Power plant lake fishing tips?

[mbtharp1]

So my friend and I are going to do some bass fishing at a power plant lake near us this weekend. Water temps are probably going to be somewhere in the low to high 50's... does anybody have any suggestions or tips on where to start? We plan on fishing on the warmer side of the lake and fishing some deeper rock. I'm not sure whether to start deep and work shallow or vice versa? Any suggestions on lures would be appreciated from anyone with experience fishing these lakes in the winter.

Thanks in advance!

[Nitrofreak]

In order to catch fish you must first find the fish.

something I learned here a long time ago, something about power plant lakes are just a little different with reverse currents mid to down lake waters, I fish one here in Va. A good bit, in reality the only part of the lake that fishes a little different is areas that have a reverse current, usually these lakes have a great amount of pressure, otherwise there really is not much difference in the way you would approach any other lake, find the schools of bait and you will find the bass not far away, while the lower part may hold the larger sizes of bass, usually the lower warmer water is vast in size making it more difficult to find fish, above mid lake the narrower arms of these lakes will normally hold concentrations of bass and can be much easier to locate and fish for, reducing your time looking and giving you more time to fish.

hope that helps, good luck and be safe !!!

[mbtharp1]

Thanks for the advice! 

[Bluebasser86]

Couple keys in finding fish at the powerplants by me. First, finding the baitfish, and sometimes even finding the right size baitfish. Next is finding the preferred water temp for the day. They're not always going to like the warmest water right by the outlet the best. Some days, it will be the colder water away from the outlet for some reason (most likely, it's because of reason 1). The really unique thing is, you could need to be fishing a topwater or burning a spinnerbait in the warm water, or you may need to be dragging a jig very slowly in the cold water, so you really have to be prepared to fish about anything. I like to cover water with a crank or trap until I find fish, then slow down and work the area over because they really seem to congregate in those warm water lakes.

[Nitrofreak]

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Couple keys in finding fish at the powerplants by me. First, finding the baitfish, and sometimes even finding the right size baitfish. Next is finding the preferred water temp for the day. They're not always going to like the warmest water right by the outlet the best. Some days, it will be the colder water away from the outlet for some reason (most likely, it's because of reason 1). The really unique thing is, you could need to be fishing a topwater or burning a spinnerbait in the warm water, or you may need to be dragging a jig very slowly in the cold water, so you really have to be prepared to fish about anything. I like to cover water with a crank or trap until I find fish, then slow down and work the area over because they really seem to congregate in those warm water lakes.

I like what he had to say here in this post, especially the part about finding the right water temp, a power plant lake varies greatly in temps from top to bottom, if you find the more active fish in the colder water it may also be because of the slowed movement of the bait fish in colder water making them easy prey for the bass, we all know how lazy the bass are so the easier it is for them the better.

One other tip I failed to mention was that there are usually marinas that have a great fishing reports, don't forget to look those up and read them first, they can be very helpful in narrowing your search, one more tool you have at your disposal on the water is your eyesight, keep an eye out for birds feeding on schools of bait fish, also very helpful in locating active fish. 

[mbtharp1]

Thanks for the tips bluebasser! You guys are a huge help. Watching for birds has payed off for me in the past, so I'm gonna have to remember to keep an eye out.

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, mbtharp1 said:

Thanks for the tips bluebasser! You guys are a huge help. Watching for birds has payed off for me in the past, so I'm gonna have to remember to keep an eye out.

That is a huge help when the birds are working. My biggest 5 fish limit ever in KS was thanks to a couple birds working a point that turned out to hold dozens of big fish. It was a spot I'd never fished before on a lake I'd fished often.

[bonzai22]

One thing that is a little different is at least on the power plant lake I fish shad are around all year so they are almost always a factor. Also if the plant isn't running or is barely running the fishing is normally a lot slower. If the plant is really going the fish are usually feeding very aggressively. Also the plant creates some current so if it is going you want to be throwing up current and bringing it back where the fish are since they are facing that way.