Fish My Local Lake: Tell Me How You'd Fish It.

[TNBassin']

I'm kind of stumped on how to get these suckers to bite, so I'm gonna rely on you guys to give me some tips to try out to see if it triggers some strikes. Here is the lake report for Douglas Lake http://www.tnfish.org/FishingReports_TWRA/ReservoirFishingReportsTennessee_TWRA.htm Tell me how you would fish it, and what I should try.

[prjavelin]

im no expert by any means. Theoretically I would fish dt20's with my rod half way in the water paul elias style trying to make the dam things get as deep as possible. Maybe even longlining over the very deep(70feet) water.

If you have structure scan look for possible highways late in the day where the big fish move to shallow water. keep in mind bass sometimes move in a straight line not following a specific pattern.

[cast_and_destroy]

Remember the lighter the line you use , the deeper your crankbait will run. Use the lightest line you could get away with and keep your rod tip very low ( first couple line guides should be in the water ) .

[papajoe222]

If you choose to go after the fish when they're suspending, chances are pretty good that you'll need to put your presentation in their face for a long time. Good electronics will let you 'watch' your jig or spoon as it falls so that you can stop and keep it in that zone. You may want to try a suspending crank paused just above the school. This would be an excelent choice if the fish are suspending below baitfish schools.

Most guys don't have the patience for either of these techniques, but there's good news for them (and me). First you need to find the depth the fish are suspending, now move to the nearest structure (points,humps, ledges) that intersects that depth and look for cover on it. These spots on a spot are major producers on impoundments in the summer.

The other good news is that some fish will always be shallow providing there is forage, cover, and deep water access. Hit these spots at the right time and you'll not only be targeting those shallow fish, but the ones that move shallow to feed. The fish that are deep have the roaming baitfish to feed on and although they may come up in the water column, they rarely will move into the shallows until the baitfish do.

I would start my day targeting the shallower fish and move out until I find am active bunch. If I pick up a fish here and there early, it's a good indication that the fish are active and I can target those spots on a spots I mentioned early and get into some fast action as those fish will turn on quicker that the schools suspending over deeper water. A note on your presentation here; cast from shallow to deep on these spots or at the very least, parallel them. Your presentation will be sure to contact the zone and if you do excite the school, you won't scatter it into deeper water when you do catch one.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I'd throw a wake bait till I got hit, same as any other lake,lol. Stick to your confidence baits till you find some of their hiding spots. YOU are your best tool,just keep paying attention and plowing away till u figure it out

[Crestliner2008]

Wow! I wish our state had reports published like those. You're half way there with the suggestions thus far. Can't add anything at this moment.

[TNBassin']

Keep'em coming guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you fellas taking the time to read the report and posting your suggestions. Douglas is a TOUGH lake to fish consistently, since the water levels are constantly changing, and there's pretty much no cover or vegetation around. It's so bad, that when the lake is finally taken all the way down, people will build artificial cover and structures in spots to make fishing easier during the season. I lived in Florida for awhile, and I did great there but it's so much different fishing Douglas. The Pros were here in may, and I'm not sure how they did.

[hookedahawg]

I fish Douglas lake at least four times a week and I completely agree, its ridiculous how much the water levels change from hour to hour. Sometimes you can get fish after fish and sometimes I've spent all week just looking for a bite.

[WRB]

Out west clear deep structured reservoirs are common and fishing the thermoclines a standard practice.

Douglas brings to mind the controversial long lining presentation that borders on trolling. If you are a recreational fisherman, why not troll? If for some reason you think this isn't your cup of tea and would rather crank and wind, then your options are limited to targeting closed lipped suspended bass, that suspend to rest and are inactive bass that take a good deal of patients to trigger strikes.

Dee Thomas who popularized flipping opened up western bass anglers who were so focused on targeting deep structured bass and forgot a basic bass behavior; shallow bass are biting bass! Dee won tournaments all around country fishing no deeper than 6'! Keep that fact in mind.

The best deep structure pioneer tournament angler was another western bass angler that most have never heard of; Dick Trask. Trask popularized the split shot and dart head jig presentations and he won western tournaments for several years targeting those tight lipped suspended bass. The key to both Dee Thomas and Dick Trask was precise presentations using excellent boat control and knowing where to target the bass they intended to catch and they both were in no hurry to move, they strained out every possible bite from the bass they located.

The tighter or closer bass are to deep structure or cover, the greater you odds are to get strikes.

My all time favorite deep cranking lure isn't a crank bait, it's a modified 3/4 oz original Scrounger jig with the original 6" Sluggo. This Scrounger/Sluggo combination needs to be rigged so the lure wiggles like the original Rapala a tight wiggle. You cast past the suspended bass or deeper structure, let it sink deeper then the bass and crank it back through the bass, this lure rarely will hang up. I like to use a cadence of 3 cranks pause 2 cranks pause 3 cranks and vary the cadence until I get a reaction from the bass.

If you are good at keeping the bait exactly near the bass, then Trask's 5# line with 1/8 to 3/16 oz dart head with 4 1/2"vto 5" soft (today's Roboworms) curl tail worm in smoke and an accent color to match the bait fish like a neon blue blood line, will work. The sme worms on a split shot rig (3/16 oz round split shot) about 18" above a light wire size 2 # 11 Kamakatsu worm hook. Work the split shot throught the suspended bass or nearby structure at the samei depth of the suspended bass, few bass usually move onto nearby structuure that are more active fish.

Your other option go shallow and flip/pitch into shadow pockets that may have some floatsum or a stick or 2 that an ambush bass may hold under or next to.

Good luck.

Tom

PS; power generation reservoirs the bass become dependent on current flow to move bait and trigger feeding cycles where current moves water. This is more reason that during slack water period, the shallow bass my be your bet bet to find active biting bass. Keep in mind I am a deep structure angler and tend to fish swim baits, jigs and use structure spoons often and because my confidence level is high with thise presentations, that is how I would start fishing and go to finesse or shallow power fishing after my preferred techniques didn't work out.e

[TNBassin']

I fish Douglas lake at least four times a week and I completely agree, its ridiculous how much the water levels change from hour to hour. Sometimes you can get fish after fish and sometimes I've spent all week just looking for a bite.

I know, It's the most frustrating place I've ever fished. Discouraging really.