Heavily Pressured Mud

[Bankc]

I'm having trouble catching anything.  I've been fishing in my local lake (man made) close to 30 times since October, and haven't gotten a single bite.  I refuse to give up on this lake though.  It's too convenient, and it's a rather pretty puddle of water to spend time on.  So I enjoy my constant failure anyway.

 

It's 33 acres in size, and most of it is around 3-5 feet deep, with about a third of it near the dam that runs about 10-20 feet deep.  It's muddy as can be (Oklahoma red mud).  This time of year especially.  Visibility is usually less than a foot.  That would lead me to believe that noisy lures are the way to go.  And I've tried that.  Extensively.  Rat-L-Traps, Chatterbaits, beaded jigs, a bunch of different spinnerbaits, poppers, torpedoes, pretty much anything that makes a click, thump, or buzz, I've thrown.  Nothing seems to work.

 

The reason, I believe, is there are always 10-30 people fishing on that lake at any given moment, so it's quite heavily pressured.  That would lead me to try silent baits,  And I've tried a few, though not as many as the noisy ones.  And they still don't get a sniff.  My guess is, they probably can't find them.  

 

And it's not just me.  I've never seen anyone pull a decent fish from that lake.  And the few dinks that I have seen, were all caught on minnows or stinkbait.  I'm trying to avoid live bait.  I've heard stories, however, of people catching bass, but you never know about stories.  This lake does have some big bass in it though.  I've seen them swimming by me, and I've seen them break the water.  It's a common enough sight that I know it has quite a few.  Plus, it's stocked with Largemouth, catfish, and crappie by the city. 

 

Most of the people that fish there fish in two areas, one is the bank along the dam, and the other is a bank that runs up to the dam (there's a heavily visited fishing pier there as well).  There are some fish attractants sunk around those areas, with buoys to mark them.  No gasoline engines are allowed and there's no boat ramp, so it doesn't see a lot of boats, outside of a few kayaks and canoes.  I have a kayak to get out on it, but that hasn't helped.  

 

So, that's the background.  It's been a tough nut to crack, but I'm determined to get it done.  Any suggestions of what direction I should try?  Keep with the noisy baits and try different areas (I just the kayak so I haven't had much time to put it to use)?  Should I try scented lures?  I haven't tried applying any scent yet (though some of the plastics I've used are supposed to be impregnated).  Should I concentrate more on finesse presentations?  I haven't given them much of a try due to the visibility issues.  Any help would be appreciated! 

[plawren53202]

19 minutes ago, Bankc said:

The reason, I believe, is there are always 10-30 people fishing on that lake at any given moment, so it's quite heavily pressured.  

Good grief. I'll stop complaining about the traffic at our subdivision HOA pond. ?

 

Couple of observations from my experience fishing very heavily pressured public waters in the St. Louis metro area, though I'm no pro by any means.

 

First, I think your inclination to go smaller/more finesse is probably on point. Take a look at what others are fishing and do something different, but generally my experience is that heavily pressured fisheries see too much of baits that are too big or too aggressive. I agree I'd go smaller, more finesse. That includes line size. Don't be scared to go down to 6 or even 4 lb. test.

 

Also, finesse includes approach. I don't know how many people I see who stomp right up to the edge of the water, stand inches from the bank, and start chucking giant baits out. In a smaller body of water fish may be holding literally right smack against the edge of the bank, and if they are pressured they are super spooky. You have to sneak up like a deer hunter, stay back from the edge of the water, be quiet. Use delicate presentations that don't cannonball into the water. Think more like a trout fisherman in a stream than a bass fisherman.

 

I used to think like you, how in the world can a bass in chocolate milk find a quiet bait? This winter I caught fish on the original TRD Finesse Ned rig in chocolate milk, convincing me that yes, they can find it. I don't know how they find something that is silent, small, and I'm barely dragging on the bottom, but they do. I'd give it a shot with a Ned rig or small drop shot (like a 4" Yum Dinger or something smaller). I would however go with colors for muddy water like black/blue, chartreuse, red.

 

Or go even smaller. You might be surprised at how well crappie jigs, Beetle spins, Road Runners, Rooster Tails, those kinds of baits might do well in such a heavily pressured lake. My brother in law just caught a 6+ pounder on a chartreuse Road Runner jig. 

