55-57 degree water temps, need help

[Levi Watson]

I've been out on a local lake a few times in my kayak with barely any luck. It’s a lowland reservoir, with a max water depth of about 17 feet, a ton of trees (too many, honestly), and a lot of grass. It's a great lake in the summer, but I’ve never been able to figure it out during late winter to early spring. I’ve caught a handful on a drop shot and some while slow-rolling an underspin with a 4.8 Keitech. I’d really appreciate any help you guys can offer

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Fish are likely pushing up shallow and doing it fast.   If you're on a warming trend with those water temps, those fish are likely a week or two at most from spawning.   Go up to the bank and start cruising around looking to see if the fish have moved up.   If so, it's really hard to beat a Whacky Rig, bladed jig, or a T-Rigged Creature bait.   A big swimbait can be deadly as well.   

 

Fish will be using major structure to stage up as they progressively work their ways to the spawning locations from deeper water winter haunts.    If they aren't at the bank yet, back all the way out to the major points......not there, go deeper into the coves/creeks arms and try all the secondary points.    After they leave those areas they should be up shallow.   

 

Right before those fish spawn they'll be up shallow feeding up, and that's a great time to use those moving baits like a bladed jig, Squarebill, Spinnerbait, Underspin, bigger Swimbait, etc. and just cover water focusing on areas that aren't too deep. 

 

Once you know the fish are spawning, I like to really slow down and pick things apart with that Whacky Rig or T-Rig Creature bait.        

[TnRiver46]

I’m usually fishing for white bass at that water temp but I accidentally get some nice black bass amongst them. How big is the lake you’re on, and how fast is it moving ? Got shad in there? Our water is colder than that right now but when it gets going up thru the 50s a lot of fish follow monster pods of shad to the upper reaches of the reservoirs. Spoons, traps, paddle tail soft plastics can be great. Grass,trees, and max depth 17ft? I’d have to try some plastic worms tx rig and weightless as well 

[LrgmouthShad]

Fish move so fast in the spring. I often find you have to be prepared for anything. Things change so quick, you might be on one pattern in the morning only to find that it completely empties out by the afternoon. I quite like points outside of major spawning locations during the prespawn. I will look for places that can accommodate many bass spawning and then locate the structural elements that lead up to those locations. Repeat as necessary. You probably have spawners already. The last few trips, I found fish where it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for them to be. So... be flexible. Bring a variety of outfits. You might need them.

[Pat Brown]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Fish are likely pushing up shallow and doing it fast.   If you're on a warming trend with those water temps, those fish are likely a week or two at most from spawning.   Go up to the bank and start cruising around looking to see if the fish have moved up.   If so, it's really hard to beat a Whacky Rig, bladed jig, or a T-Rigged Creature bait.   A big swimbait can be deadly as well.   

 

Fish will be using major structure to stage up as they progressively work their ways to the spawning locations from deeper water winter haunts.    If they aren't at the bank yet, back all the way out to the major points......not there, go deeper into the coves/creeks arms and try all the secondary points.    After they leave those areas they should be up shallow.   

 

Right before those fish spawn they'll be up shallow feeding up, and that's a great time to use those moving baits like a bladed jig, Squarebill, Spinnerbait, Underspin, bigger Swimbait, etc. and just cover water focusing on areas that aren't too deep. 

 

Once you know the fish are spawning, I like to really slow down and pick things apart with that Whacky Rig or T-Rig Creature bait.        

 

 

Yeah you can do all that sensible stuff or if you're like me, when the water hits 55 you can just fish a frog 🤤🤤🤤😂😂😂

[casts_by_fly]

Look at a map of the lake. Mark the spawning areas with a big red x.  Then mark the overwintering areas with a green circle. Now connect the nearby dots noting any structure that would guide the fish between the two. Depending on the warming or cooling trend, time of day, and conditions, the fish will be somewhere along the line. Start at one end and go to the other. I prefer to start shallow and work deeper but that’s just me. When you find where they are along one line, then repeat for others on the lake. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

😆 @Pat Brown, if I could catch them like you on those frogs, I don't think I'd be fishing anything else either.

 

I totally neglected in my original reply one of our shared favorite baits, which is the buzzbait.   You can never wrong buzzing that thing around up shallow once those water temps hit 60.    Once they start spawning it's a must have bait for the fry guarders if for no other reason alone.    

