Looking for how people fish finesse in deeper waters

[PTasker15]

Hey there. Y'all have always been a good help to me so I'm here to pester y'all some more and get some ideas. I'll be fishing Toledo Bend and Bob Sandlin Reservoir (both of which are in Texas) in Early December and Late January respectively. I'll probably pick up some large spinnerbaits, football jigs, and carolina rigs but I know sometimes it can be hard and they may want something slower and smaller. I have a good finesse spinning rod that I would like to try small shakey heads, drop shots, ned rigs, and other finesse techniques on, as well as find a way to snag suspended bass. My problem is, these lakes are deeper than any lake I've ever fished. Bob Sandlin goes as deep as 60 feet, and I've heard Toldeo goes up to 100. My local lakes usually go as deep as 30 feet, so nothing like those. I do not understand winter bass much, But I've been told they will suspend in deeper water or be by the bottom in somewhat shallower water. How do I fish such light presentations effectively so deep? Where should I focus my efforts? Also any winter advice in general would help because I have no clue what I'm doing once that mercury starts to stay low lol.

[DaubsNU1]

Following...

[BayouSlide]

Excellent question. I'm only comfortable fishing shallow and feel completely lost in deeper water. Certainly can use some tips as well.

[ElGuapo928]

Once I get below the 50’ mark, I pretty exclusively go to the dropshot or doodling. 
 

Doodling 6” straight tails in 30-50 feet along bluff walls is a winter tradition around here. A couple years ago we were dropshotting suspended schools in 45-50 feet and pulled 30 fish in the span of 2 hours, mostly largemouths with a few yellow bass thrown in..tons of fun.

[TnRiver46]

Small fluke or gulp minnow on a jig head and just let it pendulum. You can feel the hit, just like crappie fishin 

[PTasker15]

3 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Once I get below the 50’ mark, I pretty exclusively go to the dropshot or doodling. 
 

Doodling 6” straight tails in 30-50 feet along bluff walls is a winter tradition around here. A couple years ago we were dropshotting suspended schools in 45-50 feet and pulled 30 fish in the span of 2 hours, mostly largemouths with a few yellow bass thrown in..tons of fun.

DO you adjust leader length to where they are suspending or just let it shoot past them? I don't have good electronics do hard to find exactly where they suspend.

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

Small fluke or gulp minnow on a jig head and just let it pendulum. You can feel the hit, just like crappie fishin 

How small?What size jig head?

[TnRiver46]

Just now, PTasker15 said:

DO you adjust leader length to where they are suspending or just let it shoot past them? I don't have good electronics do hard to find exactly where they suspend.

How small?What size jig head?

I use mostly 1/8 or 1/16, depends on how mad I get breaking them off . 1/8 is good bout anywhere 

[ElGuapo928]

I keep my leader around 12-16”…..I just let it drop and slowly work it back up when I go vertical, or I’ll cast to a bluff wall and work it until it pendulums back. 
 

I still use pretty old school electronics….simple 2ds is all I’ve got on the deck. 
 

Around here anyway, you can pretty much count on finding a school somewhere along any bluff wall without even using your electronics.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Find the bait with 2D/Side Scan, then hit em with A-Rigs, +1/2/3 sized Jerks, Damaki Axe Blade, Yo Yo a Lipless or Blade Bait.    

 

Hover Juggle, and Damaki Rig if you want to finesse them, but we don't have to finesse them down here, they only bite better as the winter goes along.  

 

If I'm catching them deep in the winter it's 100% based on Shad, again finding that bait is the biggest step in my equation.   

 

My most electric number days last winter came off a Damaki Axe Blade over 30-40fow.   Find the depth at which you see the Spaghetti above or below the carpeted baitfish, and then simply count your bait down to them, be it an A-Rig, or much faster sinking 1oz Axe Blade. 

