Finding bass offshore

[Fishin Dad]

So here is the dilemma.   I know many bass move to deeper water during summer months.   I know I need to be out there finding them.    Many of the lakes I fish in Minnesota are bowl shaped lakes with very limited structure.  We have found some on deeper weed edges and off some depth contour, but do you have suggestions for finding bass when there is really not much on the map for them to relate to.    

A little more info:  

lakes are usually less than 30 feet deep, many are 15 feet or less.   Weeds can vary a lot by lake of course.  When the lake is shaped like a bowl, what do you look for?   We can usually catch some shallow on laydowns, overhangs etc, but we know we are missing opportunities in deeper water.  

 

Thanks for any and all ideas!!

[Beetlebz]

I find shallow cover on steeper banks is normally the ticket. Once I find any concentration of fish I just start working my way out with something that covers water efficiently, like a jig or a Texas rig. Sometimes I dont catch fish off the bank, but often I can find them holding anywhere from in the lay down to 15 feet or so deep straight off of it. Other times when all else fails dragging a shorter Carolina rig around works. I'll cast fairly shallow and drag it out deep at a 45 degree angle to the bank until I can figure out how deep they are holding. Sometimes I dont catch any and curse the day the Carolina rig was invented. 

 

I use a deeper clamped to my kayak to help figure out depths especially on new bodies of water. Pre-kayak I used the same method but casting deep and working shallow.

[keagbassr]

If you're finding fish on weed edges then you can probably find more and bigger fish buried  up in the weeds. You should go in and pitch and punch them. 

[frogflogger]

With the popularity of tournament fishing, many bass fishermen (myself included) have forgotten the art and effectiveness of trolling. One of the reasons I like In Fisherman magazine is they cover trolling, strolling, etc. It is a very effective way to find bass, both in bowl shaped lakes and structure filled res.

[Fishin Dad]

Thanks!   We are going to give these a try.  It's just so frustrating to know there has to be big fish out deep and not knowing for sure how to find them in these structureless lakes.  

[Black Hawk Basser]

2 hours ago, frogflogger said:

With the popularity of tournament fishing, many bass fishermen (myself included) have forgotten the art and effectiveness of trolling. One of the reasons I like In Fisherman magazine is they cover trolling, strolling, etc. It is a very effective way to find bass, both in bowl shaped lakes and structure filled res.

^ This.  I catch lots of suspended bass over (12-18 ft) water with the "strolling" method.  I only have either a kayak or small boat w/electric motor, so just a sort-of controlled drift with lightly weighted action plastics(like 4" curly tail ringworm on 1/16 oz head) or 1/16 to 1/8 oz hair jigs works for me.  You can really catch a mixed bag of species this way, which I think is fun.

 

I also do well trolling 1/4 to 3/8 oz double Colorado spinnerbaits over weed tops and along the deepest weedline I can find.  I vary my motor speed until I can consistently stay above the salad.

 

I think spinnerbait thing works for me because of schooling shad, and at times, hoardes of young yellow bass that congregate near the surface.

 

If bluegills are a huge part of their diet, which I'm sure they are, topwaters sometimes work well past the deep weedline where the gills are suspending and bass are below them.

[Fishin Dad]

27 minutes ago, Pickle_Power said:

^ This.  I catch lots of suspended bass over (12-18 ft) water with the "strolling" method.  I only have either a kayak or small boat w/electric motor, so just a sort-of controlled drift with lightly weighted action plastics(like 4" curly tail ringworm on 1/16 oz head) or 1/16 to 1/8 oz hair jigs works for me.  You can really catch a mixed bag of species this way, which I think is fun.

 

I also do well trolling 1/4 to 3/8 oz double Colorado spinnerbaits over weed tops and along the deepest weedline I can find.  I vary my motor speed until I can consistently stay above the salad.

 

I think spinnerbait thing works for me because of schooling shad, and at times, hoardes of young yellow bass that congregate near the surface.

 

If bluegills are a huge part of their diet, which I'm sure they are, topwaters sometimes work well past the deep weedline where the gills are suspending and bass are below them.

Thanks!   I have the perfect lake to give this a try.   Question, when you catch a fish strolling, can you spot lock and pick off other fish?     Does this method usually locate more than one fish?    

