Bass fishing after a huge rain?

[Darth-Baiter]

I was stymied yesterday. 6 hours and only one bump of my worm. NOTHING!

 

Five guys on the lake and only one fish caught.  One.   The lake was 6 feet deeper easy. It was littered with storm debris. I could find fish on my FF but nothing interested them.  One guy thinks the lake was flooded with food.  I think that much water changed something, maybe pH or something. 
 

my friends are there today. I passed.  I’m gonna let it settle down a bit. Next weekend I’ll try elsewhere.  A bigger lake wher the rain filled it less percentage wise.  Maybe my friends will decipher the puzzle today. 
 

your theories?  It’s a tiny lake 

[georgeyew]

I normally fish the inlets where streams feed into the lake/pond after a big rain. I can typically catch a few there, seems that fish are waiting for food to be washed in.

 

As for the fish that are inactive. They might have filled up already. Not sure just a guess.

[scaleface]

I cant help much especially if the water is muddy . The water raising that much , I fish shallow . I'll target points because bass were there before the deluge   . I have fished newly flooded pond dams with good success , guard rails along boat ramps ,boat ramps, rip rap and especially incoming culverts .

[Zippo Guy]

Took my granddaughter fishing yesterday along the boat launch area.  She caught a couple of small bass.  Two guys in kayaks came in, one had caught 30 and the other guy caught 28.  Our lake has come up over 30 feet since last weekends storm.  They said the bass were hungry and chasing whatever they threw, drop shots, neds, spinners,  etc. We haven't been able to launch any boats for over two months because of the draught so very few fishermen have been on the lake. The water is very muddy and full of debris. Five more feet of water and we can get boats launched. 

[GreenPig]

Dirt shallow with a jig, chatterbait, or spinnerbait is what I throw tight to cover for fresh high muddy water.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

When the water is rising almost all of my fish are caught right off the bank in shallow water.  Anywhere where you have water draining in you can usually count on a few fish being there.  When the water is really muddy and rising I've had good success fishing dirt shallow.  The only difference I find in muddy water is that the fish like to hold really tight to cover.   

[T-Billy]

I agree with the above. Incoming water, and tight to the bank and cover. Flippin stick, and a spinner bait or chatterbait. Maybe a squarebill. Two or three rods will cover it, with most of my time spent pitching a T Rig probably.

[Finessegenics]

I find that rising waters generally make fish easier to catch but I've never dealt with a 6 foot increase overnight. That would probably make things a little more complicated, especially at this time of year. 

 

There are a lot of things to consider. I can give you my advice but Im not sure if my experience will apply to your body of water. What's your usual water visibility? Are there any incoming streams on this lake? Is it shaped like a bowl, no sharp changes in depth? 

 

All those would change how I would approach it. For high and muddy water I usually fish shallow, even if it's with "finesse" baits. Bass will follow the rising water as that's usually where the forage goes and there's also access to more cover for both the forage and bass. Sunfish and minnows will get right up in the brush, feeding on insects and larvae that have now been washed into the system. Bass are right behind them. I've caught countless bass on little jigs and plastics right at the base of newly flooded trees, bushes and boulders.

 

I say if you know the usual position and hiding spots of the resident shallow fish in this lake, just follow them to the newest piece of available cover on the shoreline. 

[txchaser]

Dirt shallow. Including tossing senkos and frogs up on the bank and dragging them into the water. 

 

[QED]

4 hours ago, txchaser said:

Dirt shallow. Including tossing senkos and frogs up on the bank and dragging them into the water.

That's one of my favorite dock fishing techniques for spooky bass.  Use a light/UL, weedless bait so as not to harm the dock (wacky senko with a weedless hook works well) - toss it onto the dock and gently drop it into the shady side...

[TnRiver46]

The water by my house comes up and down 5-6 feet every day but it’s from dams . I’ve never fished flooded water without strong current so I’m probably no help. Were the fish on your graph suspended? You may be correct that since it’s a tiny the lake the majority of the whole thing might be in shock for a couple days 

[Bird]

I've never cared for drastic changes in water level but some rise after a hard rain can be really good, perhaps my favorite time to fish in warmer months. 

 

On the other end of the spectrum, drastic decrease in water level can turn fish off. Imo

Fished a lake last year where the boat ramp was being repaired and to do so, they dropped the lake 4ft in a matter of 2 days.......never had a single bite.

 

[gim]

I’ve never experienced an increase of 30 feet in any body of water. However, after a big rain, I try what many have already mentioned: fish very shallow and close to shore. Honestly might be worth just waiting for the water and debris to clear up.

[WRB]

Look at the lake closely to determine where the bass would move into newly flooded areas as the water raises. The newly flooded areas will have cuts or pockets close to the deeper areas where the Bass were located before the rain.

Bass use established migration routes through areas where the water is concentrated, it’s not a bowl of water. 

The bass are feeding in the brush wherever opens give them easy entry and exit points. 

As soon as the water starts to drain from those areas the bass locate at the same entry areas to feed on prey exiting.

Jigs and Senko’s.

Tom

PS, if the water shed area was burned recently the acid from ash sediment isn’t healthy for the fish.

[Zippo Guy]

I only started fishing for bass last May so I'm learning a lot here.  Thanks for all the information.?

