Always amazes me when bass anglers get worried over rainy weather. The rain shouldn't be a negative, it washes prey into the water and generally actives the entire ecosystem. High wind; now that can create problems. If the weather is normal, a little rain isn't going to change the bass location very much. If the rain was a big storm and the lake level raaised a few feet and the core water temperaures dropped and the water is muddy as a result, then the bass will be affected.

Go fish the lake you have the most confidence with and like to fish. When the bottom is weedy a heavy jig isn't the answer; go with a lighter 1/8 oz grass jig (bullet shape ot round head) and use a wider bodied trailer like a beaver or twin tail hula grub. You also split shot the beaver or hula grub without a jig head; use a 3/0 off set hook and skin hook the grub.

Tom

[Missouribassman95]

I would find the place where all the rain washes into the lake. I think that's where most of the fish will be.

[Miller's Ferry 8]

In Alabama it rains a lot, and I generally have success during and after a rain in vegetation. Especially vegetation like lily pads that fish can get under. I usually throw a spinnerbait parallel with the pads and the retrieve is your choice. Just figure out what style they are looking for. If the spinnerbait fails try throwing a weightless trick worm or a frog.

[new2BC4bass]

I'll take all your suggestions to heart for the next time. Decided against taking the boat since I had been to a chiropractor earlier that day. Good decision as my neck hurt just driving (and still hurt this morning on the way to work). Think pulling on oars would have put me back in the doctor's office.

It was quite windy. No one I asked was catching any fish. No even those fishing with live worms. That is a tough bite!

Tom (WRB), I've fishied in the rain many times in my youth. My friend (another Tom) fishes a lot more than I get to, and he says it isn't worth fishing in our area after a rain. I moved here 27 years ago and gave up fishing after trying the first 2 years because it is so bad here. If people can't catch sunnies or bluegills on worms after a rain, then us bass fishermen stand little chance, IMO.

I seriously doubt any amount of rain within reason is going to change a fish's location in either lake I fish. The problem is getting them to open their mouths.

[Big-O]

Unless it was an extreme COLD front rain, it can often improve fishing conditions! Fish will often move shallower than normal especially if the water clarity is much more stained or dirty from run off. Also the mouth of feeder creeks where clarity might improve slightly is a target area as well. I love fishing during and after rains here in Tx because it seems to make the fish more aggressive in many cases! Just last week, one of my biggest fish this yr came was within 14hrs after a big rain... and yes she had moved more shallow along with the majority of the bait fish

[Zach Dunham]

Just asked a friend if fishing would be good today. He said no since it rained all night. What can I do to improve my odds this evening? Probably will go to the closer lake. It is small. shallow and weedy with plenty of lily pads in various spots. Max depth is about 14 feet. Gets plenty of fishing pressure.

Or I could head to the other lake. It too is small, weedy in places (no lily pads), but deeper than the first. No idea how deep though. Deep enough to contain a musky population put there by the original owner. Planning on taking my little Porta-Bote. Second lake has much more shoreline available to the angler, but much of it is just too shallow and bare to attract fish. This lake also sees plenty of fishing pressure.

I assume downsizing would be one place to start. Another to fish deep. Probably could try jigs at the second lake. Don't use them at the first lake because of the weedy bottom. Is that a mistake?

Thanks. Time to load the car while waiting for your expert replies.

I live right near you in the Stroudsburg area. What lakes are you referring to? Sounds like one of them may be Minsi Lake.

[Zach Dunham]

I'll take all your suggestions to heart for the next time. Decided against taking the boat since I had been to a chiropractor earlier that day. Good decision as my neck hurt just driving (and still hurt this morning on the way to work). Think pulling on oars would have put me back in the doctor's office.

It was quite windy. No one I asked was catching any fish. No even those fishing with live worms. That is a tough bite!

Tom (WRB), I've fishied in the rain many times in my youth. My friend (another Tom) fishes a lot more than I get to, and he says it isn't worth fishing in our area after a rain. I moved here 27 years ago and gave up fishing after trying the first 2 years because it is so bad here. If people can't catch sunnies or bluegills on worms after a rain, then us bass fishermen stand little chance, IMO.

I seriously doubt any amount of rain within reason is going to change a fish's location in either lake I fish. The problem is getting them to open their mouths.

I have had a lot of good days at Lake Wallenpaupack in the rain or shortly thereafter, and at Beltzville or Minsi as well. As someone above mentioned, in mid to late summer after a rain that is enough to raise the inflowing creeks a little, the mouths of those creeks are loaded with bass.

[LgMouthGambler]

Buzzbaits, frogs, spooks, anything on the top works great. I love fishing in S FL when its just drizzling after a good downpour.

[new2BC4bass]

I live right near you in the Stroudsburg area. What lakes are you referring to? Sounds like one of them may be Minsi Lake.

Minsi is the one I went to yesterday. Kaercher Creek Park in Hamburg is the other one.

