Going back to basics

[Flatrock]

I've been on this site for about 6 months and I've watched just about every video Glen has posted.  Problem is 99% of all his videos are around some type of vegetation.  Where I mainly fish has very little grass, never mind reeds or Lilly pads... 

 

Imagine fishing the baron landscape of the Grand Canyon.  You have rocks, hard bottom and some sunken debris like and current. Try fishing slow while being carried away, today I actually caught a 1 gal plastic landscape pot that someone threw out to create some type of cover for bait fish.  To compound this challenge, in a matter of 100 feet you can go from 3' to over 150 plus feet of clear water.  Today I could see better than 10'... it was beautiful. 

 

Ever since I got back into bass fishing this yr, I have been trying to use every tip and trick I've been learning..  throwing  frogs, spinner baits, jigs, crank baits and I've been disappointed every time.  I start this pattern again this morning and then I said screw it and decided to get back to basics and to slow my roll...  I mean throwing my what I like to call my chunky crawfish... ugly looking bug and just fished it slow like the waters was 65 degs  (surface temps was actually 84/86 degs) .

 

I'm almost tempted to throw all my lures away and stick to soft plastics because I had the best day ever with quality size bass for me and my area.  Ok I only caught 3, missed 2, but this was on a lake that is hard to fish... because there is little structure, clear water and extremely deep.  I think the most fun I had was when my biggest fish swallowed my bait but when it did, she was swimming towards me...  I'll give Glen credit for talking about this on several of his videos and I was prepared.   Oh and I caught every fish on my 7' Powell M/H  Ex fast  and Lews Tourn reel on K9 Poly..  another first for me.  Finally I know how it feels to catch a fish on a B/C. 

 

I can see all the eyes rolling now.. Hahahaha     

 

Its ok... Not fished for 25 yrs, never owned a boat, never mind know how a fish finder worked, hell I never seen one in operation before...   6 mos ago I couldn't cast one without backlashing or a major bird nest.  (Still working on flipping and pitching)  And I've only been out fishing maybe 3 times in the last 2 mos so its not like I'm going out couple times a week like many.  So yea, its a big deal for me when I score on a lake that most around here don't fish because its too hard to fish.   Imagine what I could do if I was able to fish every weekend like most here. 

 

I'm gonna shut up now...   I just want to say to the guys like me, that when all else fails, just go back to the basics and leave the fancy fishing to the TV fish pro's. 

 

 

 

[lo n slo]

there you go ?

[A-Jay]

Nicely Done ~ 

Way to stick with it.

Congrats

btw - I didn't see drop shot when you list the 'every trick in the book'.

I can relate some to the conditions you're faced with.

Slowing down can definitely pay off and a drop shot falls into that slot as well.

Perhaps consider it.

A-Jay

[scaleface]

You  used a crawfish bug whatchamacallit on a round ball head ?

[jimmyjoe]

30 minutes ago, Flatrock said:

I can see all the eyes rolling now..

  There are a lot of things in this life to worry about, but what other people think isn't one of them.  You did good.    jj

[Shimano_1]

That's awesome!  I'm as guilty as anyone of being sucked into the latest and greatest.  I was thinking a few days ago about all the fish I used to catch before I thought I knew how to fish and I've quit throwing a lot of those baits altogether.  I'd suggest in the conditions you described to really give a drop shot, shakey head, and ned rig a real workout.  Drop shot and shakey head have always produced for me on tough clear water lakes

[Flatrock]

49 minutes ago, scaleface said:

You  used a crawfish bug whatchamacallit on a round ball head ?

Yes I did with the hook coming up thru the back of the bug.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Nicely Done ~ 

Way to stick with it.

Congrats

btw - I didn't see drop shot when you list the 'every trick in the book'.

I can relate some to the conditions you're faced with.

Slowing down can definitely pay off and a drop shot falls into that slot as well.

Perhaps consider it.

A-Jay

 

You didn't see it because I've never tried or used a drop shot rig...   Like I said, so many new different technics...  but I will give it a try.

 

 

 

38 minutes ago, Shimano_1 said:

That's awesome!  I'm as guilty as anyone of being sucked into the latest and greatest.  I was thinking a few days ago about all the fish I used to catch before I thought I knew how to fish and I've quit throwing a lot of those baits altogether.  I'd suggest in the conditions you described to really give a drop shot, shakey head, and ned rig a real workout.  Drop shot and shakey head have always produced for me on tough clear water lakes

 

I was using a shakey head, figuring it would work best with a dirt rock bottom

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

The waters you described sound like a lot of the lakes/rivers near me. If some vegetation does manage to grow someone kills it! The only place I can find grass is the industrial part of downtown where there are no HOAs to pool their money and spray the grass. The deep rocky waters with no grass I like to use a 1/8 oz jig head with either a finesse worm or tube jig on them. Cast is up against rock bluffs and watch the line as it tumbles down. If it stops sinking in 100 ft of water, it’s because you got a bite ! Also the fish chase shad fry this time of year on the surface over deep clear water

[Black Hawk Basser]

I think we all have the notion to "force feed" fish with what we want to catch them on, whether it be something new, or something that seems fun to fish.

 

More often than not, staying with the basics as you did is the way to go.

