Hard Time Finding Bass While Bank Fishing.

[Gunnerntyler619]

I am fishing for Bass in 44 degree F water, and we haven't had any ice yet,but it is cold. I have a lake and a river I fish,and they are both pretty muddy. For the past month i havent seen almost any baitfish, Jumping Bass, or any signs of life. Ive fished the dam,creek arms, steep ledges, and most of the lake is rocky bottom. We have no vegatation. Ive used various lures, and ive done everything from dead still to burning a spinnerbait. My question is where are fish in this cold water? I would say we are in a winter pattern now because ive seen no baitfish. Does anyone have any experience fishing lakes with no vegatation in cold water?? Thanks-Tyler. P.S i am fishing from the bank and my lake has a topo map.

[Sam]

The bass have headed to C-Bus for the Ohio State-Michigan game this weekend.

 

Just Kidding.

 

Have you tried the Carolina rig?

 

What about a deep diving crankbait?

 

And I mean deep. Like diving five or more feet than the deepest part of the lake you are fishing.

 

Try to find cleaner water. Cold and muddy water do not make the best of conditions to fish in the winter.

 

The bass are deep holding to any structure or bottom pattern changes and drop offs they can find.

 

Give the Carolina rig and a deep diving crankbait a try.

 

Let us know how you do.

[Raul]

You start by looking for the warmest water available ( location in relation to the cardinal points ).

[gulfcaptain]

I'd start with Raul's advice, and then look at th steeper Northern shores where there is deep water close to the bank....bluff would be good if you could get access down there.  Fish can move vertically as the day warms or drop down without ever having to relocate to a different area.  The reason for the northern shores....they warm up due to more sunlight through the day.  Also docks with black plastic floats if there are any there would be a good stop since they can absorb the heat during the day and the fish can sit right under them and get the benefit of the radiant heat.

[Catt]

Weather!

What's it's doing 3 days prior to the day ya wanna go. Prefrontal if possiable & the closer the better.

I like the cove on the bottom right & east, notice the blue "P", notice where creek come close to the bank. Notice the point across the cove when the creek meets it.

Another technique, drop shot cast & fished like a c-rig!

[WRB]

Interesting lake, deep structured similar to our SoCal lakes. Difficult to read this map with fuzzy resolution.

I take it this is near Williamsburg, Virginia.

The first thing I what to know is what type of baitfish does this lake have?

The launch ramp near the dam look good, everything needed for cold water bass should be in that area, the problem is you are on the bank. Another good area for a bank angler would be up the lake where another launch ramp is located near a island. The bird foot looking coves about 1/2 mile east (if the map is north at 12 o'clock) have lots of points that drop into the river bed close together.

The launch ramp south across the lake has a good ledge on the east side that looks good. There should be cold water bass located in this area.

I would focus my fishing in these 3 areas for the next few weeks,

Deep structure lures;

Swimbaits, Plastic worms, structure spoons, jigs, tail spins and under spins, if you had a boat ice jigs.

From shore everything is worked uphill, difficult in rocky structure, can be done if you work at angles, instead of straight up.

Texas rigged worm, add a 7mm faceted glass bead between the hook and weight, this created clicks when you shake the rig. Use 6" straight tail worms, color is trail and error, start with black grape with blue neon vain.

Drop shot, 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz, size 1 mosquito hook with nose hooked worm, hook about 18" above the weight.

Swimbait, Basstrix or equal 6" paddletail minnow, blueback herring color, 3/4 oz fish head jig.

Structure spoon, Crippled Herring spoon with single hooks white, 3/4 oz or 1 oz.

Tail spin 3/4 oz Little George, chrome shad. Under spin, Sworming Hornet 3/4 oz with pearl jr Fluke.

Jig, 3/4 oz football plain head with Yamamoto twin tail 4" Hula grub, cinnamon blue flake.

Target the 25 to 40 foot depth zone, work back to the bank until you determine what depth works.

Good luck.

Tom

[Sam]

Tom, the lake is in Ohio.

[WRB]

Tom, the lake is in Ohio.

I see said the blind man, thanks. That leaves out herring as baitfish, maybe they plant trout?

Tom

[Matthew2000]

Most Ohio lakes only have panfish and lots of craws that's atleast how it is in the 10 that I have fished

[Ozark_Basser]

Your best bet is gonna be on the west side of the lake due to there being a lot more vertical structure.  Bluffs hold fish year round, but the two best spots I saw were the roadbed adjacent to the island and the end of the bluff on the north shore of the west side of the lake.  I'd fish the road bed and the shallow shoreline adjacent to the northwest.

