Bowl Shaped Lakes

[spencer12]

Hello all, I've recently began fishing a new small lake that has me stumped.  The lake is around 30-40 acres and is oval or "bowl shaped" basically.  It has gizzard shad stocked in it. 

 

The depths range from 3-6ft around the edges and gradually rolls into about 7-9ft throughout most of the lake.  However, at the dam end of the lake it is around 12-15ft in a very small portion of the lake.  (Near the spillway)

 

There is literally no vegetation and is devoid of any type of natural cover.  The only cover is manmade brushpiles scattered sporadically around.  There are a few sections of the lake walls that have rocks but they do not extend very far into the water (3 ft at most)

 

During the summer I was catching bass on one of several small humps and brushpiles.  The past two weekends I've struggled.

 

The water temp is currently around 65-68 degrees so I'm assuming they are getting ready to spawn.  The water has a green tent to it so spotting beds is difficult.  I've managed to catch a few over the last three trips but nothing like I'm used to.  I've only caught them in one area of the lake which has shellbeds near the shore.  I've scanned over the lake time and time again and so far I haven't found any more shells other than that spot.

 

So my question is, where do I start? Clean sandy, relatively shallow lake, no vegetation and limited cover. It's basically 1/4 flat 3-5ft, 1/4 with structure (Humps, drop offs) 1/4 gradual sloping bottom out to 8 ft, and 1/4 deep flat nothingness.  Do you believe the bass are spawning yet?  My obvious guess is they are shallow but where?  I've ran the banks (basically the entire shoreline) with limited success.  I know there are fish in this lake and I know there are quality fish around. 

 

What are the shad doing with these water temps (65-68) and what is there behavior this time of year?

 

Any information would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[OCdockskipper]

With water temps above 65 degrees, a certain portion of the population of the bass aren't getting ready to spawn - they most likely are spawning.  Their behavior when on beds is very different than any other time of the year, which may be why you were struggling to catch them the past 2 weeks.  Don't be surprised if you notice fry in the next few weeks, that will be a sign that this portion of the population are going in post spawn routines.

 

With limited cover & no vegetation, the lake walls come into play during the spawn.  Often these walls have been undercut at the base over the years, creating holes & caverns that create cover for baitfish and fry as well as the predators that eat them.  Bass in this environment will often create beds near the walls, for the undercuts are cover in the same way that a laydown or dock would be, they just aren't visible to us from the surface.  Last year, I released a 5 lb female caught off a bed that was next to a seawall & she immediately swam into the undercut.  I had no idea that it was large enough to hold her, but she hung out there for a few minutes before returning to the bed. 

 

As far as how to catch bedding bass, there are tons if info on this site written by much better fisherman than I.  Some of that info may be a moot point at this time however, because I believe the next time you go out, the males will be protecting fry and the females will be looking to start fattening back up.

[frogflogger]

Good lake for topwaters

[Deleted account]

That's got to be my least favorite type of lake to fish. In my experience, the fish will be concentrated in areas or pockets, sometimes for seemingly no rhyme or reason. Also it seems that they turn on and off at somewhat regular intervals more so than in other types of lakes. I usually have a lipless, a spinnerbait and a jig tied on, along with a weightless plastic of some sort. The green water in this type of lake is a plus I think, allows for a closer approach and more aggressive lures. 

[Paul Roberts]

I fish a number of waters like this. In some, the majority of the action is along the shorelines bc that’s the only cover for prey fishes. My waters have small bass and bluegills, and they need cover until they can get big enough that the bass can’t eat them, then they are freer to roam.

 

Since you have a shad lake then most likely your fishery is a pelagic one -that is, away from shore and even away from cover. Shad evolved as open water planktivores/detritivores. Cover and structure -objects of any sort, even subtle- will still be important, esp for the bass; Sonar will help a lot. But, one thing I've done, from boat, float tube, and even from shore if I can, is to troll to find fish. Then stop and cast.

 

Like reason, dishpan swimming pools are not my favorite type of water to fish most of the time. Since this may not be the type of water bass are best suited to, you should make sure the bass are doing well in the lake. Your time might be better spent elsewhere. 

[spencer12]

I went back this afternoon and caught two.  With no real pattern or approach.  I caught them both on a plastic worm. 

 

The first fish came on a slight drop off with a sunken tree at the bottom.  However this was offshore and was literally my last attempt before heading in.  I will say there was a lot of pressure today which usually hurts things a bit. 

 

The second fish was by the landing, along the bank line.  I noticed some small patches of grass (and I mean small) and I thought what the heck, and made a cast.  I fished a little longer in the same area with no luck before packing up.

 

I threw a trap, paddle tail hollow body swimbait, squarebill, and a curly tail finesse plastic worm.

 

I saw a lot of baitfish activity along with bird activity following those shad.  However I did not get a bite fishing the shad.  We had a cold front come through this week that dropped the water temps back down to around 60-61 degrees. 

 

This lake has won again.

 

Honestly, I'm debating just trolling around and fishing no mans land.  It seems the shad are following no type of structure or pattern and are just free roaming.  Couple that with spawning fish, fluctuating water temps, and no clear pattern, I'm back to square one.

[JustinJ]

 try fishing at night or go elsewhere

[Paul Roberts]

spencer12, it sounds like fishing to me. You'll figure some things out. There will be places and times that produce best. Keep looking. Talk to your fisheries folks. Talk to other anglers. Fishing can start to feel a little foolish when you aren't catching. Hang in there.