EDIT: Do you find the fishing good at Minsi after a rain? I'll have to watch you fish so I can see how it is done. I haven't ever had good fishing at Minsi. From what I've seen, the lake gets pounded.

I live in the Bethlehem/Easton area.

[new2BC4bass]

I have had a lot of good days at Lake Wallenpaupack in the rain or shortly thereafter, and at Beltzville or Minsi as well. As someone above mentioned, in mid to late summer after a rain that is enough to raise the inflowing creeks a little, the mouths of those creeks are loaded with bass.

Is there a creek that comes into Minsi? I haven't made a complete circuit of the lake. I know where the dam is that is the start of a creek.

Haven't been to Beltsville to fish since '87. Never been to Lake Wallenpaupack. I did fish Lake Nockamixon 2-3 times a couple years ago, but not since I got my little Porta-Bote. Managed to catch one decent bass from the fishing pier. Also managed to fall face first into the rocks and break my 7' Medium Falcon Expert rod there.

BTW, Professor, spinnerbaits are my favorite lure. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've caught a bass on Minsi Lake with any other type of lure. I've tried plenty of others, and my daughter fishes Senkos almost exclusively. She hasn't managed to catch one bass there yet.

[tomustang]

I wish the formula was there but it isn't. The horrible pressure, overabundance of pickerel (they decimate the trout stock) and the birds of prey (hawks/eagles) population is soaring. Not to forget the keep everything people.

I keep dodging minsi for Kaercher since its turning into a dead sea, Kaercher is like minsi 5 years ago where if you put in the time/effort you can produce something. Minsi sucks bad enough where the reward isn't worth the journey, you would also think the bass would be use to the wind since it always windy but its another bust.

Dale, I forgot to tell you, after we left the lake to retreat to cabelas from the rain we went back around sunset and hit a couple decent bass on poppers, topwaters, and the shallow cranks.

Once I get back from the AR trip we'll comb through the other lake

[Zach Dunham]

Minsi is the one I went to yesterday. Kaercher Creek Park in Hamburg is the other one.

EDIT: Do you find the fishing good at Minsi after a rain? I'll have to watch you fish so I can see how it is done. I haven't ever had good fishing at Minsi. From what I've seen, the lake gets pounded.

I live in the Bethlehem/Easton area.

There is one small creek that flows into Minsi but it does not usually hold fish. Minsi is definitely HIGHLY pressured, but most of the time by trout fisherman. Most of the best spots are by the shore that people cannot walk to, or out in the middle flats. That lake has a lot of big bass. My friend (that has the bass boat I always go out on) caught a 7 lb 1 oz largemouth there last summer. If you have ever seen a white Triton Tr-186 out there it was probably us. Probably won't be going there again til end of summer though, we mostly go to Wallenpaupack for tournaments now.

There are a few tricks to Minsi other than the spinnerbait, although that does work great in the early morning and late evening there. In the late fall and early spring when the water is under 50 degrees we have caught some fishing shakeyheads really slowly around the edge of the weeds where it starts to get deep. Most of Minsi isn't more than 6-7 feet deep and weedy, but there is kind of a bowl around the dam wall that goes down to 10+, right around 10ft outside the weeds is where I am referring too.

When the water is 50-60 degrees you can catch a TON on rattling lipless crankbaits (we use the red-eye shad in the chartreuse baitfish color). There is no one way to fish this, each cast is totally different. We go to the shallower half of the lake where the weeds are (and where the lillipads will be in the summer), and just reel it slowly and when it catches on to some weeds just rip it and let it fall. This won't work to well in summer when the weeds are too thick. We caught 3 fish over 4 lbs doing this in about 5 hours one evening, along with a load of other lighter ones.

During spawn you can catch them on any of the sandy flats using pretty much whatever bottom bait you want, we use senkos.

My only advice for the summer is, fish early or late, because when it gets really hot in that small, shallow lake and there are people everywhere, it can be tougher than you can imagine. It can become a junk fishing type lake in the summer, pitch some in the lillipads, spinnerbait over or around the weeds, drop some shakeyheads in holes in weeds, throw some frogs around the cover.

As for fishing after the rain, in the mid summer when the water in that lake gets to 85 degrees and up, rain can be the best thing. Not saying it magically turns them on every time, but it usually helps a lot.

[roadwarrior]

Unless it was an extreme COLD front rain, it can often improve fishing conditions! Fish will often move shallower than normal especially if the water clarity is much more stained or dirty from run off. Also the mouth of feeder creeks where clarity might improve slightly is a target area as well. I love fishing during and after rains here in Tx because it seems to make the fish more aggressive in many cases! Just last week, one of my biggest fish this yr came was within 14hrs after a big rain... and yes she had moved more shallow along with the majority of the bait fish

This from a guy who fished through tornado warnings and 18" of rain...144 smallmouth and two PBs between three fishermen!