 

The next spot is directly across the lake.  Take your finger and follow the road bed from the north shore to the south shore.  I'd definitley check out that whole "flat" from the nearest bluff section (east of the roadbed) to the first primary point going into the narrow section headed for the dam (west of the roadbed).  Both these spots are good because they are "flats" adjacent to vertical structure.  This is where those winter fish that hang around these spots move up to feed. The first spot also has a roadbed which is a big plus.  The second spot has tons of structure variations and a channel swing adjacent to that primary point I was talking about.

 

Both these spots scream wiggle wart, jerkbait, and jig and pig.  Check around with the locals on what tends to work on your lake though.  

 

I fish Bull Shoals and Table Rock.  They are set up a lot like this lake and neither have vegetation.  

 

Edit:  also the first real big cove just east of the roadbed around the middle of the lake.  See how it goes from bluff walls to a flat around the corner where it says 10'?  Pattern that kind of stuff around the lake.  PS I can't see the symbols too well and that would make it much easier to explain the location of these spots. Sorry.

[Driftb]

I am fairly certain that this lake has herring, specifically gizzard shad, as do most Ohio lakes.  No, they do not stock trout in Ohio inland lakes.  Anyway, this is a pretty tough call.  I would be looking for deep water in the res and fishing it with vertical type lures, like slab spoons, tail spinners, and my personal fav, a blade, like a Berkely Thinfisher or a Silver Buddy.  These lures could work out well for you, as they are easy to cast a long way.  Problem is, you are going to lose a few. If you can get locally made blades though, you might find them cheaper.  You could also try a jerkbait on the edge on those deep holes.  Remember to be patient and go real slow, and don't be too aggressive with the twitching.

    The jerkbait is going to work best with a fairly violent twitch or two, followed by a pause.  There are times I will pause for up to fifteen or twenty seconds.  The hits will usually come on the pause, and you may not even notice the hit  until you twitch the lure and it doesn't feel right.  Then you want to set.  I especially love fishing the Jerkbait in rivers this time of the year, for smallies, walleyes and in Ohio, in the Clear Fork river, saugeye.  My go to would be a #10 x-rap in silver black, but clown  is good in heavily stained water, and I have caught fish on every color of x-rap I have.  The LC pointer 100 and 78 will run a little  deeper and don't want to be  twitched as hard.  I hear good things about Yo-zuri and Smithwick too.   Don't worry about water color with a jerkbait.  They work great in stained water, I think they work better in stained or muddy water than in clear. 

[Gunnerntyler619]

Weather!

What's it's doing 3 days prior to the day ya wanna go. Prefrontal if possiable & the closer the better.

I like the cove on the bottom right & east, notice the blue "P", notice where creek come close to the bank. Notice the point across the cove when the creek meets it.

Another technique, drop shot cast & fished like a c-rig!

By resinger road boat ramp?? Thanks for your advice sir

[Gunnerntyler619]

Interesting lake, deep structured similar to our SoCal lakes. Difficult to read this map with fuzzy resolution.

I take it this is near Williamsburg, Virginia.

The first thing I what to know is what type of baitfish does this lake have?

The launch ramp near the dam look good, everything needed for cold water bass should be in that area, the problem is you are on the bank. Another good area for a bank angler would be up the lake where another launch ramp is located near a island. The bird foot looking coves about 1/2 mile east (if the map is north at 12 o'clock) have lots of points that drop into the river bed close together.

The launch ramp south across the lake has a good ledge on the east side that looks good. There should be cold water bass located in this area.

I would focus my fishing in these 3 areas for the next few weeks,

Deep structure lures;

Swimbaits, Plastic worms, structure spoons, jigs, tail spins and under spins, if you had a boat ice jigs.

From shore everything is worked uphill, difficult in rocky structure, can be done if you work at angles, instead of straight up.

Texas rigged worm, add a 7mm faceted glass bead between the hook and weight, this created clicks when you shake the rig. Use 6" straight tail worms, color is trail and error, start with black grape with blue neon vain.

Drop shot, 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz, size 1 mosquito hook with nose hooked worm, hook about 18" above the weight.

Swimbait, Basstrix or equal 6" paddletail minnow, blueback herring color, 3/4 oz fish head jig.

Structure spoon, Crippled Herring spoon with single hooks white, 3/4 oz or 1 oz.

Tail spin 3/4 oz Little George, chrome shad. Under spin, Sworming Hornet 3/4 oz with pearl jr Fluke.

Jig, 3/4 oz football plain head with Yamamoto twin tail 4" Hula grub, cinnamon blue flake.

