Swimbaits for supsended fish in deep water

[jb_adams]

I've found the bass off deep water humps and structure in the middle of the lake or near deep channels.  I'll be giving it another try this weekend and I'm looking for new tactics.

Has anyone ever used swimbaits for fish suspened below schools or just hanging tight to structure around 30-40ft down?  Do you simply throw it out, count down and slowly swim it with a slight twitch?  Maybe a vertical jig with tightline?

Also, is it worth the effort of c-rigging a crankbait?  The bait will never touch bottom and the weight is only to get the smaller crank (DD14 size) down to 30-40ft.  I've heard of this technique before for smallmouth but it's for fish on the bottom.  These fish aren't on the bottom, they are hanging tight near drops and humps.  I just need to get down to them.

Any other ideas?

[T-rig]

Try a c-rigged LC Pointer 128

[roadwarrior]

I have had some luck with Mattlures' Baby Bass in that EXACT situation.

No twitch, just a steady retrieve.

[.ghoti.]

This is the only situation where Ive had repeatable succes with a swim bait. The 5" Storm baits, with the boot tail and internal weight have been pretty good for me in these conditions. Let it hit the bottom, then use a slow steady crank, experimenting with speed and a few pauses.

Make sure you grease up the bait every few casts. When a big bass chomps down on one of these, it's difficult to get a good hookset. Using an oily scent let's the bait slip in their mouth easier. This is the only application I have for braid.

Cheers,

GK

[jb_adams]

That sounds great but the fish are very high up in the water column.  I can't let it hit bottom.  I have to figure out a way to countdown to the right depth and swim it in front of them.  They are not on the bottom.  I'm trying to figure out how to c-rig any type crank and know what depth it will be because it won't touch bottom in 80ft unless I wait for a while for it to sink.  If the fish are suspended at 30ft in 80ft of water, fishing on the bottom is pointless.  Besides, From what I've read, bass can't survive below 60 or 70ft because of limited oxygen.  Now if it was 30-40ft deep and they were on or near the bottom.....your idea sounds ideal.

So how can I count down and keep it in the strike zone?  

[fourbizz]

That sounds great but the fish are very high up in the water column.  I can't let it hit bottom.  I have to figure out a way to countdown to the right depth and swim it in front of them.  They are not on the bottom.  I'm trying to figure out how to c-rig any type crank and know what depth it will be because it won't touch bottom in 80ft unless I wait for a while for it to sink.  If the fish are suspended at 30ft in 80ft of water, fishing on the bottom is pointless.  Besides, From what I've read, bass can't survive below 60 or 70ft because of limited oxygen.  Now if it was 30-40ft deep and they were on or near the bottom.....your idea sounds ideal.

So how can I count down and keep it in the strike zone?  

swimbait will work just fine. steady retrieve.

also, I have a buddy that has caught bass out of 115 feet of water!

[Supermat]

Alright, here is how you count it down... take your boat out into whatever depth your fish are holding in and free spool your swimbait down right next to your trolling motor. Count as it goes down (you can see it drop on the depth finder). Add a second or two for the line drag you'll have on an actual cast and now you're ready to go. Back off and fire out to your fish... count down whatever count you came up with and start a steady retrieve with no jerks, pops, etc... just constant motion.

[jb_adams]

I don't think my electronics are good enough to see the bait fall.  I'll have to rely on feel.

[WRB]

How do you know what type of fish your are meterimg?

Set your sonar unit on manual mod. Adjust the sensitivety to the point you see the screen become cluttered with background dots, now reduce the sensitivety until there are still a few background dots. If you see a dark line or heavy dark zone about 1' thick somewhere between the surface and bottom, that is the thermocline layer and few bass will ever be below that depth. Now that your sonar is set for the water density at the moment, you can see your lure falling when you drop it under the transducer.

The next manual mod you need to set is the lower depth limit, set that about 10' below the marks (arcs that indicate fish) or deepest bottom in the area you are fishing.

