Where Do You Do Your Best?

[PersicoTrotaVA]

Caught my PB(5.54lb) this year right off the bank, less than 2 feet of water with a 1.0 KVD squarebill crankbait.  Most of my fish have come from 0' to 4' of water.  This also due to the fact that most of the lakes I fish are shallow lakes, less than 12'.

[Darren.]

Hard for me to say what depth. Wacky, once again, has been the fave method for me. I fish it weightless and weighted and have caught fish on both. Probably more on weightless, so I'll guess that is in the 0-2 foot range give or take.

[Josh Smith]

As some have noted, I've been playing with one lake this year.

 

It's overfished, or has been in the past, and I have done best in shallow water, on the bottom, in the grass.  I caught a decent one on a Spook, and a smaller one on a shallow crankbait.

 

Most have been on jigs and Texas rigs, though. 

 

They're not big in this lake, though I have no doubt there are cagey huge ones out there.  I don't expect much being in Northern Indiana so far as size goes.  I've been seeing 12" to 14" here, mostly.  The pattern seems to have shifted and I'm trying to figure it out again.  We just had some heavy rain and a massive cold front, so I'll have to go out again, maybe tonight.  We'll see.

 

The lake has green water and is very fertile.  That one bass I caught on a crankbait this last time out has splotches that I was told here indicate very healthy bass.  (I started a thread.)

 

There are no shad in this lake, and the question is, what are they feeding on?  Next time I go out, I'm taking plenty of cranks that look like baby bass, crawdads, and sunfish. 

 

There's usually matted cover in this lake that I've not seen this year.  I was going to try froggin'.

 

Speaking of frogs, they all done disappeared sometime in the past month.  I'll have to look into that.  They were all over that pond.  Hmmm....

 

Josh

[FrogFreak]

Hmm, not too many huge fish this year but the ones I have caught in the 5 lb range (big for up North) have been on a popper in 2 ft of water next to lilies, a frog in 3-4 ft of water right in the middle of the lilies  a Sexy Dawg in 4 ft of water on a weed edge, and a popper in 1 ft of water under a bridge. 

[LApanic]

I've caught them good shallow, 2-6ft range, all year and it fits my style so I've enjoyed myself.  Between fishing the local club, a couple pot trail derbys and private ponds.....I can count on one hand the number of fish caught 10+ feet. GRASS HAS BEEN KEY to my better than average fishing this year for me.  Alot of time spent on Eufaula, Lake Seminole, the Chattahochee between the two for mentioned lakes and the Flint River has humbled me but helped me as well when it comes to the thick stuff.  Baits have been....50% Hollow body frog, 30% Magnum Ultravibe (WM Magic) 10% Buzz Frog, 10% Chatterbait.

 

Let me set this up for you...lol

1. My Avatar was a 1.5 months ago, Flint River, Bainbridge AL.... slight stain, bluebird skys and 94deg at noon
2. grass edge in 2ft down to 8ft  in small cut of of river w/ slight current
3. Mag U-Vibe, 1/16th oz Tungsten to the first 1-2ft of grass line....slooooow drag of the edge...and BAM
4. Won the tourney with 23lbs in 2 hours

 

As far as rock and the Chattahoochee River.  the 2-5 ft range of tapering rock shoals with boat sitting in 7-8ft....its been lights out for 2 months in the first 2-3 hrs on a Super Spook Jr, Yellow Belly TN Bass ***PB tournament fish (7.4lbs) slurped that confidence bait right down.

 

Point of the story....call me an old "bank beater" but love to fish shallow in the grass with confidence baits...and they stayed relatively shallow, in this part of the country, thankful this year so far

[bassfactor]

Big ones on jigs, poppers and soft jerkbaits fished in a variety of ways and conditions.

[mjseverson24]

Each lake is so different in MN some of them deep is  the key some its shallow and some its that mid range(5-9) that is the key. I like to fish the mid to deep tuff when I can, but sometimes the super shallow bite is where it is at. I would have to say deep is my most productive, but only because my shallow water game is not as good as it should be. 

 

Mitch

[einscodek]

Top and mid-depth for me

I have a few jig fish but I aim to get better at the jig for more bottom fish..

[papajoe222]

It really depended more on the overall depth of the water I was targeting. In water under 10ft with cover present, mid-depth cranking and spinnerbaits.  In water over 10ft with cover, whatever depth the cover topped out and with no cover, on the bottom.   Overall, with the low production of weeds this year, the majority of fish I've been catching have been within a foot or two of the bottom.