Shallow Water Winter Tips

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

Looking for a little help on my home water. I fish New Orleans City Park, which has a pond and lagoon with 11 miles of shoreline. Stained water with about 1-2ft of visibility and tons of vegetation. I've been having trouble putting a pattern together lately since temps here in southeast Louisiana are finally becoming "winterish". After talking to some buddies with the Wildlife and Fisheries and a lot of research, I've learned the average depth in the park is 2.5ft, with the deepest spot being just under 7ft. With water that shallow, what should I be keying on when fishing those cold post-frontal days? 

[ethan-333]

id be looking for banks being hit by the sun especially if the bank has rock on it

[Catt]

7 hours ago, Big_Easy_Bassin said:

 I've been having trouble putting a pattern together lately since temps here in southeast Louisiana are finally becoming "winterish". 

 

ROFLMAO!

 

The highs for the next 7 days are in the upper 60s to mid 70s with lows at night in the upper 50s to mid 60s!

 

Start thinking pre-spawn

["hamma"]

   If there is dense veggies? right around a prespawn time? I'd try flippin holes in it, with a rattling jig and pig, slowly pullin a frog over it, maybe a weedless rigged soft swimbait,... and if you can find any open water? toss a spinnerbait thats mimicing a bluegill,or shad maybe? or a rattling jerkbait fished with kinda long pauses.

 

 At least those are what I would attempt up here, Not to sure about your area tho. Your just a bit south of my locale,...lol

[N Florida Mike]

GY senko! Just experiment with colors.

Could get expensive though!

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

ROFLMAO!

 

The highs for the next 7 days are in the upper 60s to mid 70s with lows at night in the upper 50s to mid 60s!

 

Start thinking pre-spawn

I'm only wondering in case we get another front like the one that came through last week. Went from 60s and 70s to high 20s and low 30s lol

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

ROFLMAO!

 

The highs for the next 7 days are in the upper 60s to mid 70s with lows at night in the upper 50s to mid 60s!

 

Start thinking pre-spawn

I'm only wondering in case we get another front like the one that came through last week. Went from 60s and 70s to high 20s and low 30s lol

[Catt]

Y'all are have 7 straight days above 70° & only one night below 60°.

 

The bass may not go into full fledged pre-spawn but they gonna be ready!

 

Do you know any spawning areas?

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

Yeah. I mean... they spawn all over bc the water is shallow and full of grass beds, but all the best spawning areas have a hard bottom

[Paul Roberts]

I just looked at it via satellite. Thanks so much for the location name. 

 

I have some experience fishing lagoons attached to larger lakes, although none so extensive; That's a big lagoon! And mine have all been in the north.

 

Here are some thoughts:

 

-IME, most mature (larger) bass are likely to be migratory and will leave the lagoons over winter -esp ones so shallow. In some I've fished, they leave during pre-summer. There will also be some mature resident bass in those lagoons, especially in your water owing to its sheer size. How big that population is likely depends on water quality and sheer amount of food.

 

Fishing: If Catt says be thinking pre-spawn, you are in for a potentially great time coming up here. I'd suggest you start spending at least some of your time closer to the big lake. Think about a "spawning run", about fish entering and staging as they work their way up. There are stopping ("staging") spots along the way. I have seen BIG waves of mature bass come rolling into lagoons under prime conditions (temperature increases and possibly moon phase). They appreciate some depth, so be looking for holes -esp with much of the lagoon being so shallow.

 

Right now, if there are many resident fish, I'd not worry about water temps too much -esp if they are above 50F. Drops in temp can slow them down, so you may need to slow down some too. But, mebbe not. A lipless and a jerk are great search baits in that you can cover water and still adjust how much you ask of the bass -how much you ask them to chase. Longer pauses with the jerks, or fishing more vertically with the lipless might be in order. Then I'd certainly have a dedicated jig or creature bait rod for crawling around good holes and prominant cover pieces. And, as usual, watch for prey fishes -get to know where they are collected up. This is how bass, and fisherman, make their livings, by being part of the food chain. Which leads me to my last comment:

 

Walk that shoreline. Even leave the rods in the truck. 11 miles?! What a wonderful walk. Take the dog, take the wife. Get to know that water body, or chunks of it. Man, you are a lucky guy.

 

Again, we don't know how big the resident bass population is. Talk to other fishers along the way. When you ask them about fish they've caught there, be sure to ask about time of year. Keep the "spawning run" potential in mind.

 

Let us know what you find. Cool place.

 

 

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

19 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

I just looked at it via satellite. Thanks so much for the location name. 

 

I have some experience fishing lagoons attached to larger lakes, although none so extensive; That's a big lagoon! And mine have all been in the north.

 

Here are some thoughts:

 

-IME, most mature (larger) bass are likely to be migratory and will leave the lagoons over winter -esp ones so shallow. In some I've fished, they leave during pre-summer. There will also be some mature resident bass in those lagoons, especially in your water owing to its sheer size. How big that population is likely depends on water quality and sheer amount of food.