[RDB]

Lot’s of good advice.  Typically I have the best luck focusing on 1 of 2 areas…either the new shoreline (very shallow) for all the reasons stated above or the old shoreline before the flooding (in your example, 6 feet), it really depends on the cover & structure.  Also, because flooding can add a ton of cover for fish, I will typically focus on areas where cover is a little more isolated, at least until I can determine how they are relating.  Remember, bass will typically stay in the same general area so you can use your previous knowledge to narrow things down a bit.

 

Edit:  You didn’t mention how soon after the huge rain you are fishing.  If it was real recent and the rains have decreased visibility quite a bit, bass (LMB) will tend to position much tighter to cover.

Edited November 2, 2021 by RDB
Added to comment

[papajoe222]

I've never fished anywhere that has that much of an increase from rainfall.  What I have found is that knowing lake's shoreline prior to the water rising is very beneficial, but knowing its (the lake) major structures is still the key. When the bass move shallow, as in your case, they need something to follow. A point, creek channel, bluff, any of which can point them to the newly submerged cover. A slowly tapering flat that now extends further inshore won't produce anywhere near as well as a flat that is close to a creek channel, or point no matter how much new cover there is.

In short, the fish will be near those areas that were most productive prior to the water rising.

[fishhugger]

@Darth-Baiter if you remember, i live about 45 minute drive from you --- slightlier drier where i am, though. i fished a small lake a few days before you spent your six futile hours, and saw similar conditions, as in water rise, that you describe.  that was a HUGE monsoon that hit us. i think a record... 

i fished only an hour, and gave up. i estimated, at the surface, that visibility was 1 foot or less. the water was the color of mud, literally. normally, visibility at the surface is - i can see up to 4 feet down.  idk if that's considered good visibility, or mediocre. 

u didn't mention how muddy your lake was, but if it were really muddy, wouldn't the fish need to wait for the water to clear? they may spend more energy trying to get food, than the food would provide. and then would they then need to eat? i'm a newbie, and just speculating, of course.

maybe your lake had cleared of some of the mud - i think you fished it almost a week after the big storm.

[Darth-Baiter]

12 minutes ago, fishhugger said:

@Darth-Baiter if you remember, i live about 45 minute drive from you --- slightlier drier where i am, though. i fished a small lake a few days before you spent your six futile hours, and saw similar conditions, as in water rise, that you describe.  that was a HUGE monsoon that hit us. i think a record... 

i fished only an hour, and gave up. i estimated, at the surface, that visibility was 1 foot or less. the water was the color of mud, literally. normally, visibility at the surface is - i can see up to 4 feet down.  idk if that's considered good visibility, or mediocre. 

u didn't mention how muddy your lake was, but if it were really muddy, wouldn't the fish need to wait for the water to clear? they may spend more energy trying to get food, than the food would provide. and then would they then need to eat? i'm a newbie, and just speculating, of course.

maybe your lake had cleared of some of the mud - i think you fished it almost a week after the big storm.

You have a kayak?  Love to show you around some. 

[Functional]

my home lake is part of a river and when it rains it gets even muddier than usual (typical best clarity is about 2') and has 1' or less visibility. Anywhere clear water runs into the muddy water and good hard structure thats recently been submerged.

 

I'll typically throw spinners or chatterbaits with a wild trailer, the more water displacement the better, along the mud lines and points/structure just outside and inside of the line. I'll also resort to throwing jigs with a rattle at the newly submerged structure if I'm not getting bit on the mud lines.

[fishhugger]

39 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

You have a kayak?  Love to show you around some. 

hey, thanks so much!  stuck on the bank, myself... hope the fishing has picked up where you are...

[cheezyridr]

downed trees that are still alive/green never fail to produce big fish for me. i throw texas rig worms or  jigs right into them like i'm trying to get snagged. 

[king fisher]

This happens every year at a lake I fish.  The rainy season comes and the lake level comes up 20 feet over night.  Water turns to mud, and the fish head for the shallow ( 2 feet or less) flooded hay field.  The first couple days of the flood the fishing is slow.  My theory is they gorge themselves on drowning mice and such and it takes a couple days for the bass to get hungry again.  The water stays muddy because the rains continue for 3 months.  I catch most of my bass on buzz baits bumped against bushes in the flooded hay flat.  If that doesn't work I toss 7 inch Senkos into the exact spots I have caught them on the buzz baits in the past.  It is hard for me to slow down and fish the Senko, but it has caught me some large bass.  The other two people that fish the lake, only throw frogs, because that is all they have.  They catch big bass.  Once the water starts to drop, it clears some and the bass instantly move to the grass edges, and actively chase bait.  Buzz baits still work, but so do spinnerbaits, jigs, square bills, lipless cranks, and A rigs.   The lake I fish has zero aquatic vegetation, so the bass only get to be around grass when it floods.  When that happens it is like a kid in a candy store.  After a few weeks the hay dies, and the bass leave even though the water is still high.   Other than I think they will follow the rising water on any lake.  The bass on your lake may act completely different.  As others have said current is always good.

[Bankc]

I'd agree with the fishing shallow.  But I'd probably downsize a good bit and slow it down.  Try a Ned rig or a small squarebill.  The reason being that this time of year, I'm betting the rain lowered the temperature of the water a lot, and very quickly.  The mud would push them shallow and the lowering temperature would likely make them less aggressive.  So you'd almost have to snag them, as I doubt they'd be in the mood to chase much.  

[Darth-Baiter]

Thanks for the food for thought.  
 

I’ll put some of your theories to the test Thursday at Clearlake.  Fingers crossed.