Deep Water Access

[papajoe222]

I was pre-fishing for an upcoming tournament and doing quite well considering I'd never been on this lake before.  I was approached by two anglers at the launch that had seen me boat three nice bass off a weedless flat.  I expected the familar question about what I was using and was a little surprised when they asked why I'd chosen to fish that area as they frequent the lake and had never even considered it.  I explained that the flat had deep water access and was worth checking out IMO. There was a slow taper from four feet to ten feet before it dropped to 24ft. fairly quickly.  That second drop was a good distance from the flat and they couldn't understand my definition of deep water access as the deep water was maybe 100yrd. from where the flat started slowly tapering off.

What is your definition of deep water access and like me, does it change with the season and is it realative to the overall depth?

[roadwarrior]

A perfect example and one that many of our members have fished is a gravel bar at the

entrance of Dry Creek on Pickwick Lake. The bar itself is 3-8 feet deep, but drops off into

the main river channel, 20'+. In late winter/ early spring this is a prime nesting area for

both largemouth and smallmouth.

 

To add to the picture, the gravel bar is also adjacent to the old creek channel which

leades back into a major cove which is spring fed and always clear. Fish may pause

or stay on the gravel, but additiong spawning grounds are up the creek.

 

Then to top it all off, there is a secondary cove with boat docks and significant structure.

Cover, structure, current, freshwater and immediate access to deep water. Sounds  

interesting, huh? A couple of years ago fishing with Dinky during the BassResource

Roadtrip I caught 78 bass in one day, mostly around Dry Creek.

[Scott F]

I can't answer your original question and I am anxious to see more answers. Too many of the posts I see on these forums are concerns about what color bait or what shape the plastic should be because the poster isn't catching any fish. The better questions are always where should I be fishing? There are times when one color or one bait will out fish everything else, but more often than not, if you put a bait, any bait, in the right place, it will get bit. In my experience, knowing where to drop a line is the biggest key to success. Learning how bass relate to flats, dropoffs and structure is what will make me a better fisherman. Good post!

[BiteFiend]

I can't answer your original question and I am anxious to see more answers. Too many of the posts I see on these forums are concerns about what color bait or what shape the plastic should be because the poster isn't catching any fish. The better questions are always where should I be fishing? There are times when one color or one bait will out fish everything else, but more often than not, if you put a bait, any bait, in the right place, it will get bit. In my experience, knowing where to drop a line is the biggest key to success. Learning how bass relate to flats, dropoffs and structure is what will make me a better fisherman. Good post!

So, so true!

[Raul]

I can't answer your original question and I am anxious to see more answers. Too many of the posts I see on these forums are concerns about what color bait or what shape the plastic should be because the poster isn't catching any fish. The better questions are always where should I be fishing? There are times when one color or one bait will out fish everything else, but more often than not, if you put a bait, any bait, in the right place, it will get bit. In my experience, knowing where to drop a line is the biggest key to success. Learning how bass relate to flats, dropoffs and structure is what will make me a better fisherman. Good post!

 

95% of the people always ask the same questions about with what because they haven´t understood that is not with what but where.

[papajoe222]

A friend of mine, that sadly is no longer with us, once told me that flats with deep water access are gold mines as many different species will use it at one time or another and that makes it a prime feeding area. He would anchor on a flat, cast out a live bait setup, and then fan cast the entire area with a beetle spin. He rarely got skunked and most often would catch a mixed bag, so I took his advice. I don't anchor, but I will re-visit a productive flat multiple times during an outing and the one I mentioned will get plenty of my time along with the drop off there.

The other lesson I learned from him is that deep summer bass will use the slow tapering area leading up to the flat as a staging area on their way to or from the flat and any isolated cover there can hold fish.

[gulfcaptain]

Deep water access all depends on the lake itself.  If its a shallow lake say less then 20ft, it could be a flat that runs 3-4ft and drops off to 7, or a steep bank that has 40ft depth 30ft off the bank with a small ledge thats' in 8ft of water.  So access to deepwater could be as little as a 3ft depth change or a 30ft drop off.  More important to me is how the baitfish or forage base relate and hold in the area I'm looking to fish.