Topwater spots, largies, and striper.

[Hook2Jaw]

I've been transitioning from ponds, rivers, and inshore saltwater and learning a lake that sits 2 hours from me known as Juliette.  She's a tough, tough girl.  I've experienced 5-10' of clarity, and she DROPS.  I'm talking inches to 60' in the span of a cast.  My first trip out, I landed one spotted bass cranking a grassline.  I landed three nice striped bass trolling the same Berkley Digger 14.5.  Still, I felt I never figured out the green bass.  I had a lot to learn.

 

My second run to the mean girl produced nada.  I focused on a creek arm and several GPS coordinates the Georgia Outdoor News provided.  I lost one green bass in that arm in 3 hours of fishing.  I had a good friend with me, and we decided to go troll for stripers.  I pulled my crank down the riprap along the dam, my rod bowed, and I proceeded to lose a green bass that would have went 5, 6, 7, or 8 pounds.  She was a nice fish.  I hooked up with her where the riprap met clay and grass, and a light went off in my head.  I needed to take a look at a contour map and figure out why the big bass was hooked there.

 

I went home and mapped.  A light went off.  Juliette is primarily a bowl, and even the creek arms get to 40' deep.  The bass I had lost had come off one of the only sloping points that existed on the side of the lake I've been fishing, where most of the water drops to 60-90' deep in a short span.  Where the dam and riprap stopped, the lake humps up onto that tapering flat of clay with sparse grass toward the bank.  This would be my focus, I decided, and at first light Saturday morning I was pedalling my Hobie toward that point as hard as I could.

 

Here's where the rest of my research paid off: Juliette is a blueback herring lake.  Apparently, blueback herring lakes provide for an amazing topwater bite.  I had purchased two Berkley Drift Walker 110s, a rather finesse spook with an excellent review on a reputable fishing site.  As my kayak sat in 30' of water, I ripped a long cast to the beginning of the grass and started walking my new spook towards me.  Magic happened on my first cast.

 

 

 

16 inches of spotted bass creamed my offering and provided one heck of a fight.  I'm not used to the fury these little guys have, I'm more accustomed to largemouth willingly sliding into my net.  I proceeded to work that lonely point for two more spotted bass around 12" each, and hosted three largies, the biggest going 14".

 

Behind me in open water, the hybrid and striper proceeded to surface beneath a pushed school of herring, so I sped out to them and boated a nice hybrid over 60' of water with that same topwater.  Out of the same frothing mess of bait and bass, I hoisted another off topwater.

 

She trashed on my deck and sunk a Fusion 19 to the bone in my pointer finger.  I thought my day was ended, as I have never done the braid trick to pop a hook out but on my way in I asked another man in a boat if he had.  A few moments later I was unhooked and we fished for those schooling striper and hybrids the rest of the day.  I ended the day with 10 more lined bass in between 15-25".  I didn't take any pictures as the action was furious when they came up.

 

Now I just need to figure out Lake Juliette's green bass after the topwater bites lull.  I hope you all had a good weekend and I hope this has been a good read, bassresource!

 

[BassNJake]

Congrats on figuring out some things at a tough lake!!

 

I fish alone a lot and have had to use the braid trick on myself more times than I would like.

I'll tie the braid off to something solid like a boat cleat and while pushing down on the hook with the free hand, jerk the hand that has the hook in it the opposite way. Make sure you do this with a lot of force and a little down and away from where you're hooked. Braid trick is great when it comes out cleanly the first time. Having to do it multiple times in a row for one hook doesn't feel so hot. Also if you have to tie off to a tree branch make sure you do it at the base so there is no give or it doesn't break when you pull away from it.

[Hook2Jaw]

Good deal, @BassNJake.  I think I'll tie off to the rail on my kayak if and when I pop one out solo.  In the mean time, I'm gonna buy a new boga grip.

[Bluebasser86]

That Drift Walker is a legit bait, especially in really calm conditions, and as you now know, those Fusion 19 trebles are super sharp too. Glad you were able to get it out without issue and back to fishing.

[TnRiver46]

Great report, those spotted bass are Tazmanian devils on the end of a line 

[Hook2Jaw]

9 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

That Drift Walker is a legit bait, especially in really calm conditions, and as you now know, those Fusion 19 trebles are super sharp too. Glad you were able to get it out without issue and back to fishing.

My hardbaits have become a mix of H2O and Berkley simply because they come ready to rock with good hardware.  I'll take one hooked finger for hundreds of pinned fish. 

 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Great report, those spotted bass are Tazmanian devils on the end of a line 

Thanks, man!  I'll keep reporting as I figure my 2 hour away lakes out.