Help Me Locate Fish Pls

[ZhouNi]

Was there any ponds in the area before the dam was constructed that had bass populations?

Otherwise most states stock fingerlings, no brood stuck because the adults tend to eat the fingerlings.

If they stocked 6" bass, then there maybe some brood stock.

3 to 3 1/2 year old bass would be about 2 lbs to 2 1/2 lbs, you may want to down size your lure selection to 5" to 6" worms, 1/2 oz lipless crankbaits to start with.

Tom

yes there was quite a few pond before they fill the lake and there has been some big bass caught on the lake  the biggest one on lake record wand like a 7+ so there are definely fish there. i started bass fishing last summer on the bank and the biggest one i caught was a 2 1/2lb , there are a lot of smaller fish in there. this is my first year fishing in  boat thats why i am having hard time,still trying to learn everything 

[ZhouNi]

ZhouNi, you say you caught them last year.  Okay, look at the area where you caught them, were they shallow, are there any creek channels, deep water access close by?  Were they school fish chasing bait or fish on cover? If they were on cover I would bet they just slid out to deeper water. And if the water is warming, the baitfish you're looking for may be up in the shallows and not in deeper water.  But to keep it simple, go back and look hard at the areas where you caught them and focus on the deeper structure and cover in those areas.

yah i caught a lot last year fishing on the boat ramp, but i got tired of fish on the bank. So i went brought a bass boat, but since i am new to boating and bass fishing i am still trying to learn everything i can.  One dumb question i got to ask,  does every lake have bait fish, and when ppl say bait fish, what are they talking about.   i have seem some small fish gather around the bank last summer, they are like minnrow size fish,, are those what ppl are calling bait fish?

[gulfcaptain]

yes, that would be the bait fish.  Since you are new to boating, there is a learning curve and it can be tough. The hardest part is understanding you electronics.  If you use the DSI it makes it a little easier, but if you watch most of the pro's when they are showing you the electronics they have it on the color graph.  Understanding how to read this is the hard part.  Don't get hung up looking for bait.  Also, how deep is this lake?  If it's deep and clear, you may need to go deeper.  In S.Cal it's not uncommon to fish bass in 40ft of water on clear lakes.  But being clear it is going to take some time to warm up as well.  You may try looking for stained or slightly dirtier water which will warm faster then clear as will the North side of the lake due to sun exposure. Stained water also may make the fish less spooky.  If I were you, take your boat out, take a few markers buoys with you, and pick an area.  One of the areas WRB suggested and spend a few hrs just looking with the electronics so you can get a picture in you mind of what the bottom looks like.  Look at the shore, is it rocky, steep, does it have a wash that runs into it somewhere, is it clay or shale, does it have a break where it goes from clay to rock?.  These can give you an idea to help get a picture of what you're looking at.  If you see something of interest throw a buoy or mark it with a waypoint and keep looking. Once you are done go back and fish the spots that you marked. Being clear I would look for steeper banks where the fish can move vertically without having to go to far. And then look in that area.  Asking questions and being observant to EVERYTHING will help.  Example, are there flocks of coots?  Do they stay in one area of the lake and only in one part of the cove.  Odds are they found some underwater grass/weeds and are feeding on it.  Guess what I'm saying is be observant.  When you fished the bank did you see any bluegill?  Just keep looking and keep learning, welcome to the world of fishing from a boat.  See when you fished from a shore you had to work with what you had, once people get a boat they think it's gonna be easy, nope just got a bit harder because you're mobile, more options, and tend to fish faster, and try to cover more water. Took me a couple years fishing as a charter captain to take my time, read the conditions and the water, and then find the spot I want to fish where the conditions at hand are going to be the most productive and not try and fish a huge area of water.  The more time you put in the easier it will be.  Just take notes each time you go out and when you catch fish write down all the info, water temp, depth, water color, etc.

[Catt]

Short & Sweet!

Creek channel coves, Wacky Rig, 15' towards the bank, target all types of cover!

[WRB]

Learning boat control and bass fishing at the same time by yourself is a challenge. You will save a lot of time if you can get a knowledgable bass angler to fish with you. We can give you some advice on where and what to fish, can't help you control the boat.

What type of tackle do you fish with, be specific as you want; spinning or bait casting with XX line, rod is XX ?? The reason is to suggest the lure types and presentation techniques.

It's going to get easier as the water warms!

Bass are predator fish and eat smaller fish ( bait fish), crawdads, worms, frogs, etc. soft plastics appeal to several prey types, move slowly and taste/ feel alive to the bass. Faster moving lures are more impulse strikes, last second reaction by the bass.

Tom

[ZhouNi]

Learning boat control and bass fishing at the same time by yourself is a challenge. You will save a lot of time if you can get a knowledgable bass angler to fish with you. We can give you some advice on where and what to fish, can't help you control the boat.

What type of tackle do you fish with, be specific as you want; spinning or bait casting with XX line, rod is XX ?? The reason is to suggest the lure types and presentation techniques.