 

Going small might help you do something else. When I'm fishing somewhere like this where I just can't buy a bite, I like to scale down and figure out what the dinks are biting on. The little guys tend to be easier to catch than the big ones. Go small, go finesse, and catch some dinks. Then take what you learn from that and adjust to try to catch the bigger fish if you know they're in there.

 

………….Having said all that, it may be time to find a new lake. I don't like crowds like that to begin with, much less if the fishing is bad, and I'd rather drive an hour than go somewhere local but packed.

[roadwarrior]

5 minutes ago, Bankc said:

I've been fishing in my local lake (man made) close to 30 times since October, and haven't gotten a single bite. 

Any suggestions of what direction I should try?  

Time to find another lake.

 

[GreenPig]

If it's that muddy & crowded I'd fish somewhere else or go after dark with your kayak. Black or black/blue jig with a trailer and scent or a Huddleston 68 Special crawled along the bottom. 

[Bankc]

I'll definitely give the smaller baits a try.  I've experimented some with them.  But not all that much.  And while I've tried a Ned rig, I haven't tried it that often, and I only have pumpkin green.  So maybe a different color would help.  I don't have anything like the Huddleston 68 special.  So that might be worth a look at too.  It certainly looks pretty to me!  Thank you!  This gives me something to try!  

 

And yes, finding another lake is probably the best option.  But that extra hour or two of a drive time means I won't be able to get out there but just a few times a year.  With a job and a family, it's hard to find time to get out.  I can usually only get away for about 4 hours at time and even then, just on the weekends.  And if I'm spending most of that time driving, well, then I'm not fishing.  Can't anger the wife, or I'll lose what I got!

 

There are a few other lakes around me, less than an hours drive, but they're all pretty much the same.  Muddy and crowded.  Though, most aren't as muddy, or as crowded (more people visit them, but there's much more lake to spread them out), but I haven't had much luck on them either.  Of course, I haven't hit them up as hard, mainly because before I got my kayak, about the only places you could fish from are the fishing piers (which are usually crowded unless the weather is terrible).  The forests surrounding the lakes are terribly overgrown and impossible to walk through, and boat docks are usually locked and dams and bridges forbidden to pedestrians.  There's one lake without any trees around it, but there's no structure along the shore (it's just a man-made deep square dug into the ground) and the wind is crazy!  You don't see many bank fishers out there, despite it being one of the most popular lakes around (tons of sail boats and restaurants).  And that's the heart of the problem.  Okies love fishing and hunting, and hate traffic.  So any time the weather is nice (which isn't that often), they load up their trucks and head to the nearest lake.  All of the good ones are about a two hour drive away.  

 

That's life though.  It's not so much about learning how to get what you want, as it is about learning how to want what you get.  

[DitchPanda]

If consider something like a senko in a dirty water color like junebug or black blue laminate. Finesse enough for the pressure but still big enough and dark enough for them to find it in nasty water.

[Fishingmickey]

It was mentioned earlier, night fishing. I'd go the night fishing route or go very early in the morning and be off the water when the crowds start showing up. You might give a small popper a try. Like the Rebel Pop-r or try a floating Rapala minnow (F07 or F09 size) twitched on the surface or slow retrieve under the surface. 

[WRB]

Noisy reaction strike lures in dirty water is your best bet. Any bottom contact lures need to move a lot of water and add a rattle to them. I would approach this lake with what works at night.

1. Black buzz bait

2. Black/chartreuse skirt single spin large Colorado blade spinnerbait.* Nichols 1/2 oz Zero Dark 30

3. Black Whopper Plopper.

4. Black rattle back jig with Zoom Baby Brush hop Emerald blue trailer.

Fish all around the perimeter and focus the jig around the area

Tom

PS, you need a swimbait rod for Hudd 68, poor choice in dirty water IMO. Kayak!

[CrankFate]

Do the 10-30 people catch anything? IMO, it’s not really pressured if no one is actually catching anything. It’s just overcrowded.

