What to use to catch these fish

[Firstoutfisher]

There is a cove a couple miles away from my house (lake of the ozarks).It is fed by a pretty significant sized spring. So there is always current and cool water flowing into the cove. About this time of year until maybe october around an hour before sunset you will see tons of fish feeding on topwater. I know this cove is fairly well populated with stripers and largemouth both so not sure what is feeding. If the water is on the clear side you can see boils of pretty small minnows and you will also see them skipping out of the water when they are being targeted. I've tried throwing numerous poppers,buzzbaits,walking baits, ploppers, small paddletails,underspins,spinnerbaits of all different colors and sizes and I cannot get these fish to bite anything I am presenting them from the top or sub surface. From the other people I've talked to in the area they seem to have the same luck. 

 

What lures and or techniques can I use to catch these fish? I would love to have somewhere to go and catch some topwater fish after work but its getting exhausting trying to coax the scoundrels into biting. 

[PhishLI]

Translucent jerkbait, lipless, small crankbait. Fluke.

[JbroBass]

I would try ripping a Kastmaster spoon sized to the baitfish through the area where they are boiling. This is deadly for schoolies feeding in tidal rivers on the east coast.

[Cbump]

I would try the smallest translucent fluke I could cast. Weightless. 

[casts_by_fly]

2” soft crappie paddle tail or twister tail on a 1/8 oz head. This time of year there is a ton of dry still that are moving around in schools. It might be bass, it might be bluegill or wipers. But everything will eat a 2” minnow that has gone astray. 

[Hammer 4]

Kietech 2.8 in shad, with a underspin would be my choice. The Owner flashy swimmer is what I use.

[Bluebasser86]

Are you sure they're bass? LOZ has a huge rough fish population as well as tons of giant gizzard shad that like to be active on the surface and make a pretty sizeable splash when they flip around. 

[QED]

I had great success with shad or "smokey joe" colored lipless crankbaits when fishing the SJ County delta system.  Worked equally well on largemouth bass and stripers.

[MAN]

In similar situations I have caught some of those minnows in a net and baited them under a cork to get an ID on the culprits.....then was able to choose a better bait.   

[Bankc]

I'd throw a spoon or something will fall through the middle of the school and mimic a falling, dying baitfish.  Usually if pulling something horizontally through the baitfish doesn't do anything, I'll drop something vertically through it.  Often times if they don't hit the one, they'll hit the other.  

 

13 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Are you sure they're bass? LOZ has a huge rough fish population as well as tons of giant gizzard shad that like to be active on the surface and make a pretty sizeable splash when they flip around. 

Gizzard shad do this at one of the lakes I frequent as well.  Try throwing some small crappie jigs into it and see what hits.  

[Firstoutfisher]

21 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Translucent jerkbait, lipless, small crankbait. Fluke.

 

Haven't tried a jerkbait, tried lipless and crankbait

20 hours ago, JbroBass said:

I would try ripping a Kastmaster spoon sized to the baitfish through the area where they are boiling. This is deadly for schoolies feeding in tidal rivers on the east coast.

I have a couple kastmasters i use for trout fishing but usually on a straight retrieve, any videos that detail how to rip them the way you describe? Sound fun and possibly effective

 

20 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

2” soft crappie paddle tail or twister tail on a 1/8 oz head. This time of year there is a ton of dry still that are moving around in schools. It might be bass, it might be bluegill or wipers. But everything will eat a 2” minnow that has gone astray. 

I would try this but don't think I have any spinning gear that will cast this far enough

 

18 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Kietech 2.8 in shad, with a underspin would be my choice. The Owner flashy swimmer is what I use.

Already tried 3" swimbaits, on underspin and regular head

 

17 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Are you sure they're bass? LOZ has a huge rough fish population as well as tons of giant gizzard shad that like to be active on the surface and make a pretty sizeable splash when they flip around. 

not positive but have heard reports of people catching wipers on minnows in the cove in the past week so think its possible that is what they are

 

10 hours ago, MAN said:

In similar situations I have caught some of those minnows in a net and baited them under a cork to get an ID on the culprits.....then was able to choose a better bait.   

great idea,maybe I will try this havent fished live bait in 10+ years

 

4 hours ago, Bankc said:

I'd throw a spoon or something will fall through the middle of the school and mimic a falling, dying baitfish.  Usually if pulling something horizontally through the baitfish doesn't do anything, I'll drop something vertically through it.  Often times if they don't hit the one, they'll hit the other.  

 

Gizzard shad do this at one of the lakes I frequent as well.  Try throwing some small crappie jigs into it and see what hits.  

 

Another guy recommended ripping a kastmaster so i will definitely try both of these techniques

 

 

There are two other things I want to try, one is in line with all the fluke suggestions but I was thinking of trying a donkey rig with smaller flukes nose hooked and working them close to the surface, the other one is a shallow jerkbait like a rapala sub walk, 6th sense hyperjerk or megabass karashi 

[Boomstick]

I would try clear-silver colored poppers, (smaller 1/4oz ones probably) jerkbaits, spooks or maybe a spoon.