What To Throw

[bleedingshrimp]

160 acre reservoir

55-60F water temp

55f air temp

Slightly stained

Wind 5-10 mph

Partly sunny

Post cold front

10 ft. At deepest part

I'm thinking swimbait, crankbaits, jigs, flukes.

What say you all?

[papajoe222]

Not knowing what type of structure or cover is present, I'd go with a shakey head or drop shot for post frontal conditions. After a couple of days of stable weather, I'd opt for a crank or spinnerbait depending on the cover.  It's difficult to target pre spawn fish in a body of water that shallow as there is very little difference in depth between deep water and spawning areas.  Rather than retreat to a staging area after a cold front, their movement would likely be to move tighter to available cover.  Their strike zone will shrink considerably and because of that, finess tactics should produce better than going for a reaction bite.

If cover allows, a lipless crank could be the exception to that line of reasoning.  For some reason, bass will still hammer one of those while ignoring a spinnerbait or crank.  Don't ask why, just be sure to give one a try.  If you do get bit, switch to a finess presentation and you'll likely boat a couple more from the same area.

[roadwarrior]

New secret weapon: Rage Tail Cut-R

http://www.ragetail.com/news/08/the-cut-r-worm-new-2014/

[frogflogger]

I'd sure try a spinnerbait

[bleedingshrimp]

Tough fishing but the one lmb I caught was 3.5 lb. Caught on a bluegill kvd swim jig w rage craw trailer jj dipped. No luck on cranks, spinner, or swimbait.

[RipSomeLips]

I'm thinking jerkbait or a tight wiggle 4ft or deeper crank. I would try a color crank that reflects the natural forage.

[Stingray23]

Jerkbait, weightless fluke

[bleedingshrimp]

Next time I'm gonna throw some jerkbaits, my only concern is there are a ton of pickerel and they slaughter those jerks..lol.

[Bass NC]

Next time I would throw jigs in addition to the jerkbait if that's what you had luck with the first time.....just a thought

[Kevin22]

55-60 water temp I'm slow rolling a spinnerbait or slow cranking a thin profile crank (rapala shad rap, flicker shad, smash shad, etc). 40-50 water temp is jerkbait time. By 55 they should be in pre-spawn and plenty active enough to chase and hit a moving bait. 

[Stingray23]

55-60 water temp I'm slow rolling a spinnerbait or slow cranking a thin profile crank (rapala shad rap, flicker shad, smash shad, etc). 40-50 water temp is jerkbait time. By 55 they should be in pre-spawn and plenty active enough to chase and hit a moving bait. 

You dont need to slow roll a spinnerbait in 55-60. You should be burning it. I fish a spinnerbait at a steady speed in the 40's and catch all the time.

[primetime]

Depending on Boat Traffic since it is not a HUGE lake(If heavier than normal, Bass will often Retreat to an area people are avoiding and will usually want slow small offerings like a 4" worm, 3" grub etc...,I would think in 10 feet of water, I am fishing shoreline cover if present with Plastics, I go 6" worm jus to get some fish, and if you go an hour and nothing on shoreline cover, find a lake point, countour change, moving water, offshore structure and cover water with a c-rig since 10 feet is almost a big flat, cast it a mile and if that is not working, throw a topwater lure with a prop since they are not relating to bottom, and will always look up and hit a devils horse, flat rap worked erratic, maybe swim it 4 feet deep, and also throw a flutter spoon to mimic color of natural forrage..Key is size of bait and speed imo...Better luck next time. Jigs were a good choice by the way and may be the way to go next time. If your swim jig had a rattle, maybe go silent next time, smaller, and drag it slow or burn on surface until you find them......

 

You can use any lure to cover 10 feet of water and I say work Bottom first so you can eliminate that early if not the ticket, but many times I find dragging the bottom or using any lure near bottom is the answer, if not, I know that they are obviously suspended and then its topwater time, rip a spoon or fish it a few feet down, or go swimbait 2 foot under..

 

Oh, and a Chatterbait in white or brown is a great lure anytime of year since it is a crankbait, jig, jerkbait, flutter spoon....I catch em burning it on surface, flipping, jigging, and you can't fish it wrong. Adjust vibration, size, color, and most important, bulk of trailer, I like thin when cold, 4" grub, regular trailer they come with is ok, but triple ripple grub is a good one to have in your box.