flooded small reservoir flooded

[king fisher]

     I have been fishing a small reservoir all summer.  Half the lake is a shallow muddy flat with no structure, or cover.  The other half is rocky with steep banks and large standing trees, in 25-40 feet of water.  There are no aquatic weeds in the whole lake, not a single one.

    The fish have been suspended in the large trees all summer.  Best fishing was in the afternoon when the wind picks up 15 to 25 MPH , and the fish moved higher in the water column.  Water clarity was between 2 and 3 feet, temp. in the mid 80's.

    Now the rainy season is here in force.  The water clarity is 6 inches or less.  Temp. has come down to the mid seventies, and the afternoon winds are light.  I managed to catch a nice fish, randomly fishing the flooded shore line, but couldn't find any more.  The far end of the lake is a flooded pasture now.  The grass is thick, and tall in about 6 feet of water and sure to come up more.

   My question is, will the bass cross the mile of barren flat to get to the end with flooded grass with bushes,or would it be best to concentrate on the limited cover along the rocky shoreline on the deep end of the lake?  The lake should keep raising for 6 more weeks.  So far I have identified tilapia, catfish, and carp as possible prey.  I have not found any crayfish, or any other prey.  I'm sure their are a few snakes, frogs, and mice, but haven't seen any.  The commercial Tilapia fishermen place their nets next to the standing trees, but I haven't been able to talk to any of them so I don't have any experience with the tilapia, except for the few large ones I have caught on bass lures.   I did fish the far end flooded pasture for a couple hours Saturday, but it will take a full day to thoroughly fish this area.  Time is limited, is it worth spending a day on, or will the fish not want to go that far away from the deeper water?  I know they will be shallow, but I don't have any idea if they will travel that far to get to the best shallow cover.  There are no other sport fishermen on this lake, so I don't have any other anglers to compare notes with. Thanks in advance for any replies.