[LrgmouthShad]

@AlabamaSpothunter I felt like Pat Brown fishing a frog through heavy timber a little bit ago but probably looked like this guy

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@LrgmouthShad  We all can't look like Jordan Lee last year at Heavy Hitters down on Toho 😄

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Look at a map of the lake. Mark the spawning areas with a big red x.  Then mark the overwintering areas with a green circle. Now connect the nearby dots noting any structure that would guide the fish between the two. Depending on the warming or cooling trend, time of day, and conditions, the fish will be somewhere along the line. Start at one end and go to the other. I prefer to start shallow and work deeper but that’s just me. When you find where they are along one line, then repeat for others on the lake. 

 

Brilliant.

 

Levi, some of the best sticks at Bass Resource have coached you. Apply their wisdom and you'll catch some fine bass. Then share your photos please!

 

Last spring, I found the bass to be on the move. I'd catch them one way one day and then another way in a different place the next day. So, I fished on the move and kept switching baits until I caught one. Then I repeated what I'd just done, and repeated, repeated, etc. Some days they were deep. Then shallow. Then super shallow. Then on a windblown shore. Then tight to wood. And on and on and on. However, the guys above know way more about catching lmbs than me, so listen to them first. 

[scaleface]

Thats about the the temp where I start twitching a Long A Minnow on top.  

[Functional]

My fool proof 3 step method...

 

[Reel]

It's very very useful to give an idea of the location when asking for advice.  57 degree in Florida is not the same as in Pennsylvania.

[Born 2 fish]

Buzzbait!

[softwateronly]

55-57 degree water in Feb makes me think your largest wave of spawners is probably within the next 3 weeks.  If you have the history of where they spawn, I'd target nearby structure and flats to those areas.  A swim jig is my favorite tool for this, but many powerfishing techniques should be viable. 

 

scott

[Swamp Girl]

55 minutes ago, Reel said:

It's very very useful to give an idea of the location when asking for advice.  57 degree in Florida is not the same as in Pennsylvania.

 

So true. 57 degrees in Maine is a red-hot, 45-to-75-bass morning. I suspect 57 degrees in Florida is cool, slow fishing.

[Bird]

57* here is optimal pre spawn water temp.

Spinnerbait, jigs and jerkbaits.

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Reel said:

It's very very useful to give an idea of the location when asking for advice.  57 degree in Florida is not the same as in Pennsylvania.

 

Looking at the USGS map, I think he almost has to be in the deep south east unless it's a tiny lake/pond that is warming quickly.  Russel lake (downstream from hartwell) is showing 52.  Santee Cooper is about the same.  The trinity River north of Houston is a little colder.  Lake Houston is about 50-52.  The St Johns and the Suwannee are closer to 60.  The chattahoochee is right in that 55 mark as well.  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Looking at the USGS map, I think he almost has to be in the deep south east unless it's a tiny lake/pond that is warming quickly.  Russel lake (downstream from hartwell) is showing 52.  Santee Cooper is about the same.  The trinity River north of Houston is a little colder.  Lake Houston is about 50-52.  The St Johns and the Suwannee are closer to 60.  The chattahoochee is right in that 55 mark as well.  

Yeah I just defaulted this into my answer.

 

I'm in the deep south, and water temps are 48 in the mornings, and with sunny skies 53 in the afternoons.

 

[BassKat]

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Looking at the USGS map, I think he almost has to be in the deep south east unless it's a tiny lake/pond that is warming quickly.  Russel lake (downstream from hartwell) is showing 52.  Santee Cooper is about the same.  The trinity River north of Houston is a little colder.  Lake Houston is about 50-52.  The St Johns and the Suwannee are closer to 60.  The chattahoochee is right in that 55 mark as well.  

@casts_by_fly The USGS data page I found only shows temp data for creeks and rivers. If you could share where you're finding lake-temp data across the country, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[WRB]

Welcome to BR.

Water temps are misunderstood today with most bass anglers using sonar units with temp probes showing surface water.

Bass don’t live on the surface that is warmer then the core water where they are located.

When bass body temps reach 55-58 degrees warming from the cold water period they are Pre Spawn and relocating to staging areas near spawning areas regardless what regional area they are located.

If you fill out your regional area location on the profile we can answer more in detail.