 

 

[Jig Man]

Don’t let the maximum depth scare you.  Table Rock has lots of water 150’ deep.  We rarely find fish deeper than 30’ in the winter.  I fish jigs, shaky heads, swim baits and Ned rigs all winter long.  I vary the head size depending on how deep I am fishing.  Just tie something on and fish.

[PTasker15]

2 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Don’t let the maximum depth scare ou.  Table Rock has lots of water 150’ deep.  We rarely find fish deeper than 30’ in the winter.  I fish jigs, shaky heads, swim baits and Ned rigs all winter long.  I vary the head size depending on how deep I am fishing.  Just tie something on and fish.

What ned head sizes are your favorites? I thin 1/10 would cross the fine line of long casting and slow falling, but ive heard both ways

 

21 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Find the bait with 2D/Side Scan, then hit em with A-Rigs, +1/2/3 sized Jerks, Damaki Axe Blade, Yo Yo a Lipless or Blade Bait.    

 

Hover Juggle, and Damaki Rig if you want to finesse them, but we don't have to finesse them down here, they only bite better as the winter goes along.  

 

If I'm catching them deep in the winter it's 100% based on Shad, again finding that bait is the biggest step in my equation.   

 

My most electric number days last winter came off a Damaki Axe Blade over 30-40fow.   Find the depth at which you see the Spaghetti above or below the carpeted baitfish, and then simply count your bait down to them, be it an A-Rig, or much faster sinking 1oz Axe Blade. 

 

 

What do you use for deep jerks? I don't throw them enough nor can I afford so to have a jerkbait rig, but I have a medium/moderate cranking rod with 12lb fluoro and of course my medium spinning rod with 10lb braid and variable leaders.

[LrgmouthShad]

I’ll add just a little something to keep in mind, and let more knowledgeable people talk tackle. There are depths of 100’ sure, but very seldom are you going to find the bass all the way down there. You are fishing for suspended fish and that is a hard game. Especially without FFS. That’s not to say those suspensed fish won’t follow something all the way to the bottom. They can and will. But if they don’t, then your bait might be literally 60’ below the nearest fish and you are not getting bit.

 

I might plink around a little bit for such fish but I’m spending most my time shallower where I can find fish on the bottom

[AlabamaSpothunter]

6 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

What ned head sizes are your favorites? I thin 1/10 would cross the fine line of long casting and slow falling, but ive heard both ways

 

What do you use for deep jerks? I don't throw them enough nor can I afford so to have a jerkbait rig, but I have a medium/moderate cranking rod with 12lb fluoro and of course my medium spinning rod with 10lb braid and variable leaders.

With the +2 baits I'll throw them on a 6'6 MH F GLX or GL2 older Loomis rods that are more M than MH by today's standard.       Everything else gets thrown on a dedicated Jerkbait setup as I fish them extensively.    

 

You can throw them on that baitcaster setup, might not be perfect, but you'll get a feel if it's a good technique for you or not.    

[kingmotorboat]

From someone from

south Louisiana that moved up to east tn a little over a year ago I’m still trying to find my footing in the deep finesse game

[ElGuapo928]

27 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Don’t let the maximum depth scare you.  Table Rock has lots of water 150’ deep.  We rarely find fish deeper than 30’ in the winter.  I fish jigs, shaky heads, swim baits and Ned rigs all winter long.  I vary the head size depending on how deep I am fishing.  Just tie something on and fish.

Good point!! I’ve caught fish on topwater close to the dam (300+ feet showing). 
 

 

[PTasker15]

27 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I’ll add just a little something to keep in mind, and let more knowledgeable people talk tackle. There are depths of 100’ sure, but very seldom are you going to find the bass all the way down there. You are fishing for suspended fish and that is a hard game. Especially without FFS. That’s not to say those suspensed fish won’t follow something all the way to the bottom. They can and will. But if they don’t, then your bait might be literally 60’ below the nearest fish and you are not getting bit.