Target the 25 to 40 foot depth zone, work back to the bank until you determine what depth works.

Good luck.

Tom

The main forage is Shad,but i havent seen any in weeks! Are they dying? I like your tip cabout fishing the vertical structure at an angle rather than a straight up and down retrieve. Ive never fished to the east of the dam boat ramp,maybe i will try that! Thank you for your tips Tom!

[Gunnerntyler619]

Your best bet is gonna be on the west side of the lake due to there being a lot more vertical structure.  Bluffs hold fish year round, but the two best spots I saw were the roadbed adjacent to the island and the end of the bluff on the north shore of the west side of the lake.  I'd fish the road bed and the shallow shoreline adjacent to the northwest.

 

The next spot is directly across the lake.  Take your finger and follow the road bed from the north shore to the south shore.  I'd definitley check out that whole "flat" from the nearest bluff section (east of the roadbed) to the first primary point going into the narrow section headed for the dam (west of the roadbed).  Both these spots are good because they are "flats" adjacent to vertical structure.  This is where those winter fish that hang around these spots move up to feed. The first spot also has a roadbed which is a big plus the second spot has tons of structure variations.  

 

Both these spots scream wiggle wart, jerkbait, and jig and pig.  Check around with the locals on what tends to work on your lake though.  

 

I fish Bull Shoals and Table Rock.  They are set up a lot like this lake and neither have vegetation.  

 

Edit:  also the first real big cove just east of the roadbed around the middle of the lake.  See how it goes from bluff walls to a flat around the corner where it says 10'?  Pattern that kind of stuff around the lake.  PS I can't see the symbols too well and that would make it much easier to explain the location of these spots. Sorry.

How will I know if im on the roadbed. I tried finding the creek channel while bank fishing the dam wall,and its hard to tell.Everything just feels rocky!! Thanks for the info ill try those and let you know!

[WRB]

The lower temp limit for most shad species is 45 degrees, the shad go deep looking for warmer water.

Without a boat with sonar you can only look for deep diving birds that feed on shad, but birds also migrate south when it gets too cold.

There is only so much you can do bank fishing.

What I called a south ramp is a swim beach if I read the legend correctly, follow the dotted line south from the north island, the ledge is to the left, runs along a step bluff, turns out into the main basin, that should be fish able from shore. There is a 20' hump, 1/4 mile, too far out for you to reach....need a boat.

Good luck.

Tom

[Ozark_Basser]

How will I know if im on the roadbed. I tried finding the creek channel while bank fishing the dam wall,and its hard to tell.Everything just feels rocky!! Thanks for the info ill try those and let you know!

Just fish the whole general area around that road bed.  If you can't see where the road goes into the water, you're gonna be guessing anyways. You SHOULD feel a bottom difference, but from my experience fishing road beds, it just depends on what surrounds the roadbed whether you know you are on it or not. Does that make sense?  Another good suggestion is look for rock transition on the bank (boulders to smaller rocks, smaller rocks to pea gravel, rock to clay etc.) If you find transitions like these at the spots I mentioned, fish them HARD.  

 

That creek channel is super deep around that dam. Don't fish that deep. But definitely fish that highspot to the east of the dam. How clear is the water on this lake?  If it's real clear, they will generally be deeper. If it's stained up some, they'll be shallower.  

[Catt]

Think Vertical

Think Deep

Think Bottom

Think Slow

[Texas Hawg Hunter]

Tradition says fish deep.  However, lots of guys say fish shallow. 

 

The great thing about fishing is there are always exceptions to rules and experimentation is key.

[deep]

What depths of water can you reach casting from the shore? If the answer is ~30 ft, try structures (not cover) associated with the main and feeder creeks in the western half (the half nearer to the dam) of the res. If the answer is <20 ft, it might be time to find a smaller lake where you can reach useful structure. Good luck.

[Ozark_Basser]

Tradition says fish deep.  However, lots of guys say fish shallow.  Here's a great article on shallow winter fishing http://***.***/story/1468384-7-tips-for-catching-shallow-winter-bass

 

The great thing about fishing is there are always exceptions to rules and experimentation is key.

Really good article. I didn't know gravel and clay bottoms held heat so well in the winter.  Thanks for posting this.

[WRB]

There is lot of difference between cold water and cold weather, the linked article never defines cold water by temperature, under 45 degrees. If the weather has been calm for a few day, some bass will move up in the afternoons. The problem with winter is it's usually cold and windy. The reason ledges or steep drop off areas adjacent to a shallow flat is good, the move up vertically and those are the areas suggested.

Tom