How would you fish this? Or would you?

[BigAngus752]

This is a very large cove chock full of these old trees.  The trouble I had with it is that these trees are 20+ feet tall.  The center of the cove is 40 feet deep.  When I took the "selfie" pic I was in 28 feet of water.  Shoreline is a near straight drop off.  Fishing at this lake is very tough right now.  It was sunny/sometimes cloudy and very flat today.  Water temp is still high (75 out in the middle and 76-78 in the coves).  I occasionally saw suspended fish in this cove and it was getting a little bit of surface feeding.  I used both lipless (Rat-L-Trap) and lipped (Rapala Deep Runner) with no success.  Also had my usual weightless Senko floating along with me as I drifted and at the end I tried a Zara Spook on the surface.  I didn't get a bite.  This is a new lake to me.  Would you expect this area to be productive under these conditions?  How would you fish it?  

[BuzzHudson19c]

Get out at daybreak and Buzzbait the bajesus out of it! LOL. That's my first thought.

 

I was going to say Ratltrap also but you didn't have much luck with it. Did you see any bait fish in the area?

[BigAngus752]

10 minutes ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

Get out at daybreak and Buzzbait the bajesus out of it! LOL. That's my first thought.

 

I was going to say Ratltrap also but you didn't have much luck with it. Did you see any bait fish in the area?

This cove was full of fish in the 3in to 6in range all hanging just under the surface sticking close to the trees.  

[MIbassyaker]

I am not hugely experienced at this sort of cover, but I fish a little reservoir with a section like that which, while it is not as deep, does hold bass. The ones I have caught there have not been on or near the bottom, but suspending mid-depth near the trees, or near the surface. They are more likely to be near the surface when there has been a warming trend for a few days and there is little or no wind.

 

I have been successful with a buzzbait early and late in the day. Try to tick the trees on the retrieve. If this doesn't work, or the sun is high, I fish a weighted wacky worm vertically, cast near a tree and let it fall. I think a spinnerbait could be effective here too, either cast and retrieved horizontally to go near and bump the tree trunks subsurface as they go past, or stop the retrieve near the trunk and let it helicopter vertically down alongside.

[islandbass]

I have no experience in this but as a gut feeling best guess, I'd try some type of countdown minnow or other lure you could get to descend a bit and then retrieve and tryout various depths if the top waters didn't produce. 

 

I'd fish the bottom of the trees if those didn't work. 

 

I must say it sure looks like promising water. 

[papajoe222]

I'm guessing, based on your location and the shore in the pic, that this lake has been drawn down a bit and normally your choice of presentations should have resulted in some hook-ups if the fish were using the cove.  My guess is there wasn't enough of a baitfish presence for the cove to have any significant population of bass holding there.

Are there other areas where there is vegetation along with deep water access?  They would be the areas I'd be looking at.  If not and you intend to find fish in this cove, look for changes in the bottom contour which may be indicated by the line where the trees end or are totally submerged and then look for where that change in depth makes a turn. Start at the bottom and work your way up the water column with both reaction and finesse presentations.  It's a lot of work, but I can't think of another way to eliminate an area.

[Catt]

Can't see the forest for the trees ?

 

First ignore the trees!

 

That's right I said it!

 

Ya gotta look at the structure first & then add the cover on top of it. 

 

Personally I would goto the bottom, Texas Rigs, Jig-n-Craw, Carolina Rigs, & deep diving crankbaits.

 

If ya look real close at left side of that picture that's 2 bass boats, we in 20' of water.

 

[scaleface]

Looks like Twain .  I fish down the bank , fish the edges  . Too much cover to fish it all . 

 

I'm going to  take a wild guess and say that is indeed Twain  and in  the shell branch . That second photo , man that looks familiar . 

 

One productive way for me is to navigate through the trees and parallel cast the banks the best I can with crankbaits and Texas rigs next to cover . Cast right next to the bank .The Berkely Dredger 10.5 is a good choice and also shallow  divers like the Rapala Crankin Rap in  shad patterns . Cover water .   Small coves in these areas hold more fish than straight banks . Fish the mouth and inside of them more thoroughly . If they are not biting in the creeks  try the main lake . 