Low Land reservoir indicates a coastal area so it could tidal influence? 
Pre Spawn LMB the males are up in shallower water then females looking for high protein prey sources. 2 very different bass behavior and locations. About a week of warming period without wind warms up the water fairly quickly increasing activity.

Start searching using your sonar unit in deeper water near spawning areas looking for bass and baitfish. The bass will be in groups not singles. Depth is everything during pre spawn period, want to target that specific depth zone.

Lures for pre spawn I use are jigs, jigs, big worms , jerk baits and swimbaits.

Tom

 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, BassKat said:

@casts_by_fly The USGS data page I found only shows temp data for creeks and rivers. If you could share where you're finding lake-temp data across the country, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

I use the regular USGS national water dashboard.  In some areas they have good coverage for lakes and in others not.  If I just want to look at water temps, I use the filters in the top right to take out the water levels and everything else. Then the yellow icons have different shapes.  Circles are streams and rivers, squares are lakes.  There are also springs and saltwater/estuaries.  Once you start checking your local lakes you can get a feel for how other local lakes compare against the ones tha thave USGS monitoring.  Spruce run is a local one for me and I know that site tends to be 2-10 degrees colder surface water temp vs a lot of other lakes in the area.  

 

https://dashboard.waterdata.usgs.gov/app/nwd/en/

 

22 minutes ago, WRB said:

Welcome to BR.

Water temps are misunderstood today with most bass anglers using sonar units with temp probes showing surface water.

Bass don’t live on the surface that is warmer then the core water where they are located.

When bass body temps reach 55-58 degrees warming from the cold water period they are Pre Spawn and relocating to staging areas near spawning areas regardless what regional area they are located.

If you fill out your regional area location on the profile we can answer more in detail.

Low Land reservoir indicates a coastal area so it could tidal influence? 
Pre Spawn LMB the males are up in shallower water then females looking for high protein prey sources. 2 very different bass behavior and locations. A bout a week of warming period without wind warms up the water fairly quickly increasing activity.

Start searching using your sonar unit in deeper water near spawning areas looking for bass and baitfish. The bass will be in groups not singles. Deep is everything during pre spawn period.

Lures for pre spawn I he’s are jigs, big worms and swimbaits.

Tom

 

 

Depending on the USGS probes and the monitoring sites, some have temp at depth readings also which are quite helpful.  This specific site is one of my locals and like you note, the surface can be a good bit warmer than the 4.5m probe (15') on sunny still days.  Even the 2m vs 4.5m will show a difference.

 

 

[BassKat]

@casts_by_fly Thanks a lot.  That's where I was going.  It's just that they do not have much info for lakes in my area.  That's really helpful that some sites have temps at multiple depths. I can at least monitor lakes of similar size in similar climates to maybe get a rough idea of expected temps. The X factor is clarity bc lakes with color and suspended materials warm way faster than clear lakes. 

 

[casts_by_fly]

43 minutes ago, BassKat said:

@casts_by_fly Thanks a lot.  That's where I was going.  It's just that they do not have much info for lakes in my area.  That's really helpful that some sites have temps at multiple depths. I can at least monitor lakes of similar size in similar climates to maybe get a rough idea of expected temps. The X factor is clarity bc lakes with color and suspended materials warm way faster than clear lakes. 

 

 

yeah, you'll find that there are bands of latitude that will be similar.  And similar type of bodies of water will be similar (highland reservoirs vs smaller natural lakes).  But once you check a few monitoring sites vs your own lakes you can build up a pretty good idea.  And frankly, I mostly only use it for the first couple weeks of the season to see if ice is off and if the water is warming.  Once the water is up over 45 degrees the actual number on the gauge isn't going to make me go fishing or not go fishing. 

[A-Jay]

Hello @Levi Watson and Welcome to Bass Resource.

There is ALL KINDS of "information & data" readily available for most any enterprising bass angler to seek out.

Some of it can be helpful, some not so much.  Mapping and weather forecast at two I use often.  Water temps provided at given locations are not something I ever benefit from.  They change frequently and I can learn what it is when I get there.   As long as there's open water and the conditions are safe, just go fishing.

Beyond seasonal patterns, we never have the answers to the test in advance.  We need to figure it out on the water.  That's what Bass fishing is. 

Good Luck and Fish Hard

A-Jay