Fishing Creek Channels

[texasoldtimer]

I fish a lake with a lot of timber and its easy to follow the creek channel and pitch a jig to timber on the channel edge and catch fish this time of year. But what if your lake doesn't have timber? Surely the fish are still relating to the creek channels this time of year. What do you throw in this instance when you don't have a visible target?

[Knightiac]

I'd still throw a jig. If I knew big bites were on it'd be a good size jig and if bites are supposedly hard to come by, then I'd toss a smaller jig. It's hard when you don't have a target, you've just gotta move slower and/or target at different depths. I've got a buddy who would be throwing a suspending jerkbait in that situation - garaunteed.

[Knightiac]

If you ask because you're hesitant about throwing jigs into open water - don't be. My PB was caught in open water on a small bend in a pond.

It is possible that a jig is too bulky fo fish sometimes, and in that case I like to rig a chigger craw or rage craw on a football jig head. No skirt.

[Nitrofreak]

When fishing non visable targets, you need to rely on your sonar, if you do not have a sonar, then there are a number of different approaches one can take, You need to figure out what the fish are relating to first, ie...structure, cover, if they are on the bottom then jigs/jigging spoons work very well, if they are relating to the channel ledge then maybe a jerk bait, or some narrow wobble crank bait that runs at the proper depth where the fish are located.

Exploration of the creek channel with a jig or C-rig will help you to understand what the fish are relating to if you do not have a sonar, relate to the time of day and the position of the creek channel as well, your best option this time of year will be creek channels that are East to West, the sun will stay over these waters all day and will help aid in keeping the waters warmer, bait fish will seek out these warmer water temps and the bass will follow, look for differences in the channel and note them, such as a bend for example, if you are an early riser and on the water before the crack of dawn, don't expect too much action until a little later in the day if the water temps are really cold, this is not to say that you wont catch any that early in the morning but the fish are just more active during warm water periods of time, give the sun a little time to heat up some areas first, such as shallower pockets of water or an area that has a lot of rocks, pick an area that best suits the time of day and fan cast it to get a feel for what is down there and you will soon find what the fish are doing if the fish are there.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[wademaster1]

i wouldn't exclude early mornings or late evenings just because of the temps, the best advice would be to fish all the time you can and form you're own "most productive" strategy, i've caught tons in the mornings while it's still quite chilly, good luck

[texasoldtimer]

I use my sonar/gps to follow the creek channel now. I am curious how to fish it when there is no visible cover. If I go to a different lake without so much timber I would still like to fish the creek channels effectively. Sounds like jerk bait and crankbait are possibilities. In regards to positioning of fish relative to the channel, I did notice all four fish I caught Saturday were on the same side of the channel edge. Also is there a time when the bottom of the creek channel holds the fish instead of the edges?

[zip pow]

I fish big turns or the steepest drops with crankbaits if there suspended off the edges or jigs and c-rigs if there on the very top or bottom also put your boat shallow and drag a jig up the channel edge I've caught a lot of big fish doing this. O also never count out a big flutter spoon cast it on the shallow and pull it off the edge let it fall abd hang on.

[Wayne P.]

This is a creek channel in timber, when bass are in this area, they relate to the direction changes of the creek.

 

 

This is a neaby lake and a school of bass in the creek where it makes a sharp turn, no trees in this area.

 

 

I fish both lakes the same way, timber is not part of the equasion, it's the bottom features that the fish relate to.

[texasoldtimer]

Good tips Zip. I love the flutter spoon here on Lake Fork but have only used it on humps and roadbeds. Great screenshots Wayne. Would you be fishing that bend if you had not graphed that school of fish? Do you fish along the creek channel for hundreds of yards or only fish the bends or only fish when you graph some fish? I tend to fish fast through the straight stretches and then slow way down on the bends.

[Wayne P.]

Good tips Zip. I love the flutter spoon here on Lake Fork but have only used it on humps and roadbeds. Great screenshots Wayne. Would you be fishing that bend if you had not graphed that school of fish? Do you fish along the creek channel for hundreds of yards or only fish the bends or only fish when you graph some fish? I tend to fish fast through the straight stretches and then slow way down on the bends.

I know those lakes very well, BUT even with traditional sonar, I would have to see some returns there to make me stop and make one cast. I checked that same area a week later and there were no fish there, not even a shad. I see them sometimes on straight stretchs of the creek, but they hold on turns for a longer period of time. The fish were moving to the deeper areas due to the water temp dropping. I don't waste my fishing day trying to catch fish that are not there.

That is why I have sonar equipment, I don't need casting practice, I want to know were they are so at least I have a chance of a catch. Just the type of sonar used for those images, eliminates the fishless water faster.

The same goes for humps, points, depressions, bottom hardness changes, sharp dropoffs, etc.

 

In late summer, it's the thermocline that determines where they are. If those locations are deeper than the thermocline I don't even check there. The depth of the thermocline is the first thing I check during the summer. That eliminates all the water deeper than that and shallower also most of the day.

This image shows a creek channel in timber that is below the thermocline. I wouldn't waste time looking or fishing anywhere near the area no matter how many turns are close by:

[texasoldtimer]

I approach humps and roadbeds the same way you are talking about. I will graph sometimes 10 spots before I ever wet a line. But I never really worry about seeing fish when working a creek channel. I caught a 8-14 and a 8-12 Saturday pitching to timber along the edge of the creek channel. That was after 2hours without a bite of winding through the timber pitching at every piece of wood beside the creek. I don't know if you could have seen these fish on your graph, maybe with side imaging. I don't mind pitching to visible timber suspecting a big fish is laying against it at the bottom. I think for sure on a creek channel without visible cover I could use the graph like you are saying to choose my areas.