[Black Hawk Basser]

If I seem to be finding fish in somewhat concentrated fashion, I try to repeat my drifts/passes through the general area.  The only spot lock I have is the old fashioned type - an anchor.  ? Sometimes I may anchor a little ways from the spot I've found and do some casting, although I think it's the slow, "do-nothing" method of strolling that gets bites better than casting.

 

I really only do this when I'm exhausted of power fishing options.

 

It's probably not the most effective way to find and catch big numbers.  But it is the best I can do with a tiny boat and a Vexilar flasher for sonar.

[WRB]

Natural lakes may not have a population of "off shore" largemouth bass if the lake doesn't have a population of pelagic baitfish. If the predominate prey source is located near shore that is where the bass will be located.

Tom

[Fishin Dad]

Thanks Pickle, that makes sense.   I to think I will use it when not catching using my typical fishing, AND, when I am tired from chunking and winding, pitching and flipping, jerking and........

[Fishin Dad]

WRB,

That makes sense.   If there is not much for baitfish to relate to, no reason bass will be there.   We do catch the large majority of our fish throwing to shore.     I just keep seeing drop shotting, deep jigs, Carolina rigs, deep cranks etc. and we see/ hear of guys around here fishing deep sometimes.   Just didn't want to miss the boat if there are opportunities out there, especially if the bite is poor shallow.   

 

Thanks for your insight!

[WRB]

The life zone depth is important even near shore.

Strolling the technique using your trolling motor to move your lure similar to a controlled drift, isn't a legal tournament tactic unless the TD allows it. 

Trolling is very effective method to present "crank baits" at a controlled depth and speed, with practice you can follow break lines and cover a lot of water effectively. 

Strolling using the electric trolling motor can be very effective method for dragging the bottom with C-rigs, Fineese C-rigs, slip or split shot or mojo rigs, a common practice out west in deep structure lakes. Aaron Martens and his mom won a lot of western tournaments strolling, with his mom in the back dragging, apparently legal because it's so common.

Tom

 

[Fishin Dad]

I do a lot of trolling and drifting while walleye fishing.    I guess I just never thought about doing it for bass as you never see it (not allowed in tournaments etc.).  When we have caught bass offshore, we have found enough fish (and bigger fish usually) to catch a nice bag.    It hasn't been just one here and there.   It's just hard to figure out sometimes while they are there.    We check it out with our electronics and try to put the pieces together.   Sometimes we can see why, sometimes we can't, and sometimes we just plain can't find a place at all.    I may try trolling and/or strolling to just learn where bass are out deep and see if it helps determine some patterns around here.   Thanks again for the ideas!!

[WRB]

Sometimes it's difficult to determine what the lake bottom composition is off shore. Today we have maps and sonar to study and we always had topographical elevation maps for man made impoundments, few were available for natural lakes before today's didgital maps.

If you can get a good lake map do it, saves lots of time.

I remember back in the 50's my home lake was man made and originally dammed in 1890, no topo or sounding map availble that knew of. So everything was by trial and error. Bass were located around the shoreline and trout out in deep water. Everyone trolled back then and a occasion big bass would be caught where the trout were located out in the middle of the lake way off shore. Why? When the lake went down during the mid fifties drought you could see the lake bottom areas where the trout were being caught and the occasion big bass. What was different was the lake bottom composition, wasn't deeper or any defined depth change, it was gravel beds with tons of snail shells. The surrounding lake bottom was mud for a mile in both directions with this 200 X 75 yard patch of gravel. The gravel attracted snails that trout eat and apparently the bass were there because of the trout. 

Tom

[307bearclaw]

I am no expert, but have done very well on numbers of bass on the outside weed edge, trolling cranks on bowl lakes. Very small cranks specifically, mid summer.  We seem to hit larger fish as well. 

[Fishin Dad]

I have fished transition areas for walleye and panfish both with the boat and ice fishing and it is amazing.   I don't know why I always think bass are different.   I usually try to fish the weed edges as well, for some reason (obviously something weather related) we have not had good defined weed edges like in the past.   Thanks again.   I have more to go on in my deep water bass search!!