Advice On Fishing This New Small Lake

[FoodaFletch]

Hey guys, my family just bought this cabin up on lake alice near seattle. I've been coming up here to fish for about 3 years now and have always struggled to catch bass. It is always stocked with about 8,000 rainbow trout every March. I've caught one 4 pound largemouth on the southeast bank where it drops and another small one in the Same spot. Both were during summer. I've worked that spot dry over the past couple years and I feel like I've fished all aspects of the lake with absolutely no luck. The worst part is that every now and then in the summer I can see some big ones swimming around. I've worked the docks multiple and some of the drop offs on the north side with jigs, dropshot senkos and crankbaits. Still, it's a good day if I get a bite. The southeast side is almost one huge flat passed the point. Now that I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this lake, I want to figure out these suckers. What would you suggest on finding and catching these bass?

[RSM789]

Have you ever tried something that looks like the stocked rainbow trout?

[Darren.]

Welcome to the forums.

 

Are you a bank-beater, or do you have a means to get around

to different spots at the lake?

[Dogmatic]

Trout swimbait, right after stocking. Fish those transitions. It's not very deep, so maybe dead sticking will draw the big ones up. But like Darren asked, you in a watercraft or on the bank?

[Ozark_Basser]

What's the cover like on the lake? Is there a lot of grass? Any mats? Any wood cover?

[FoodaFletch]

The bottom is pretty muddy untill about 6 or 7 feet deep when some weeds start to set in. I have a little John boat that I fish off of, and there is a bit of fallen timber over on the southeast bank.

[everythingthatswims]

 I would try a big wakebait in the summer in the early morning, late evening, and at night.

[Ozark_Basser]

Snap a lipless crank or chatterbait out of the weeds. Let it fall back down then snap it out again. Be prepared to get bit right when you snap it free or when its falling. If your lake has mostly muddy, soft bottom in the shallows, don't expect to get bit there a whole lot. Bass don't like soft bottoms. You might see some roamers here and there where there is soft bottom, but roaming is all they are doing. Im not saying you couldnt possibly catch one, but i wouldnt put in a whole lot of time there. Find some areas with a hard bottom. If there aren't very many places, then the few places you find would definitely be key spots. The exception would be the docks. Learn to fish docks well. This is not easy, but would be well worth it. Docks hold fish year round, and people who are good at fishing docks generally do pretty well no matter what the conditions are. Usually in small bodies of water, bass pretty much just roam the banks, but your lake could be an exception due to soft bottoms and deeper weeds. Also, figure out what the main forage is and their habits. This will influence how the bass behave a great deal.