It's going to get easier as the water warms!

Bass are predator fish and eat smaller fish ( bait fish), crawdads, worms, frogs, etc. soft plastics appeal to several prey types, move slowly and taste/ feel alive to the bass. Faster moving lures are more impulse strikes, last second reaction by the bass.

Tom

I am fishing out of a nitro z6. Since I am still very new to fishing, I am trying out all different brands of line and reels. I have 4 bait caster and 2 spinn,academy h20 express bait cater are spooled with the following lines 65 pound spider wire braid for top water. 12 vicious folor on abu revo stx on a 7'1 st croix mhxf rage or bottom contact. Lew laser mg on 7' falcon mhf for cranking , 7 ' spinn rod with 17lbseaguard red label for wacky rig .

[Catt]

I am fishing out of a nitro z6. Since I am still very new to fishing, I am trying out all different brands of line and reels. I have 4 bait caster and 2 spinn,academy h20 express bait cater are spooled with the following lines 65 pound spider wire braid for top water. 12 vicious folor on abu revo stx on a 7'1 st croix mhxf rage or bottom contact. Lew laser mg on 7' falcon mhf for cranking , 7 ' spinn rod with 17lbseaguard red label for wacky rig .

Ya got everything ya need except water!

The great thing about pre-spawn is multiple techniques work because all bass aint doing the same thing at the same time.

[WRB]

I am fishing out of a nitro z6. Since I am still very new to fishing, I am trying out all different brands of line and reels. I have 4 bait caster and 2 spinn,academy h20 express bait cater are spooled with the following lines 65 pound spider wire braid for top water. 12 vicious folor on abu revo stx on a 7'1 st croix mhxf rage or bottom contact. Lew laser mg on 7' falcon mhf for cranking , 7 ' spinn rod with 17lbseaguard red label for wacky rig .

Nice boat! I will guess you have a sonar unit, trolling motor with transducer up front, standard bass boat set up. The lake looks about 1 1/2 long, small lake, but big enough to take some time to learn.

1. The spinning outfit may be need to change the line to 8 to 10 lb line.

Spinning can be used for several soft plastic finesse presentations and I recommend reading Don Iovono's little book on Finesse fishing and the Sonar connection.

My favorite rigs to teach new bass anglers are;

Slip shot and drop shot rigs using spinning tackle.

Slip shot or finesse C-rig consist of; sliding 1/8 oz mojo weight. Glass bead, Carolina keeper or pegged glass bead, size 1 Gamakatsu light wire worm hook (49410-25, 25 pack). Roboworms in 5 1/2" curl and straight tail oxblood/ red flake and MM III colors. You can drag this rig all around the areas I suggested at the depth you meter fish marks or 1' to 25' up or down hill. Weedless hook (T-skin hook) the worms.

Drop shot, 1/4 oz drop shot weight, size 1 Gamakatsu or owner drop shot shot hooks, hook about 10" above the weight. Use this rig where you see fish marks near the bottom, straight tail Roboworms above.

Nose or wacky hook the drop shot worms.

6" Senkos wacky rigged, (o-ring) with weedless wide gap size 2/0 Gamakatsu or Owner hooks. Nail weight with 3/32 Eagle Claw or Lunker City.

Jigs with your casting outfit;

Start with a spider jig, 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz plain-black football weedless heads with GY 4" hula grubs in dark watermelon green, red/blk flake.

These are all bottom bumping rigs. If you need to use faster lures, stay with jerk baits and lipless cranks for the next 2 months, but try to fish the slow bottom rigs more often.

New lakes have lots of brush and the bass grow fast. Enjoy you're time on the water with your new boat!

Talk to other anglers and watch them to learn how they are catching bass and share your success with them.

Good fishing.

Tom

[ZhouNi]

Thanks for all the advise U guys are the best I will go try everything out when it warm up..

[tatertester]

You say this is a new lake?.....What flow made the lake?.....Is it possible that there are a limited number of fish in the lake?

[ZhouNi]

You say this is a new lake?.....What flow made the lake?.....Is it possible that there are a limited number of fish in the lake?

This lake was stock with a lot of fish before they open it up and they just stock another 100000+ fish this past winter. So there are plenty of fish in the lake it's just the matter for me catching it I guess

[boostr]

Looks like he is only allowed to fish half the lake so the Dam is off limits. Will be easier to fish the lake... less area to cover.

[ZhouNi]

caught my first fish of the year today     

[West Tennessee Bass. Man]

My partner and I will be fishing this lake soon. Let me know how you do.

[West Tennessee Bass. Man]

Hey guy i live in West Tennessee. Will Be Fishing Carroll County some. Stay in touch and we can share information.

[bigbill]

Right now the bass are in the northern most part of the body of water because that gets the most Sun during the day. As there almost ready to bed. It's still cold here.

Hint my new kittens are laying in the big Windows soaking up the sun right now. Predators think alike.

I seen during the low water here one year I got to see the empty bass beds in the middle of the summer. What a large nursery for a small body of water.