(='_'=) Posted December 3, 2012 Posted December 3, 2012 how do you catch fish that are 15-20 feet deep, in 30 feet of water?? 2 weeks ago i was at a lake that has lots of areas which are 20-22 feet deep... the fish were deep, between 15 and 20 feet, so, i used a Texas rigged senko or worm, hopping it on the bottom, and catched a lot of them, most of them being in the 3.5 pound or better... i just drifted with the boat, and when the fishfinder showed what looks to me as a school of fish, we would stop, and within 10 minutes we would catch at least a couple of fish... after 10 or 15 minutes without a strike, we moved to a different place.... we caught fish in each and every place we stopped, some of them we already knew hold fish, some of them we had never fished before, but relied on the fishfinder and gave them a try.... now, yesterday i went to a local lake 10 miles from home... again, the fish were at 15.20 feet according to the fishfinder... however, this time the water was 30 feet deep, so if we left the worm to go all the way to the bottom, we were 10 feet below the fish... the water was 57-58 throughout all the lake... we didnt have a single strike in 4 hours... so, how should we fish this situation?? this lake in particular has always been though, it desnt has a lot of fish, has heavy fishing pressure, and its getting really small and dry... i would like to learn how to fish it, since its so close to my home.... BTW the only deep placed we near a cliff... the middle of the lake is about 30 feet also, and the rest of the shores are about 8-10 feet... we saw about 4 other boats at the ramp, and neither had caught a single fish... Quote
CoBass Posted December 3, 2012 Posted December 3, 2012 Deep diving, suspending jerk bait. Rapala makes a deeper diving husky jerk that can get down to that 15-20 foot range. Long cast past the fish, reel down to max depth, then slow twitches and pauses through the area where the fish are suspending. Use a color that matches the forage of the lake and experiment with the twitches and length of pauses until you get hit. I'm sure others will have different suggestions but that's what I would start with under those conditions. Quote
Super User 00 mod Posted December 3, 2012 Super User Posted December 3, 2012 Jigging or Fluttering spoon. Jeff Quote
Super User Grizzn N Bassin Posted December 4, 2012 Super User Posted December 4, 2012 Jiggin spoons.. and jerkbaits will will be your best bet as CO- bass said vary your pauses and such.. some days they like it longer others shorter. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted December 4, 2012 Global Moderator Posted December 4, 2012 Swimming a grub is the best way I've found to catch those bass. Cast it out and count it down and just do a slow, steady retrieve. I've caught a ton of bass out of Table Rock doing that. If it's allowed in your state the A-rig is really good at catching suspended fish too. 1 Quote
Super User Nitrofreak Posted December 4, 2012 Super User Posted December 4, 2012 A jigging spoon is very effective along with a suspending jerk bait, I agree with all the other guys here too, also I like a drop shot, a drop shot will allow you to keep that bait in the strike zone for as long as you want. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted December 4, 2012 Super User Posted December 4, 2012 The answer is The Rig! Quote
(='_'=) Posted December 4, 2012 Author Posted December 4, 2012 thank you!! i understand how a jerkbait works, i have read about it but never tried it, i have a couple of them that have never been in the water, ill try them next time i go there... now, could you elaborate on swimming a grub?? how do you do it to keep in the strike zone?? and regarding drop shot... do you place right on top of the fish and just let the bait fall vertical ?? and the A-rig is allowed i believe (im in Mexico, i dont even think there´s a regulation about it)... i will get me one next time i go shopping and give it a try... thank you.... Quote
rabidsquirrel Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 If you go A-Rig, make sure you have a rod that will throw it reasonably well. I believe the magic formula is longer and heavier with a fast tip, but others may clarify a bit here as I don't throw the A-Rig much. You probably need a rod around 7'6" or longer, Heavy Action with a Fast tip. I can't remember the ideal specs... In fact, my Mojo Swim Bait Rod is the same spec as this Shimano Crucial Alabama Rig (Umbrella) rod: http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/products/rods/Crucial_Family/Crucial_Umbrella.html (Tried posting a link to the rod specs on Tackle Warehouse, but Admin rule wouldn't let me link there? Seems like a stupid rule, as it is good e-tailer site that does a very good job of listing all the specs of the products they carry... Frustrating!) 7'9" Heavy with Fast Tip. The Mojo swim bait rod is a decent option for the Umbrella Rig - I got mine from Dick's Sporting Goods for $140, but I was in immediate need at that time (Tournament). Quote
Super User WRB Posted December 5, 2012 Super User Posted December 5, 2012 Just because you meter "fish" doesn't always mean the meter marks are bass. Bass rest by moving off structure and suspend and they do this about 80% of the time, we call these bass inactive and not active feeding, unless you also metered baitfish near the bass. No bait, it is difficult to get these bass to react to lures. The first thing to do is determine if there is any baitfish in the area. The next thing is look for structure that is nearby and is about the same depth as the bass are holding. This is where those bass will go to feed when they become more active. A dart head, 1/8 oz should be about right for 20-25', with a baitfish color 5" curl tail finesse worm works. The A-rig is basically a school of dart heads. Others options; structure spoon or flutter spoon, swimbait, drop shot, spider jig w/twin tail grub, swimming jig like a Scrounger with soft jerk bait trailer. Work these lures through the "fish marks" or go look for fish near the structure at the right depth. Tom Quote