 

I might plink around a little bit for such fish but I’m spending most my time shallower where I can find fish on the bottom

How does one fish shallow in winter?

[ElGuapo928]

2 minutes ago, PTasker15 said:

How does one fish shallow in winter?

There’s always *some* fish shallow….one of my preferred winter tactics is chucking a weightless Senko along the bank - especially around isolated brush/rocks on south facing banks.

[LrgmouthShad]

@PTasker15 well for starters I only said shallower not shallow. But don’t be surprised if you start plinking around in 5ft or less and catch one near the bank when the water is frigid, either. 
 

When I think to how I have been successful in the winter, it is usually fishing shallower than I anticipate catching the fish in. May or may not work for you. You should always listen to the fish and not LrgmouthShad on bassresource. 
 

Lots of baits work shallow in the winter. Balsa crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, shaky heads, swimbaits, etc

[TnRiver46]

People always catch big fish ultra shallow on TN river in winter with rattle traps . Less than 2 feet, you want the plug leaving a dirt cloud trail 

[Jig Man]

I fish Neds on several heads depending on how deep I want to get.  I use 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and 1/4.  The majority of the time I use the first 3.  The heavier ones come into play with deep timber or bluff ledges.  I use TRDs and 6# Yozuri hybrid line for Neds on a variety of rods with 1000 and 2000 size Shimano reels.

[Darth-Baiter]

I get too nervous I will kill a bass pulling it up from way down deep

 

I got smallmouth at 60 with a drop shot.  never gone much deeper.  

[gim]

22 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I get too nervous I will kill a bass pulling it up from way down deep

 

I got smallmouth at 60 with a drop shot.  never gone much deeper.  

 

People here in the winter during ice fishing season target fish that deep, or deeper (not bass though).  Catch and release is not a thing at those depths, or during ice fishing season in general here.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I get too nervous I will kill a bass pulling it up from way down deep

 

I got smallmouth at 60 with a drop shot.  never gone much deeper.  

It won’t hurt them if you release them, it’s being in the box that will 

[Ktho]

It's easier than you think to fish light in deep water if ya slow down. In CA a lot of the reservoirs are deep, like 200ft+ deep in like 80% of the lake depending on water levels and I fish a lot lighter than you'd think im talking 3/8oz footballs, 3/16oz underspins, and drop shot with 1/8oz or 3/16. Most the 'deep water' i'd be fishing is 30-50ft. 

 

I don't know those East texas lakes very well, but looking at the charts they don't strike me as places where in the winter I'd automatically be looking for the super deep spots. But most the structure I'd fish is normal stuff like humps, deep points, and vertical walls. Boat positioning and electronics play a big roll when fishing deep. Cast one direction and you're in the money on a hump and a little bit the other way you're in actual no mans land. Fishing these deep spots it's not unheard of me to throw buoy markers out to mark spots. 

[PTasker15]

1 hour ago, Ktho said:

It's easier than you think to fish light in deep water if ya slow down. In CA a lot of the reservoirs are deep, like 200ft+ deep in like 80% of the lake depending on water levels and I fish a lot lighter than you'd think im talking 3/8oz footballs, 3/16oz underspins, and drop shot with 1/8oz or 3/16. Most the 'deep water' i'd be fishing is 30-50ft. 

 

I don't know those East texas lakes very well, but looking at the charts they don't strike me as places where in the winter I'd automatically be looking for the super deep spots. But most the structure I'd fish is normal stuff like humps, deep points, and vertical walls. Boat positioning and electronics play a big roll when fishing deep. Cast one direction and you're in the money on a hump and a little bit the other way you're in actual no mans land. Fishing these deep spots it's not unheard of me to throw buoy markers out to mark spots. 

I have been told I should be throwing 1/2-3/4oz jigs and spinnerbaits and 3/4-1oz carolina? Why might be a reason to use heavy over light? I've always been a "as light as I can get away with" guy so wondering what.