Fishing Shallow Stained Resevoir

[TheNickFlair]

Hey guys I’m pretty new to fishing and I never really had anybody to teach me the basics and I’ve learned a lot from YouTube but there’s only so much that stuff can teach because those guys aren’t actually in your situation. Anyways my situation is I mainly fish a private reservoir in the upper state of South Carolina, the reservoir is about 40-50 acres and I’m not sure how deep it is but want to say it’s no deeper than 15 feet. Now I’ve caught some good sized large mouth out of it but they are so hard to locate. I mainly bank fish but every now and then I’ll get out the jon boat. As of right now the fishing has been super tough, it’s been raining almost everyday and the lake is cold and super muddy. The water clarity is literally less than 6 inches. I fished for 3 hours yesterday and caught one on the dam right off the bank with a black and blue spinner bait but that’s the first one this year and I can’t seem to get consistent on the bites. There are a couple of docks but even in the summer time I couldn’t get a bite near them. My question to the experienced guys is what could I do to locate the bites? I’ve literally threw almost everything in my tackle and the only thing I could get a bite on is a drop shot and a Texas rigged creature bait. I’m sorry for the long story but I hope you guys can help. I appreciate it!

[JackJr]

Have you tried buzzbaits?

[TheNickFlair]

7 hours ago, JackJr said:

Have you tried buzzbaits?

That’s actually one of the few baits I haven’t tried. It’s just so muddy and I didn’t think they would work. I will definitely try tomorrow though!

[bigbassin']

Cold and muddy are probably the worst conditions you can have as far as consistently catching fish goes.  If you can find a section with cleaner water, that can make a big difference.  If it has been raining a lot lately, I would start at an area that has a concentration of runoff entering into the reservoir.  This will create a little bit of current, which can trigger the bite sometimes, and it may wash terrestrial animals into the water, which creates a simple meal for fish.  As far as lures, I'd stick with black and blue or junebug t-rigged worms or creature baits worked slowly around the areas I described.  As long as you have it rigged weedless, you can even cast onto shore and drag the lure into the water just like something being washed in.  If you have a warm spell, shallower areas will tend to heat up quicker, so the bite may pick up in those areas as well.

5 minutes ago, TheNickFlair said:

That’s actually one of the few baits I haven’t tried. It’s just so muddy and I didn’t think they would work. I will definitely try tomorrow though!

I don't think muddy water is much of an issue with a buzzbait, they put off a lot of commotion.  If the water is cold, the fish might not come up for a topwater though.

[TheNickFlair]

Thanks for the information! I really appreciate it!

[curtis9]

What lake are you fishing at?  With all the rain we've had recently my lake is a muddy mess.  I caught a few on a crankbait 2 weeks ago, but haven't been out recently since it's been raining so much.  This time of year when the lake gets cold and muddy, I don't have much luck.  I'll still go out some if the weather is nice to get outside, but the fishing is typically terrible.

 

I would recommend either a spinner bait or crankbait and try to cover water if you're in a boat.  If you're on the bank work through moving baits then slow down with t-rigged baits if you aren't having luck with the moving bait.

 

 

[TheNickFlair]

I caught some really nice ones around 11 am today in between two fallen trees in about 3-6 feet of water. The water is about 4 inches of visibility on the bank.

1 hour ago, curtis9 said:

What lake are you fishing at?  With all the rain we've had recently my lake is a muddy mess.  I caught a few on a crankbait 2 weeks ago, but haven't been out recently since it's been raining so much.  This time of year when the lake gets cold and muddy, I don't have much luck.  I'll still go out some if the weather is nice to get outside, but the fishing is typically terrible.

 

I would recommend either a spinner bait or crankbait and try to cover water if you're in a boat.  If you're on the bank work through moving baits then slow down with t-rigged baits if you aren't having luck with the moving bait.

 

 

I’ve been catching them all on a spinner bait. The ones I used were black and blue and the other was a sunfish color