Fishing Deeper Water And Using Electronics

[Phatmanw]

Hello all,

 

First off, I would like to say that I just joined this forum and that this is my first post.  It's nice to be in the company of other bass anglers.  I am a proud boat owner and have been fishing since the pre-spawn in late feb.  During this time I have been focusing on shallow water fishing and throwing the whole tackle box at them to try to get comfortable with multiple lures.  When I have a bad day (bad days of fishing are way better than good days at work though right?), I don't really get frustrated since i'm new.  I just go home and fire up youtube and soak up as much information as I can from it.  I try to keep in mind all factors such as water temp, time of year, weather, but when I feel like I should fish deep, I just don't feel like i'm confident in where I chose to fish.  I've tried points and any structure I see with my fish finder (Humminbird 571), but I just haven't had any luck.  The lake I usually fish at has a maximum depth of 20 feet, which is pretty shallow compared to other lakes that i've been on.  My lure of choice while fishing deep is a carolina rig with anywhere from a 1/2 oz weight to a 1 oz weight depending on how windy it is.  I normally cast out, wait for the lure to find the bottom and then do a fairly slow retrieve with the rod.  I could be missing bites but i've become familiar with what a bite feels like catching bass with a Texas Rig as well as a wacky rigged Senko (Senko's are awesome).  The water clarity of this lake is pretty murky.  The only time I can see bottom is when i'm close to the banks and I can only see about 1-3 feet down at any given time.   The water temperature ranges from 65-70 degrees.  Since i'm not catching many fish shallow now, I feel like the fish are done spawning and are moving deeper to recover.  I have also heard that this is a tough time to fish following the spawn.  I'm starting to lean towards getting a new fish finder, but i'm not going to blame me not being able to catch fish on electronics, that just isn't me.  I'm pretty sure my technique needs to be tweaked before I go out and spend an arm in a leg on a lowance.  Any advice would be well received.

 

Thanks!

[retiredbosn]

Hello all,

First off, I would like to say that I just joined this forum and that this is my first post. ......... ., I don't really get frustrated since i'm new. I just go home and fire up youtube and soak up as much information as I can from it. ......... I'm pretty sure my technique needs to be tweaked before I go out and spend an arm in a leg on a lowance. Any advice would be well received.

Thanks!

First welcome to the forums, there is a wealth of knowledge and knowledgeable fishermen here. Soak it all in.

Also notice at the top of the pages here all the links to this website's videos and articles, and finally check out the thread called The best of BassResource located at the top of this section's page. Here is the link to it

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/60793-best-of-bassresourcecom/

Second post spawn bass, look for points, flats, humps that access deep water, if there is a channel intersection there even better. This type of structure allows the bass to move up shallow to feed yet escape to deeper water when they sense danger or just rest between feedings. With the stained water try a scrounger head, crankbait, bladed jig like a chatterbait, etc. Something that's going to provide a vibration for the bass to key in on. If it's very stained try working shallow, and I mean SHALLOW, like cast your line on the bank and work the bait off and into the water. You'll be surprised how shallow a bass will go, I know I've wondered how they even keep their backs under water.

Third don't bother with a Lowrance, get another Humminbird, join the dark side the images are better, lol

[WRB]

It's always helpful to know your regional location to give advice regarding the lake type you are fishing.

Look down sonar vs side scan is all we had for decades and very usefull. The limitation is the size of the area you are looking down is about 1/3rd the water depth; about 7' diameter spot of the bottom in 20', 3' spot in 10' for examples. As your boat moves forward you see a path at the width of the signal return, everything displayed is a history of what the transducer passed over.

What happens on most lakes following the spawn seasonal period is lake water continues to warm from top down, warmer near the surface, cooler in deeper water. When the surface warms above 75 degrees or warmer lakes tend to stratify and the thermocline develops. You can see this layer using your sonar.

Take some time to learn your sonar unit to locate the depth where bass and baitfish are at. Dragging a C-tig deeper than the bass are active at (fishing under the bass) and in areas void of bait or bass is wasting time.

My suggestion is use a good topographical map like Navonics and study that to determine areas that should hold bait and bass. Use your sonar to determine the most productive depth to fish, select lures that perform well at those depths and structure / cover where the bass are located.

Good luck.

Tom

[Slade House]

navionics has a good web app, but nothing beats a paper map and a highlighter

[jcoholich]

Totally agree with the paper and highlighter... But I would also check the webapp or phone app with navionics to make sure none of the depth lines changed or new stuff is uploaded in the freshest data.