Caught em all at 6’, or something like that

[Brett Michaels]

I hear folks say I caught em all at a certain depth, say, 6-8 feet. I know Bass like cover, so I tend to throw as close to the bushes, rocks that I see. These tend to be near the shore and in shallow water. How do you find then at 6-8 feet or deeper? Is all about fish finders or can you fish deeper with any accuracy by sight?  I’m not trying to fish off shore.  But the whole idea of fishing  at 6-8 or more feet makes no sense to me. 

[bigbassin']

I wouldn’t consider 6’ electronics territory, you should be able to count down a lure pretty quick and figure out the depth in that scenario. 6 to 8 foot of water allows you to throw just about whatever lure you want and still make an effective presentation.

 

As far as finding fish in 6’-8’ of water and what type of cover there is, that largely depends on where you are. In Florida, 8’ is on the deep end. On the other hand 8’ is pretty shallow in a mountain reservoir.

 

The fish still want cover, food, and fresh water. If you’re in an area with 2 of the 3, you’ll probably find bass regardless of depth.

[Catt]

I don't care if you're fishing bank shallow or a mile offshore ya gotta to look at the structure first & then the cover.

 

When looking at the shoreline look for points, the don't have to be huge, they can be short & wide, long & narrow.

 

Look for drains, you know areas where rain water drains in to the lake.

 

Learn to identify the different types of vegetation, different types grow in different depths.

[GreenPig]

There's always shallow fish to be caught and at times it's the place to fish.But the bulk of fishermen target shallow fish in my lakes so I usually fish deeper. I use my 360 Imaging to fish shallow cover to 20'. Deeper than that it's Down & Side Imaging. 

[Spankey]

That 6-8 feet is a good number for summer river Smallies I fish. Fish will be shallower, the fish can be on a piece of structure. But most time I find them at that drop off. Just enough break in contour and they like that. I get my crankbaits down to that depth. 

[the reel ess]

13 minutes ago, Spankey said:

That 6-8 feet is a good number for summer river Smallies I fish. Fish will be shallower, the fish can be on a piece of structure. But most time I find them at that drop off. Just enough break in contour and they like that. I get my crankbaits down to that depth. 

Where I fish the bass are usually in that 8' and under depth so I don't worry too much about offshore structure. If I had to I would, but I wouldn't enjoy it as much. Once it warms I go early or late and bigger fish will come shallow at those times. You might need to fish shallow water near deeper water though. My last two PBs were in less than 2', both in the heat of summer on grassy flats.

[TnRiver46]

I just drag a worm along on the bottom. It’s

6-8 feet deep right next to the bank where I live 

[the reel ess]

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I just drag a worm along on the bottom. It’s

6-8 feet deep right next to the bank where I live 

A C rig or heavy T rig is the poor man's electronics. I know the depths and structure of the places I fish without a fish finder. Of course, I'm not talking more than 15'D.

[TnRiver46]

20 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

A C rig or heavy T rig is the poor man's electronics. I know the depths and structure of the places I fish without a fish finder. Of course, I'm not talking more than 15'D.

19-20’ is a magical number for smallmouth 

[roadwarrior]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

19-20’ is a magical number for smallmouth 

 That is often the case on the Tennessee River.

[the reel ess]

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

19-20’ is a magical number for smallmouth 

We don't have any of those except in the upstate and the Broad River basin. And the broad river, while broad, is not very deep.

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, the reel ess said:

We don't have any of those except in the upstate and the Broad River basin. And the broad river, while broad, is not very deep.

Less depth, less places to hide!! Advantage @the reel ess, bass beware 

[softwateronly]

10 hours ago, Brett Michaels said:

I hear folks say I caught em all at a certain depth, say, 6-8 feet. I know Bass like cover, so I tend to throw as close to the bushes, rocks that I see. These tend to be near the shore and in shallow water. How do you find then at 6-8 feet or deeper? Is all about fish finders or can you fish deeper with any accuracy by sight?  I’m not trying to fish off shore.  But the whole idea of fishing  at 6-8 or more feet makes no sense to me. 

 

Maybe it's semantics, maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but in a lake that has no wood or rocks, depth is my key indicator.  Deep water grass lines or grass type transitions, beyond what can be seen, are what puts me on fish.  So depth in relation to structure is my main key.

 

I fish a small lake, have years of experience on it, practically memorized the contour map, drag and pop baits off the bottom most of the time, and have an old school flasher on my boat.  When I get bit, I make mental notes of where I was and what I was pulling through, and then repeat it in other areas.  This has put me on more and better fish over the years.

 

scott

[the reel ess]

15 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Less depth, less places to hide!! Advantage @the reel ess, bass beware 

Yessir, just one way I like to shift the odds in my favor. I'm more into catching fish than looking for fish. ? And I'm definitely not look to compete for them.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

Yessir, just one way I like to shift the odds in my favor. I'm more into catching fish than looking for fish. ? And I'm definitely not look to compete for them.

I think we all wish we had places to fish like you’ve got!! We don’t have many ponds and the ones we do have are heavily guarded by people that don’t own them and claim you will kill all the geese by fishing 

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

We don’t have many ponds and the ones we do have are heavily guarded by people that don’t own them and claim you will kill all the geese by fishing 

Okaaay....what flavor Kool-Aid are they drinking?

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Okaaay....what flavor Kool-Aid are they drinking?

Man I’ve got the stories haha! Grew up on a golf course and fished all the ponds, got ran off by dozens of people with zero authority to do so . I just came back when they weren’t looking. One old man told me I was going to kill the grass carp he most likely introduced without a permit 

[the reel ess]

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I think we all wish we had places to fish like you’ve got!! We don’t have many ponds and the ones we do have are heavily guarded by people that don’t own them and claim you will kill all the geese by fishing 

I have asked permission from may 20 people to fish their ponds and most have said yes. It's awkward when someone says no. But you never know if you don't ask. Geese are just considered a nuisance by most people in SC. We usually have a nesting pair in spring in the biggest lake I fish.

[Bankbeater]

Use a c-rig and probe the bottom.  Keep a fairly tight line and watch for changes in the angle of the line where it enters the water.