Fishing Shallow Lakes

[Gibby]

I live on a shallow lake called Indian lake in Ohio. It’s about 8 square miles. It’s deepest point is about 12 feet. The majority of the main lake is featureless and about 4 feet deep. There are no offshore features whatsoever. Where will these fish be setup in early spring?

[Bluebasser86]

There's some offshore features, they're just going to be really subtle.

 

On a large and mostly featureless body of water, a 6" depth change, 1 large rock, a single log, a tire, or whatever on a vast flat will hold fish almost without fail, but are very difficult and time consuming to find. If you live on the lake though, it's going to be worth it to find those things. If the state allows it, you might consider dropping few brush piles also.

 

Where they setup in spring will depend on water temps and light penetration. If the water is dirty, they need to be positioned shallow enough to where they can build nest that their eggs can get enough sunlight to hatch. If the water is clear enough, they can utilize the entire lake.

[Captain Phil]

6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

There's some offshore features, they're just going to be really subtle.

 

On a large and mostly featureless body of water, a 6" depth change, 1 large rock, a single log, a tire, or whatever on a vast flat will hold fish almost without fail, but are very difficult and time consuming to find. If you live on the lake though, it's going to be worth it to find those things. If the state allows it, you might consider dropping few brush piles also.

 

Where they setup in spring will depend on water temps and light penetration. If the water is dirty, they need to be positioned shallow enough to where they can build nest that their eggs can get enough sunlight to hatch. If the water is clear enough, they can utilize the entire lake.

 

Your lake is a microcosm of practically every natural lake in Florida.   Bass are primarily ambush feeders and will gravitate to any cover.   As stated above, cover can come in many forms.  Weeds, ditches, docks, inlets, downed trees, even concrete blocks and old tires fit the description.  Whatever you find, you can be sure that spot will be a consistent producer.   The Harris Chain is over 50,000 acres of water.  The average depth in the middle of our lakes is about 10'-14'.  Except for some occasional hydrilla, there is nothing obvious sticking out of the water.   Anglers become frustrated because they have difficulty in finding fish.  This gives locals who can put together a milk run of "spots" a huge advantage.  Depth means nothing to a bass that lives in Florida.  I have caught huge bass in two feet of water and they don't seem unhappy.  ☺️

[TnRiver46]

We don’t have any shallow lakes, wish I could help! All I can think of is golf course ponds, the fish always use the ditches draining into the pond

[Michigander]

When you're mapping, do so in a grid pattern. As in, you want to map going one direction, then map perpendicular to that line. This is how you find the very subtle features. You won't see the changes if you're moving parallel with them.

 

We found a sharp 6-8" drop edge on a semi featureless section of one of our club lakes and that knowledge alone has resulted in a couple wins on that particular lake.

[Dens228]

My first tournament this year is on a lake that shows a max depth of eight feet.  I've never fished it and have been told it's probably not even that deep now.  This thread is at a perfect time. 

[Boomstick]

Are there any weeds? Hard or soft bottom? What's the water clarity like?

[GReb]

Quick google search shows a lot of docks and sea walls. I would start there and cover water with a squarebill, swim jig, spinner bait, bladed jig, etc. 

[J Francho]

There's two creeks attached to that lake.  I'd be near them, looking for shoreline features nearby.  I would NOT call that lake featureless, despite the bottom layout you describe.  Looks like a shore fisher's dream.

[the reel ess]

If you have GPS at your disposal, you can make some structure. You need to be able to return to the exact spot. I knew a guy who used to take broken up cinder blocks and pile them strategically. He gave me one of these spots and I caught fish there.

[Captain Phil]

Are there are pads in that lake?  If so, fish are there.

[ICFishing]

Spring time they will likely be holding on flats near the areas I circled, which are most likely areas that I think they will hold in winter and summer. Depending on when you are there they could be at any stage of spawn, so I would start around those areas. From pictures I see on Google it looks like fairly clear water so wear some good shades and move slow and keep an eye out, you will likely spot fish roaming around any sort of cover such as a stick, single rock, small patch of grass, heck I have even seen fish hug a beer can because that was the only thing on a sandy bottom. But also remember, if you can see them they have probably already spotted you so they will be harder to catch most times. If you are seeing fish though then you know your in the right area, make long casts with light line and work slow, not necessarily slow baits, but move slow yourself. When it gets closer to spawn they will be on flats near these areas I circled. Look for wind protected little pockets in the bank with a bottom containing sand and small pebbles, this is where they will spawn. Early spawn they will be moving back and forth between the circled areas and the flats, and then again in late spawn as they move back to those summer pockets. I personally think that creek dumps in near Long Island (right most circle) looks especially good. Another thing to keep in mind is current, anywhere a creek flows in there will be a little bit of current, focus on cover that is in that current or on any flat near that current. 

 

Hope this helps!

 

[scaleface]

This looks like a good spot

[TnRiver46]

21 minutes ago, scaleface said:

This looks like a good spot

Hahahaha

[Darth-Baiter]

If I find myself on a lake flat as a swimming pool; I notice bass will congregate on even the tiniest structure.  A tiny hump or depression, the most minuscule bush, a stick.  Anything different.   Look for those. 

[Gibby]

Thanks to all of the suggestions. There are a lot of docks and sea walls on the lake. Would they tend to like wood posts or metal posts in the spring? Also, do they like seawalls in the spring?

[N Florida Mike]

On 1/7/2021 at 11:00 AM, Dens228 said:

My first tournament this year is on a lake that shows a max depth of eight feet.  I've never fished it and have been told it's probably not even that deep now.  This thread is at a perfect time. 

You just described my home lake.  

[ICFishing]

10 hours ago, Gibby said:

Thanks to all of the suggestions. There are a lot of docks and sea walls on the lake. Would they tend to like wood posts or metal posts in the spring? Also, do they like seawalls in the spring?

In my experience I have found wooden posts to be better as they retain heat from the sunlight longer than a metal post. So early in the spring when the bass are still drawn to warmer water they will likely hold on wood. Wood posts are also usually bigger, providing more cover. Wood also allows algae to grow, and baitfish feed on the tiny bacteria that hang around the algae, and bass feed on those baitfish. I have found seawalls to be good year round. The wall will soak up sunlight and they will sun on it year round. At one of my local lakes I saw a 5 pound LMB sunning on a seawall at 11 am in August in less than a foot of water when it was over 90 degrees out. With the seawalls I find it best to cast and retrieve parallel to them. Often I will sit only a few feet out from the seawall and cast along it. With docks I have always approached them slow and fish around the outside first, especially in clear water. Then slowly work your way all the way to the back as far as you can get a bait. If you have not established a pattern fish every single post on the dock until you figure out where on the dock you are getting bites, such as shallower posts, deeper posts, posts with weeds, etc. Once you figure out a pattern then you can move faster and cover more docks quicker using that pattern.

[Dens228]

32 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

You just described my home lake.  

I may be direct messaging you soon, although this lake will be in northern Indiana and mid April.  So probably cold!

[the reel ess]

I see lots of good shoreline structure like docks, boathouses, seawalls, etc. If there is any vegetation in the warm months, fish it. That Lucy's Pond area sure looks fishy to me.