[Jaderose]

30 times in the last 7-8 months and not a nibble?  You, my friend, are wasting your time.  Put the rod away and take a picnic if you want to enjoy this particular lake

[Bankc]

16 hours ago, CrankFate said:

Do the 10-30 people catch anything? IMO, it’s not really pressured if no one is actually catching anything. It’s just overcrowded.

Not usually.  Though, to be fair, I typically am there when I can, not when I want to be.  So I'm often there after a cold front in the middle of the afternoon on a weekend.  Also, all of those people are usually lined up right next to each other in one of two areas.  The other areas worth fishing are a long, winding walk through the trees (you can't really go off the trails due to the thick brush), or only easily accessible by boat.  So you can still be off by yourself if you want to.  Though that will take you away from the deeper water.  

 

3 hours ago, Jaderose said:

30 times in the last 7-8 months and not a nibble?  You, my friend, are wasting your time.  Put the rod away and take a picnic if you want to enjoy this particular lake

I know.  But I've got a Captain Ahab thing going on with this lake.  Plus, I figure if I can figure this one out, it'll make me a better fisherman for when I get the opportunity to hit up some of the better lakes, further away.  Oklahoma has some great lakes.  Oklahoma City does not. 

[scaleface]

Get some little beetle spins and just catch whatever . If it has  bass   , you should at least get a little one .

[BoomerSooner]

Is this place named after a room in the house?

[Jaderose]

2 hours ago, Bankc said:

 

 

I know.  But I've got a Captain Ahab thing going on with this lake.  Plus, I figure if I can figure this one out, it'll make me a better fisherman for when I get the opportunity to hit up some of the better lakes, further away.  Oklahoma has some great lakes.  Oklahoma City does not. 

Yeah but at least Ahab had his leg bitten off.  You haven't had a nibble

[Bankc]

2 hours ago, BoomerSooner said:

Is this place named after a room in the house?

No.  It's named after "Old Man Kitchen" who used to own it (Kitchen was his last name).  He would charge people to fish there many years ago.  Then he passed and his children couldn't keep up with the taxes on it (since they didn't use it for farming, the land was just a money sink to them), so the city bought it from them and turned it into a public park.  I never met "Old Man Kitchen", but apparently those who did have very fond memories of him being really mean to them.  It's kind of weird.  

 

2 hours ago, Jaderose said:

Yeah but at least Ahab had his leg bitten off.  You haven't had a nibble

Nice one!

[CrankFate]

6 hours ago, Bankc said:

Not usually.  Though, to be fair, I typically am there when I can, not when I want to be.  So I'm often there after a cold front in the middle of the afternoon on a weekend.  Also, all of those people are usually lined up right next to each other in one of two areas.  The other areas worth fishing are a long, winding walk through the trees (you can't really go off the trails due to the thick brush), or only easily accessible by boat.  So you can still be off by yourself if you want to.  Though that will take you away from the deeper water.  

Well I Fish these conditions, too. I do not consider it “pressured” I consider it crowded. I fish where the crowds are, at times, too. But those spots are more a matter of convenience to people who are trying to fish. Almost no one catches anything, ever. And the catches are usually under 3lbs. But there are plenty of very big fish in the water.

[Brayberry]

Here's what I would do personally, if I was bound and determined to catch fish at this lake. I'd toss a 1/4 oz jig or even a bitsy bug to any cover I see along the shoreline. I'd want a black and blue jig/trailer. And I'd want the trailer to have action, so something like a Rage Craw or Paca Chunk. 

[BoomerSooner]

2 hours ago, Bankc said:

No.  It's named after "Old Man Kitchen" who used to own it (Kitchen was his last name).  He would charge people to fish there many years ago.  Then he passed and his children couldn't keep up with the taxes on it (since they didn't use it for farming, the land was just a money sink to them), so the city bought it from them and turned it into a public park.  I never met "Old Man Kitchen", but apparently those who did have very fond memories of him being really mean to them.  It's kind of weird. 

Yeah, I know the place.  I was trying to keep it from being more crowded than it already is. 

I used to fish it some.  The north end was my most productive area.  Chartreuse spinnerbait with orange kicker blade was my go to.

[Jaderose]

45 minutes ago, BoomerSooner said:

Yeah, I know the place.  I was trying to keep it from being more crowded than it already is. 

 

Doesn't sound like that will be a problem with the folks on here...lol