What Would You Do?

[Matthew2000]

This is the lake/pond that I fish in the summer in Ohio. It is about 40 ft max depth with the average between 8-12 feet. It's a old strip mine that was filled up with water, so the sides drop off pretty quick from the bank. There is a lot of surface weeds that float up to the surface and right under it. There are some brush piles and other cover spread in the bottom middle where it gets real wide. It is at max 3 acres total. There are some brush piles that kinda float right next to the bank and the fish hang around those as well as the weeds which are spread along pretty much the whole banks. Where it gets lighter in coloration in the picture is about 4-8 feet deep. The long cove on the left is probably 30 yards wide and is deep in the middle but only 2 feet on the sides, it drops off probably 2 feet per every 4 yards across. The water is crystal clear. Probably 12 foot visibility with poloarized sunglasses on. It's a very weedy lake except for some parts where there are none at all. I have a 12 foot deep V hull that I can go out in so the whole lake is accessible. There are LMB, bluegill, sunfish, pumpkinseeds, emurs, trout in the spring, and crappie. So how would you fish this ? Ps. The fish like to hang pretty shallow and usually in the shade.

[Ozark_Basser]

According to the forage you listed, I'd stay shallow. Swim jigs and paddle tail swimbaits through cover would be good. Jigs in the thickest cover and topwater frogs would probably be good as well.

[Ozark_Basser]

Also sounds like a perfect lake to test out the Hudd Gill.

[Dvigs16]

I would get those LMB jumping out of the water on a hoola popper or heddon crawler.  Anchor out about 75 feet from shore and cast towards the shore and walk it back out just waiting for the splash!  A few similar lakes up here in Canada, don't drop a boat in but casting along the shorelines with a crazy crawler always seems to get the LMB going.

[Crank Bait Nut]

You Can Throw A lot Of Baits In This Area , Around The Brush , Anything Weedless , Jigs , Worms Etc , Along The Weed lines , Swimbaits , Spinnerbaits , Chatterbaits , Rattle Traps.  On Top Of The Weeds , Frogs , Floating Worms , Anything Top Water Weedless.  You Can Toss Jigs , Craws , Worms , Beaver Baits , Grubs Into Open Pockets In The Weeds. 

 

Have Fun

 

Mike

[Big C]

I fish a lake similar to that (minus the trout and dropoffs).  Frogs/jigs in weeds and brushpiles.  Trout and bluegill swimbaits along the weedlines.  Dragging a Sick Fish on the weeds and letting it settle in the breaks/holes is another thing that works great.

[Matthew2000]

This fish was caught on a paddle tail. If you look behind me you can see the weeds that I'm talking about.

[Sam]

AM - hit the sunny side with the rock and grass.

Go with Senkos and drop shots.

Throw crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and Chatterbaits.

 

PM - hit the shallow areas with plastics and the grass.

Brush Hogs, Senkos, shaky heads.

Once again, try crankbaits, a lipless crankbaits, Chatterbaits and Shad Raps.

 

Hit the grass with the lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

 

Pitch and flip to all targets you can see along the bank and drop offs.

[Ozark_Basser]

Definitely looks a little froggy. It would be hard to put one down there. Nice fish.

[Matthew2000]

Definitely looks a little froggy. It would be hard to put one down there. Nice fish.

Soft body's work better than hollow ones. My grandpa missed a 6 pounder on a scum frig buzzing series. It came off as I put the net in the water.

[Matthew2000]

I would get those LMB jumping out of the water on a hoola popper or heddon crawler.  Anchor out about 75 feet from shore and cast towards the shore and walk it back out just waiting for the splash!  A few similar lakes up here in Canada, don't drop a boat in but casting along the shorelines with a crazy crawler always seems to get the LMB going.

You sound like me in the mornings. That's all I ever want to do, I just got a pompadour too.

[Ozark_Basser]

I'd check out the Honker Frog by Teckel USA. TW has them.

[Lund Explorer]

I'd fish it just like any other body of water. 

 

First, I would try to locate where the bass are.  Then, I would take into consideration the current conditions and how they may have an effect on the mood of the fish.  Only then would I even dare try to decide what lure may work the best based on those things stated before.  You really only have three choices for lures.  Top waters, horizontal baits, and vertical ones.  Any of those three may work better than the others on any given day, and what works best can change as quickly as conditions do.

 

But the bottom line is always the same.  The perfect lure isn't going to catch anything if you are fishing it where the fish aren't!

[papajoe222]

I've been fishing strip pits here in Illinois for almost 40 years and they can give you a headache trying to figure them out on most occasions.  The bay you mention is likely the area that bluegill and bass will use for spawning and will also be a great area for holding forage, especially if it has weed growth out to the 15ft. level or so. There is likely another area at one end or the other of the pit with a slow taper that would be similar.  I would work that deep weed edge in search of active fish and move out of the bay if I don't encounter any.

The brush piles will hold fish, but once the weeds show up the forage will relate to them and that is what I target.  The area just outside that bay may have a wider shelf than the majority of the pit which will be evident by the weeds extending out farther from shore. Non-active fish will be suspended just off of that shelf in that 12-15ft. level. Parallel the drop off with your presentations as much as possible and look for stair stepped drops and small outcroppings of rock to hold more fish that a straight drop.

Topwaters worked parallel to the drop work all day after post spawn and floating worms worked over the grass with pauses can have a dynamite affect.

[Bankbeater]

The weeds in your pic look like stuff that grows in a lake that I fish. I usually throw a weightless fluke or stik-o right in the middle of it.  I work the bait over to a hole and just let it sink down into the hole.  After a couple of twitches with no bites I work the bait over to the next hole, and keep going until I work the area.

[Fishes in trees]

You;ve got lots of options presented already.  I'm assuming you've got a boat.  Where I'd start is wacky rigging a senko along the face of the deeper weed lines, starting any place where it is irregular.  Deep weed lines on points is a good place to start.  Shady side of deep weed lines on points is a prime place.

Option B would be to Ned rig similar places.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

[BobbyRaeAllen]

Not specific to this lake, but anytime I fish a new body of water I start off with a senko. You know its going to catch fish. Once you've caught a few on it figure out where they are, what color they like, how they want it presented. Then model your other baits off of what the bass tell you.

If they like a white senko in the shallows, try out a weedless rigged super fluke. If they like a junebug senko on drop offs and brush piles, try throwing a black and blue jig... ETC...

Whether it be a senko or something else, start fishing it with confidence baits, then let the fish tell you what they want. (Especially topwater hehehe) Hope this helps! Tight lines!