 

Fishing: If Catt says be thinking pre-spawn, you are in for a potentially great time coming up here. I'd suggest you start spending at least some of your time closer to the big lake. Think about a "spawning run", about fish entering and staging as they work there way up. There are stopping ("staging") spots along the way. I have seen BIG waves of mature bass come rolling into lagoons under prime conditions (temperature increases and possibly moon phase). They appreciate some depth, so be looking for holes -esp with much of the lagoon being so shallow.

 

Right now, if there are many resident fish, I'd not worry about water temps too much -esp if they are above 50F. Drops in temp can slow them down, so you may need to slow down some too. But, mebbe not. A lipless and a jerk are great search baits in that you can cover water and still adjust how much you ask of the bass -how much you ask them to chase. Longer pauses with the jerks, or fishing more vertically with the lipless. Then I'd certainly have a jig or creature bait on for crawling around good holes and prominant cover pieces. And, as usual, watch for prey fishes -get to know where they are collected up. This is how bass make their livings. Which leads me to my last comment:

 

Walk that shoreline. Even leave the rods in the truck. 11 miles?! What a wonderful walk. Take the dog, take the wife. Get to know that water body, or chunks of it. Man, you are a lucky guy.

 

Again, we don't know how big the resident bass population is. Talk to other fishers along the way. When you ask them about fish they've caught there, be sure to ask about time of year. Keep the "spawning run" potential in mind.

 

Let us know what you find. Cool place.

 

 

Thanks for the advice. And yeah the park is a really cool place. Tons of water to fish if you don't mind walking lol. I e found that the further I get off the beaten path the better the fishing gets. Guessing bc not many people want to walk almost a mile lugging fishing tackle and rods. I always have my machete with me in case I see a promising spot with brush or weeds along the shoreline 

[Catt]

20 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

Walk that shoreline. Even leave the rods in the truck. 11 miles?! What a wonderful walk. Take the dog, take the wife. Get to know that water body, or chunks of it. Man, you are a lucky guy.

 

 

This is an absolute must!

 

The biggest mistake anglers make concerning pre-spawn is it starts long before they believe.

 

This time of year I ignore the "calendar" & pay attention to the body of water.

 

It might be a tad bit early for full on pre-spawn but the urge to do so is growing.

[bagofdonuts]

I've heard several pros say that you always want to be where the fish are coming to not where they are leaving from. So it pays to be ahead of them. 

[the reel ess]

In a place that's all shallow, it's hard to beat a spinnerbait. If visibility is an issue, make it a black one with Colorado blade. I have a kayak and i'd love to get on a body of water during spawn there. 

[bagofdonuts]

There used to be a great article on here about pre spawn spinnerbait tactics. I think the author was on Toledo bend and pitching them like a jig with a pork trailer into standing timber. Said he never really cast and retrieved them until post spawn. 

[Catt]

38 minutes ago, bagofdonuts said:

There used to be a great article on here about pre spawn spinnerbait tactics. I think the author was on Toledo bend and pitching them like a jig with a pork trailer into standing timber. Said he never really cast and retrieved them until post spawn. 

 

I fish em that way in buck brush

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, bagofdonuts said:

There used to be a great article on here about pre spawn spinnerbait tactics. I think the author was on Toledo bend and pitching them like a jig with a pork trailer into standing timber. Said he never really cast and retrieved them until post spawn. 

The more stuff you can hit with them the better they work.

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

2 hours ago, the reel ess said:

In a place that's all shallow, it's hard to beat a spinnerbait. If visibility is an issue, make it a black one with Colorado blade. I have a kayak and i'd love to get on a body of water during spawn there. 

The spawn in NOLA City Park is a double edged sword IMO. I personally always catch and release, and the park encourages everyone to do so, but it's not mandatory. Now I have no problem with keeping fish (I grew up fishing speckled trout and guided for a while when I got out of school and it's hard to beat fried speck filets IMO), but it must be done responsibly, especially in a fishery like this. I've seen guys fill 5 gallon buckets with 8" bass, and I watched a guy catch a 6lb female that was full of eggs off a bed last year and drop it in his little cooler. But all in all, fishing the spawn in the park is awesome. Nothing like staring at a 5 pounder and flipping at it for 2 hours. Best feeling in the world when she finally turns and grabs your lure. 

[JustinJ]

Shallow cranks

[AC870]

Can you put a small boat in the water? Seems like it would be a fun place to fish in a yak or a small jon. Add some Electronics and you could probably figure out what the fish are doing right quick.  

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

1 hour ago, AC870 said:

Can you put a small boat in the water? Seems like it would be a fun place to fish in a yak or a small jon. Add some Electronics and you could probably figure out what the fish are doing right quick.  

No boats. Bank fishing only

[Catt]

@Big_Easy_Bassin