[Rip_lipz]

I couldn't agree more, I have been bass fishing for a couple of years now. Last year was my first time fishing from a boat and owning one. I can't tell you how much I spent on baits, I bought a ton of different colors, sizes and styles. By the  end of the year the only left on the deck was a jig, whoppen plopper, drop shot and a T rigged craw.

[Troy85]

 

1 hour ago, Rip_lipz said:

I couldn't agree more, I have been bass fishing for a couple of years now. Last year was my first time fishing from a boat and owning one. I can't tell you how much I spent on baits, I bought a ton of different colors, sizes and styles. By the  end of the year the only left on the deck was a jig, whoppen plopper, drop shot and a T rigged craw.

 I used to have tons of different colors, but I found that I never used most of them.  Now I carry 3 colors of soft plastics, watermelon with red flake, junebug and white.

[TnRiver46]

40 minutes ago, Troy85 said:

 

 I used to have tons of different colors, but I found that I never used most of the.  Now I carry 3 colors of soft plastics, watermelon with red flake, junebug and white.

Those are 3 really good colors!!!

[Flatrock]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The waters you described sound like a lot of the lakes/rivers near me. If some vegetation does manage to grow someone kills it! The only place I can find grass is the industrial part of downtown where there are no HOAs to pool their money and spray the grass. The deep rocky waters with no grass I like to use a 1/8 oz jig head with either a finesse worm or tube jig on them. Cast is up against rock bluffs and watch the line as it tumbles down. If it stops sinking in 100 ft of water, it’s because you got a bite ! Also the fish chase shad fry this time of year on the surface over deep clear water

 

I'm west of you 150 miles and I was talking about Center Hill Lake.  I think its one of the prettiest man made lakes outlined with wooded bluffs, hills.  But I think about 85% of the lake is 150' to 200' deep.  I appreciate your tip about fishing the bluff.  I couldn't figure out  how to fish them and what you say does make sense...  Thanks.  I marked several spots yesterday while riding around along the bluffs where I found  schools  hiding in pockets.. Maybe they were Crappie because it didn't look like bait fish, especially down around 30-40 feet.

Have you ever fished Old Hickory or the Cumberland River just east of Nashville ?   Its silty at best, Chocolate milk after it rains...  the rest of the time you've got one eye out for submerged stumps and floating trees just below the surface waiting to take your boat out if you dare get out of the channel where the fish are... then you have Percy Priest just to the south a couple miles that is shallow and nothing but boulders and rocks just waiting to take out your prop if your lucky, the lower unit if you aren't.  Yet Priest and Old Hick are extremely popular and heavily fished... Tourns constantly, 2, 3 times a week. 

3 hours ago, Pickle_Power said:

I think we all have the notion to "force feed" fish with what we want to catch them on, whether it be something new, or something that seems fun to fish.

 

More often than not, staying with the basics as you did is the way to go.

 

Was it Glen May that said in one of his video's that most lures was created to catch the fisherman and not so much the fish ?

[TnRiver46]

9 minutes ago, Flatrock said:

 

I'm west of you 150 miles and I was talking about Center Hill Lake.  I think its one of the prettiest man made lakes outlined with wooded bluffs, hills.  But I think about 85% of the lake is 150' to 200' deep.  I appreciate your tip about fishing the bluff.  I couldn't figure out  how to fish them and what you say does make sense...  Thanks.  I marked several spots yesterday while riding around along the bluffs where I found  schools  hiding in pockets.. Maybe they were Crappie because it didn't look like bait fish, especially down around 30-40 feet.

Have you ever fished Old Hickory or the Cumberland River just east of Nashville ?   Its silty at best, Chocolate milk after it rains...  the rest of the time you've got one eye out for submerged stumps and floating trees just below the surface waiting to take your boat out if you dare get out of the channel where the fish are... then you have Percy Priest just to the south a couple miles that is shallow and nothing but boulders and rocks just waiting to take out your prop if your lucky, the lower unit if you aren't.  Yet Priest and Old Hick are extremely popular and heavily fished... Tourns constantly, 2, 3 times a week. 

Ah yes! I forgot you were in middle TN. I fished center hill last year in August and got a couple decent bass. One was a smallmouth fishing the bluffs and the other was a largemouth dragging a shakey head deep in the middle of a creek arm. I have never fished old hickory or priest , I’ve heard priest is a big smallmouth factory. I’ve also read a couple different places that the Cumberland is a conveyer belt of trees this year 

 

edit: I just reread your post about center hill being over 100 feet deep for 85% of it. I’m sure you already know this but it’s half empty right now too for dam problems!!!!

[Tennessee Boy]

Congratulations.   I haven’t fished Center Hill in 30 years but I’ve been saying I’m gonna give it a try just to get our of my comfort zone.  The primary cover on Old Hickory right now is Jet Skis.  I’m sure Percy Priest is even worse. 

[Mobasser]

Good job Flatrock. Persistence pays off! Congrats!

[Flatrock]

7 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Congratulations.   I haven’t fished Center Hill in 30 years but I’ve been saying I’m gonna give it a try just to get our of my comfort zone.  The primary cover on Old Hickory right now is Jet Skis.  I’m sure Percy Priest is even worse. 

 

Other than fishing the southern end by the dam, I haven't been able to figure OH out.. 

[thinkingredneck]

sounds like you figured it out.