Deep Water Tips

[CayMar]

I'm planning to go out looking for fish in open water for the first time this weekend. I'll be on Lake Eufaula(In Alabama)Saturday-Monday. I have an idea of what to look for as far as structure and cover are concerned. I have a topo map of the lake and I plan to scout out several spots to try this week. My question is what are a couple of techniques my dad and I can start out with. I want to focus on a searching technique and a technique for when we find fish. I don't want to over complicate things, being deep water beginners and all. I'm thinking DD cranks and jig with trailers or maybe lipless cranks and drop shots. Maybe a Carolina rig would be our best bet. I could really use some input from you guys. Thanks in advance.

Oh yea I plan to fish in water 30'> and the water is usually pretty stained. About 3-4 feet of visibility.

[papajoe222]

If it weren't for the 30ft. depths, I'd suggest the deep cranks, but you won't get them that deep. Besides, I've found that beginners to fishing them tend to give up after a short time and without a back up presentation they're dead in the water so to speak. 

That option not withstanding, I'd opt for either a football jig or a C-Rig either of which would be in th 3/4-1oz. range to get down and stay down.  Another presentation you don't hear a lot about on this site is vertical jigging as most guys only think of it as a cold water presentation, but I'm here to tell you it's a great way to probe the depths and doesn't wear you out or require a lot of concentration. 

Hopefully you have some decent electronics and are able to locate either baitfish or fish, or both.  Suspended fish are difficult to target as you need to be able to keep your presentation either at their depth or slightly above.

One trick I can pass on to you to make that job a little easier is to note their distance in relation to the bottom, let your spoon fall to the bottom and raise it with your reel to the fish's level.  Attempting to count down a lure to 25 or 28 ft. is a lot more difficult than raising it 2 or 5ft. off the bottom.

[IneedAnewScreenName-3261]

One of the best deep water applications is drop shotting without a doubt. I know it doesn't get done much in the south, but you can put a heavy weight on, get to the bottom fast and present your lure to fish very effectively. If there is lots of vegetation you can rig your choice of plastic texas style to help with the weeds. A very underated bait in the summer is a creature style bait. You don't have to put a tiny worm on with 6lb line. If you have electronics, find a good looking spot on your map and trolling motor around it until you can see them on the graph. Open your bail and drop it straight on there head. You don't even have to move it, just let the wind push you can drag it along.

[Shane J]

I'd start with a C-rigged Eel or Lizard, then a 3/4oz jig/Rage Lobster. Find the depth the baitfish are at, then fish structure at that depth.

[Catt]

For one to be successful at fishing there are two things you must be proficient at and neither has anything to do with lures.

#1 Learn what structure is, how to truely identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.

#2 learn what the predominate prey species is in your lake and how it relates to structure morning, noon, and night...with each passing season.

Learning these two will greatly reduce your learning curve!

[CayMar]

I did some homework the primary food source is threadfin and gizzard shad. I'll have to learn more about structure and cover out on the water. I've seen alot of pictures of guys holding up fish with jigs in their mouth though so I'm not sure if there is a population of craw dads or not.

[redboat]

I decided a couple years ago that I needed to learn to fish deeper structure as the deepest Id ever caught a bass was 10 feet. So two years down the road I catch maybe 10% as many as before and the deepest Ive caught a bass is 10 feet. But I have an awesome collection of DD22s, carolina rigs, and 1 oz jigs.

[CayMar]

So your saying stay shallow?

[Nice_Bass]

So your saying stay shallow?

http://www.navionics.com/en/webapp

 

zoom in to yhe lake and screen print the area you are wanting to fish and I'm sure you could get some specifics.  No reason to limit any depth out though until you verify whats there.

[ClackerBuzz]

my quest to learn structure fishing is a 2:1 ratio and is as follows:

-get butt kicked trying to structure fish 2 hrs.

-go shallow for 1 hr and have fun catching fish.

repeat.

 

on a more serious note I use jigs for silent and chatterbaits for noise. use a 'search' style bait that you are comfortable with. a jig or carolina rig are probably the most common that most guys have in their box (w/o having to invest in deep cranks or heavy/long rods).

 

i did learn a few things so far.  use ur experience reading above the water to help read structure/below the water.

 

if there are 10 coves but only 1 has a stream tricking in, fish the structure off that cove.

if there are 10 docks, fish the dock that is closest to the deepest water.

if there are 10 points, fish the point that is closest to the creek channel.etc etc

 

lush/steep banks covered in tall trees, boulders, drop offs are much better shorelines compared to slow tapering, coverless/desert looking bush banks. if i "like" the look of a shoreline for shallow fishing and I'm confident i'll catch fish shallow, I'll start fishing 10>50 yds off shore and usually can pick up something close. the farther off shore i get, the more jambalaya I eat

 

i still need to try and meet up with Shane to get my ratio to 1:1.

[mjseverson24]

1 oz football jig for a search bait, dropshot or large shakeyhead for the slow presentation. another option is the bottomdweller spinnerbait by strike king, get the heaviest model and fish the extended points. with the gizzard shad this might be a good option. 

 

Mitch

[redboat]

So your saying stay shallow?

Just sayin', shallow is what works for me, deep structure fishing not so much.  Watching the pros on TV, it seems most of them fish shallow also - a few structure/deep fishing from time to time but they spend most of their time fishing shallow cover, not structure.  And those guys make their living fishing.