Fishing Standing Timber

[Corey Yarish]

Any tips on fishing timber in the fall? I see guys pull big ones out of a tree field but when I go out I don´t even get a bite. Thanks.

[TnRiver46]

Weightless worm

[scaleface]

I have best luck in "emergent"  standing timber with square bills and top waters . Standing timber has branches so a crankbait will only go as deep as the top branch . Long lipped baits   just cause me frustration . If the timber is shallow enough Texas rigged worms and jigs can be used but its a little tricky because of the limbs . I like to pitch to the base then let line out so it falls straight down the trunk . Casting past the tree the line will once again drape over the top limb . Spinnerbaits work also . Some people like lipless baits but all I do is snag them up .

 

Look for isolated trees, large horizontal branches,  the edges  and, larger trees   . Pay attention to the bottom contours . Trees on good structure are better than the rest  ., Like points , channel ledges and humps . 

[BigAngus752]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

I have best luck in "emergent"  standing timber with square bills and top waters . Standing timber has branches so a crankbait will only go as deep as the top branch . Long lipped baits   just cause me frustration . If the timber is shallow enough Texas rigged worms and jigs can be used but its a little tricky because of the limbs . I like to pitch to the base then let line out so it falls straight down the trunk . Casting past the tree the line will once again drape over the top limb . Spinnerbaits work also . Some people like lipless baits but all I do is snag them up .

 

Look for isolated trees, large horizontal branches,  the edges  and, larger trees   . Pay attention to the bottom contours . Trees on good structure are better than the rest  ., Like points , channel ledges and humps . 

^^^that's good stuff^^^

When you say "standing timber" I'm picturing the manmade lakes that I fish that have coves with fields of trees in them.  I can be in 25 feet of water and have trees ten feet above my head in all directions.  @scaleface is absolutely right.  Look at the season, water temps, conditions, etc. to determine where the fish will be and then fish the trees in those areas.  "Newer" lakes will have trees with branches.  I struggle mightily to fish those like @scaleface said.  I fish a very old manmade lake that the trees are mostly nothing but giant, 40 foot tall trunks with no branches.  Those are much easier to fish.  The guys that fish tournaments (and place in the tourneys) tell me that they tend to view the trees as a stump and fish the base.  They don't have a lot of luck with bass suspended in the limbs 15 feet above the bottom but they pull giants off the 'stump' with jigs and carolina rigs.  

[Catt]

Fish the structure not the trees ?

[Corey Yarish]

Thank you for the information!

[Catt]

@Corey Yarish When making a cake you do not start with the icing!

 

Structure is the "cake", timber/grass/brush is the icing.

[Team9nine]

LiveScope   

 

If you can't afford that, then do what Catt suggests 

[Catt]

9 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

LiveScope   

 

Gotta get me one of dem ?

[Team9nine]

15 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Gotta get me one of dem ?

 

Lol - I don't want one, at least not to fish with. How you catch them matters 

[Fishes in trees]

I fish trees quite a bit.  I pretty much agree with the notion that you fish structure and not the trees.

However, in my experiences, in most of the Missouri Conservation Department lakes that I fish, the fish do suspend in the trees from time to time and they can be caught.

 

Trees can be cranked.  My favorite crank bait for this purpose is a DC16 or a DC 13 Timber Tiger.  I'll Generally fish this bait on 15 or 17 lb line.   The DC 16 might get down 8 or 9 feet on 17 lb line.   What you're looking for is the big horizontal branches that are 5 to 7 feet down.  Keeper fish often lurk behind/around these wood features.   I guess what they're looking is schools of baitfish swimming by.

For me, this isn't an all day approach.   Find a row of trees with features that look ok.   Maybe off to the side of a road bed, maybe they turn a corner in a sunken field, maybe overgrowth on the back side of a dam on a sunken pond, something.  Throw the Timber Tiger, bump it into stuff, see if you get bit.  I tend to get bit more when I can imagine where they shade pockets might be 5 to 7 feet down, as the keeper fish tend to position themselves in the shade pocket, where they can look out into water that has more visibility.  THIS DON'T ALWAYS WORK!!  I generally give it 15 or 20 minutes and if it ain't happening, it ain't happening.  Several times per year though, it produces a 20" or bigger fish.

 

The classic timber lake in Missouri is Truman Lake.  Since that lake was filled, throwing 10" worms in the trees has been a viable approach.   As has been mention in prior posts, there are trees that have the potential to produce and other timber areas, not so much.   

The approach here is simple.  I generally use 20 lb Abrazx, a 10" power worm ( generally Blue Fleck) and a 5/0 hook.  Weight varies.   Throw the worm kinda close to the tree and let it drop.  Hits almost always occur on the drop/ maybe a few seconds after it hits the bottom.   Deadsticking the bait or working it all the way back to the boat hasn't worked real well for me.   For me the approach is - Do the drop - hit the bottom, one bounce, reel it back fast & repeat.

 

Other baits might occasionally work - tubes and brush hogs are popular with some guys - the old jig & pig is still popular with other guys.  Me - I like the 10" worm.

 

The other option I'll try in standing time is a wacky senko.  I've had years when that was THE ticket, the only thing you had to figure out was were they suspending in the crown of the tree or closer to the trunk.

 

The last few years, not so much with this bait.   I think that it still works but I think that day in & day out the 10" worm ( 5/16 or 3/8 oz tungsten weight, generally) works better for me.

 

So, there you go, that's how I generally approach standing timber in deeper water.

 

 

[Catt]

20 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

Lol - I don't want one, at least not to fish with. How you catch them matters 

 

Actually the only electronics upgrade I'm looking at is a trolling motor with Spot-Lock.

 

2D is all I need ?

[Bankc]

As others have said, fish the structure, not the trees.  It's easy to see a submerged forest and think that each one has a big bass attached to it.  But that's almost never the case.  Also, look for lone trees or trees that stick out from the bunch (different size or species).  Especially if they're near a creek channel or drop off.  A bunch of trees with nothing else going on around them is usually a waste of time.  

 

As for what to fish, for me that largely depends on the size and shape of the trees.  If it's large enough, like an old tree that's rotted some so it's lost it's thinner branches, or if the branches mostly stick out above the water (so you're not getting a lot of vertical twigs in your way), then I'll often go with a square bill.  A square bill will bang off large horizontal branches and roots easily, but will often get hung up on small vertical branches.  For trees with lots of more vertically running branches, I'll go with a spinnerbait.  Sometimes I'll cast them off to the side, let them sink, and then try to pull them back through the branches.  Sometimes I'll cast right at the trunk at let it helicopter down through the branches.  If the bass are holding near the bottom, I might go with a jig or T-rigged plastic.  I might even yo-yo it over branches.  Sometimes a topwater will work if they're higher up.  You never know.  

 

There are lots of ways to fish standing timber.  And don't be afraid to hit it from all sides.  I often catch bass on the side that I don't think they'll be at.  Mostly you'll fish it like anything else.  The only real thing to keep in mind is to stick with lures that won't get caught up in them.  So I generally avoid round bill or lipless crankbaits, chatterbaits, spoons (though a weedless spoon might work), wacky rig worms, or anything expensive.  Also, keep in mind that trees are probably more highly pressured than many other areas of the lake.  Bass anglers see them and are drawn to the instinctually, whereas fish can take them or leave them.  So sometimes trees that are hard to get to are more productive than trees that are easy to reach.