[BigAngus752]

9 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

I am not hugely experienced at this sort of cover, but I fish a little reservoir with a section like that which, while it is not as deep, does hold bass. The ones I have caught there have not been on or near the bottom, but suspending mid-depth near the trees, or near the surface. They are more likely to be near the surface when there has been a warming trend for a few days and there is little or no wind.

 

I have been successful with a buzzbait early and late in the day. Try to tick the trees on the retrieve. If this doesn't work, or the sun is high, I fish a weighted wacky worm vertically, cast near a tree and let it fall. I think a spinnerbait could be effective here too, either cast and retrieved horizontally to go near and bump the tree trunks subsurface as they go past, or stop the retrieve near the trunk and let it helicopter vertically down alongside.

 

8 hours ago, islandbass said:

I have no experience in this but as a gut feeling best guess, I'd try some type of countdown minnow or other lure you could get to descend a bit and then retrieve and tryout various depths if the top waters didn't produce. 

 

I'd fish the bottom of the trees if those didn't work. 

 

I must say it sure looks like promising water. 

I was using the Rat L Trap to bang on trees at various depths but no luck.  As I was packing up I started wishing that I had tried a worm or jig sliding down the sides of some of the trees.  One thing I didn't try.  

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Can't see the forest for the trees ?

 

First ignore the trees!

 

That's right I said it!

 

Ya gotta look at the structure first & then add the cover on top of it. 

 

Personally I would goto the bottom, Texas Rigs, Jig-n-Craw, Carolina Rigs, & deep diving crankbaits.

 

If ya look real close at left side of that picture that's 2 bass boats, we in 20' of water.

 

This is not a joke.  As I idled deep into this thing I became confounded about how to fish it and I thought to myself, "Catt would tell us to find the structure" so I started looking for contour changes on the bottom.  But I still kept focused on the trees.  I may go out there again this weekend and I'll hit the bottom hard where it gets to stepping down on the points.  

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Looks like Twain .  I fish down the bank , fish the edges  . Too much cover to fish it all . 

 

I'm going to  take a wild guess and say that is indeed Twain  and in  the shell branch . That second photo , man that looks familiar . 

 

One productive way for me is to fight my way through the trees and parallel cast the banks the best I can with crankbaits and Texas rigs next to cover . Cast right next to the bank .The Berkely Dredger 10.5 is a good choice and also shallow  divers like the Rapala Crankin Rap in  shad patterns . Cover water .   Small coves in these areas hold more fish than straight banks . Fish the mouth and inside of them more thoroughly . If they are not biting in the creeks  try the main lake . 

Lake Shelbyville.  It's a tough one right now. 

[scaleface]

7 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

Lake Shelbyville.  It's a tough one right now. 

Yep , just a guess ,Even the water color looks like Twain plus its low also . 

[BigAngus752]

One addendum to this...throughout the rest of the lake I saw fish in the 10-15ft range but recent reports also said you could find a few in 2ft.  I started fishing smaller coves and found several fish suspended over two humps in the middle of a small cove at almost exactly 10ft.  Every once in awhile a 5+ pound bass would come up and grab something on the surface and then go straight back down to the hump.  I started throwing at them.  I ended up anchoring and I spent just over one hour hurling almost everything in the boat at them.  I dropped a weightless Senko off the side of the boat and let it float around them while I tried to draw them up with a Zara Spook and a then a Whopper Plopper.  I threw two different size/color spinners.  I tried a lipless crankbait.  When those things didn't work I slowed way down and pulled a Texas rig (another Senko) past them over and over and over.  I used big pulls and small pulls.  I regret not trying a Shaky Head but I've never fished one before.  In fact, I just got four packages of shaky head jigs last week.  I'm going to learn that.  

[deep]

Are you marking any fish? What depth? I'd find some structure at that depth, and fish that..

 

 

 

[scaleface]

Did you try a deep diving crank ? 10 foot is the Norman Deep Little N's sweet zone .

[Catt]

First quite changing lures so dang gum often!

 

I don't care what you've heard about "search" baits, you search with your electronics!

 

Second map study, this lake is man-made correct?

 

If it is someone surveyed it before they flooded it which means detailed maps are out there.

 

It's a cove so it has 2 points or at least corners, that's starting places.  