Super User Nitrofreak Posted December 5, 2012 Super User Posted December 5, 2012 thank you!! i understand how a jerkbait works, i have read about it but never tried it, i have a couple of them that have never been in the water, ill try them next time i go there... now, could you elaborate on swimming a grub?? how do you do it to keep in the strike zone?? and regarding drop shot... do you place right on top of the fish and just let the bait fall vertical ?? and the A-rig is allowed i believe (im in Mexico, i dont even think there´s a regulation about it)... i will get me one next time i go shopping and give it a try... thank you.... Swimming a grub through a pack of suspended fish is pretty good, it really depends on the weight you use and the size grub you have as well, if the fish are suspended in 20 feet of water you will need to count the bait down, if you are not familure with this, take the set up you wish to use and count the amount of time it takes to reach the bottom where you are fishing, if you are in 30 feet of water and the bait takes 30 seconds to reach the bottom then it is one foot per second, since the fish are in 20 feet you would cast past the suspended fish, count to 20 and start reeling the bait toward the area the fish are suspended at a slow or medium pace, depending on the gearing in your reel, lifting and lowering your rod tip as you go will cover a little more depth and will increase your chances of having a strike. A drop shot will allow a more vertical presentation for sure, even though it does not always have to be, it's one of the best at getting suspended fish imo, you can literally put it right in front of the fish and hold it there, you will need to figure out what the fish want to see with this presentation, but most of the time for me all there is to do is hold it in place with very little to no movement at all. Quote
quanjig Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Perfect time to throw a 1/2oz long bill scrounger with a fluke! Cast past the fish, count it down and slow deliberate swim thru the fish! Quote
Super User Crestliner2008 Posted December 5, 2012 Super User Posted December 5, 2012 Depends on how you like to fish; that is, if you are a powerfisherman or more inclined toward finesse. To start with, make sure you are finding bait in the suspending fish you are looking for. That's paramount. Once you have a high percentage area to fish, try two rigs for each fisherman. One for each should be a slip bobber set-up with a wacky rigged Senko at the business end. The second can be various effective presentations for suspended bass; swimming a grub, using a suspending jerkbait like a deep diving "Staysee", or the drop shot with a "Spectastic" Wiggle rig between the weight and the plastic you are fishing. With each fisherman floating a Senko and presenting alternative semi-power techniques, you will occaisionally score a "quad" hook up. Lots of fun! Quote
(='_'=) Posted December 6, 2012 Author Posted December 6, 2012 thank you!! i will try those techniques next time i head to the lake... at first we tried finding fish in structure at the right depth, but the lake has only this ridge that is 30 feet deep, ad the rest of the lake is really shallow... so, when the fish are deep, we know all of them are in the same ridge... this is a very small lake so there are not a lot of options to look for them.. so ill see if next time a drop shot or jerkbait can get me some fish... some people know have caught a couple using jigs, but not much either... for most of us, if we go there and get 2 or 3 fish in a morning, its an excellent day... Quote
Super User 00 mod Posted December 6, 2012 Super User Posted December 6, 2012 If you are not sure what fish are showing on your graph, a small jigging spoon will catch everything. Can't tell you how many days I have spent seeing fish on the graph and not catching them. Before I gave up, brought out the spoon to find they were white bass, yellow bass, crappie or whatever! Jeff Quote
(='_'=) Posted December 6, 2012 Author Posted December 6, 2012 If you are not sure what fish are showing on your graph, a small jigging spoon will catch everything. Can't tell you how many days I have spent seeing fish on the graph and not catching them. Before I gave up, brought out the spoon to find they were white bass, yellow bass, crappie or whatever! Jeff thanx for the tip!! i think i have a couple of them in my old tackle box, i have never used them, they seem too light and small... how do you fish them?? vertically?? or cast, let it sink and retrieve?? im not sure i will be able to cast it with baitcasting gear, and i dont have a spinning setup... Quote
Super User 00 mod Posted December 6, 2012 Super User Posted December 6, 2012 Easiest way is verticle. Let it fall to bottom. Reel up to right under suspended depth and lift and let fall on controled slack line. Baitcasting gear is better for me as spinning gear results in too much line twist. Jeff Quote
(='_'=) Posted December 6, 2012 Author Posted December 6, 2012 ok, thank you!! ill deffinitely try that.. i have never tried vertical fishing, seems like a little weird in my mind, same as wacky rigged worms, but if that is what works, im going to try it... Quote
HuskyKMA Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 My initial throught would have been a 15-20ft deep diving crankbait, but haven't seen that recommended. Can someone explain why that wouldn't be a good choice? Forgive me if it's a dumb question, haven't fished any deep divers yet. Quote
papajoe222 Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 My initial throught would have been a 15-20ft deep diving crankbait, but haven't seen that recommended. Can someone explain why that wouldn't be a good choice? Forgive me if it's a dumb question, haven't fished any deep divers yet. One possible reason you haven't seen it suggested is the fact that, IMO, most fishermen don't know exactly how deep a particular crankbait runs on the combo they're throwing it on. They know when it's bouncing off bottom or cover at a certain depth, but in water deeper than it's actually running, they're not sure if that DD22 is running at 16ft. or 22ft. The two reasons I personally wouldn't recommend a crank in this situation are; you're targeting inactive fish and even with a suspending crank, you'd likely be working it way to fast through the school and secondly, that crank will only be at that running depth for a short period of time and because these are inactive fish, you want your offering in their faces for as long as possible with the presentation you're using. For me, these two factors would eliminate a crank from my choices. My first choice would be either a wacky rigged drop shot style worm, or a hair jig suspended under a slip bobber. The other option would be to get directly above the fish and present the same offerings without the bobber. 1 Quote
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