[BigAngus752]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

First quite changing lures so dang gum often!

 

I don't care what you've heard about "search" baits, you search with your electronics!

 

Second map study, this lake is man-made correct?

 

If it is someone surveyed it before they flooded it which means detailed maps are out there.

 

It's a cove so it has 2 points or at least corners, that's starting places.  

LOL!  I thought I was taking my time with the lures!  Shows what I know. 

[crypt]

listen to Catt............................he knows what he's doin......

[MIbassyaker]

3 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

 

I was using the Rat L Trap to bang on trees at various depths but no luck.  As I was packing up I started wishing that I had tried a worm or jig sliding down the sides of some of the trees.  One thing I didn't try.  

This is not a joke.  As I idled deep into this thing I became confounded about how to fish it and I thought to myself, "Catt would tell us to find the structure" so I started looking for contour changes on the bottom.  But I still kept focused on the trees.  I may go out there again this weekend and I'll hit the bottom hard where it gets to stepping down on the points.  

Lake Shelbyville.  It's a tough one right now. 

Definitely listen to the structure guys instead of me -- they fish this sort of stuff all the time. I only know from limited experience what has worked for me vs. what hasn't when I've tried fishing an area like this, and I'm usually on waters that don't have anything like it.

[fishballer06]

My first question would be "Is there a thermocline?" Being that the lake is 30-40' and water in the mid-upper 70's, there is likely a thermocline at some depth. I've seen it anywhere from 10' down to 25/30' around here in PA. From there, I'd want to know whats under the water. Just because the trees standing out of the water looks good to you doesn't mean jack to a bass. I don't see any tops or branches to those trees, so there's probably a brush pile or two under the water somewhere, or perhaps tree's that aren't tall enough to reach the surface that have branches on them still.

 

At first light I'd be throwing a buzzbait or spook, or perhaps a swim jig or Fluke if they won't commit to topwater. After that first light, go with your deeper baits. Texas rigs, shakey heads, crankbaits, swimbaits, etc.

[tcbass]

Would like to see if you caught any fish.

[Catt]

OK! There's a lot of guys on this site that are just as proficient at deep water structure as I am!

 

@A-Jay @WRB @Team9nine @J Francho @deep @WIGuide @scaleface & a ton of others guys!

 

As for the trees themselves, the tops above the waterline has rotted, fell into the lake, & are still there.

 

Deep water structure aint about lure selection... it's about location selection!

 

I listed 7 guys & I would be willing to bet we would probably end up on the same structure.

[tcbass]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

OK! There's a lot of guys on this site that are just as proficient at deep water structure as I am!

 

@A-Jay @WRB @Team9nine @J Francho @deep @WIGuide @scaleface & a ton of others guys!

 

As for the trees themselves, the tops above the waterline has rotted, fell into the lake, & are still there.

 

Deep water structure aint about lure selection... it's about location selection!

 

I listed 7 guys & I would be willing to bet we would probably end up on the same structure.

 

 

Spinnerbaits wouldn't work well here? That's what I'd have tried but I've never even encountered anything like you have. lol.

[Team9nine]

Buck would simply tell you to "Get the heck out of the trees!"  But Catt and fishballer have the other two pieces to the puzzle. That is first, forget the trees exist and look at the bottom of the lake bed for an answer. Somebody likely has a fairly high def map of the area.

 

Next, determine if a thermocline exists, because if it does, you have a breakline. Combine that breakline with the ones formed by the edge of the forest and the likely creek channel running through the cove, and you have narrowed your search area tremendously.

 

Now look for structures on the map that mingle with the breaklines, as well as individual breaks, and you should have some solid areas of where to focus all your efforts.

[J Francho]

^^^That pretty much puts together my plan.  There has to be some oddball structural element  - spot on the spot - in that mess.  You have put a mental image together in your head using the graph.  I mean, think about it, how many times have you walked through a stand of trees, and the terrain is completely flat, with with no grade change, creek channels, or whatever. 

[BigAngus752]

I understand now.  Fish it like I would if the trees weren't there.  That makes sense, thanks to all!

[scaleface]

Not much in the way if zigzag lines there . The mouth of the cove , as Catt stated , has those two areas that act like mini points . I've ran patterns fishing mouths of coves .