Go find the fish marks and drop a 3/4 oz structure spoon down the the depth the fish are holding. A Chrome Kastmaster or Crippled Herring work well for this. Once the spoon reaches the deth the fish are holding or fit the line stops, lift the rod up about 2' and lower it and then repeat until one of those marks bite. All types of predator game fish will eat a spoon and this is a great way to target suspended bass.

WRB

[Crestliner2008]

Great advice WRB! I've successfully spoon fed suspended smallies like you say. However, I've tried and tried to adjust my X-135 to see the thermocline, but have never been successful in accomplishing the viewing.

[basscatcher8]

Have you tried using the c rigged crank vertically?

What i mean is get over the area where you see fish just like what was mentioned above. If the fish are 30 feet down cast out about 30 feet, and let the sinker do its arc till its straight down below you. The sinker will then have 30 feet of line out and be sitting down with the fish and the crank will be right there.

jmo

[Branuss04]

I have had some luck with Mattlures' Baby Bass in that EXACT situation.

No twitch, just a steady retrieve.

I just used this lure for the first time the other day.  I love them.  Will definately be buying some more when the monkey come around.

[Randall]

I have used Mattlures new shad baits verticaly to catch deep suspended bass. I have yet to see a depthfinder made in the past ten years that will not show a bait on the screen. The catch is knowing how to use the settings on the depthfinder. Turn off the fish symbols and turn up the sensitivity and almost every depthfinder will work. Also you have to be able to know which fish are active and which are not active by looking at the depthfinder to be able to decide how catchable the fish are. Fishing for inactive suspended fish is usually a waste of time. Do what WRB says but sub a swimbait for a spoon.  Supermats technique will work also but its a little tougher for most people to do and its easier for most people to keep the bait in the strike zone when they can see it on the depth finder. I catch fish doing it both ways. Trolling a swimbait will work as well but I like casting more than trolling

[jb_adams]

I'm borrowing my father-in-laws boat right now and it has an Eagle Cuda 242 and the transducer is mounted at the back of the boat. It's kind of hard to use it at the trolling motor but I will play with the settings and see if it will pick up a bait at the back of the boat.

My fishing buddy has the Eagle Cuda 168 mounted on his trolling motor and he has not had a lot of faith in it's ability. If we turn the sensitivity up almost all the way, turn up the grayline, set the noise rejection to low, we still can't see a bait on the graph. Are you guys looking at the instant graph on the side? That's the thing that makes little horizontal lines for instant graph feedback. I forget what that's called. Live track or something like that.

He also has a Lowrance 480 mounted on the back and I've tried picking up baits on it and it hasn't worked yet. I'll try it again with the sensitivity turned up.

[Randall]

My depthfinder is an Eagle Cuda 168. I turn my sensitivity up to 97% in cooler water this time of year  and thats all I do. Shows the bait perfectly.  Its more suited for shallow water and I like others better for deep water but it still should show the bait and fish.

[jb_adams]

My depthfinder is an Eagle Cuda 168. I turn my sensitivity up to 97% in cooler water this time of year and thats all I do. Shows the bait perfectly. Its more suited for shallow water and I like others better for deep water but it still should show the bait and fish.

OK, how do you see the bait? You don't see the bait actually moving do you? It's not a live motion or moving blip on the screen right?

By the way, that's not a pig in your picture, it's the hole farm!  What a fish!

[Randall]

The bait will be a line running up and down as you move the bait up and down. It looks just like someone is drawing a line on the screen as the bait falls down.

[Randall]

Here is a good article on spooning but the info is good for all lures in deep open water since it talks about what to look for on the graph to find suspended fish that will feed.  I have just started using a swimbait more often than a spoon. http://heartlandtackleservice.com/spooning.stm

[fourbizz]

randall, i think you have a part of that backwards.

arches will only appear if the target or transducer is in motion. the reason it appears as an arch, is because the transducer picks up the fish before the fish is directly underneath, that would be one of the "legs" of the arch, as the fish becomes directly underneath the transducer, it is now as close to the transducer as possible, which means that the transducer will read the shallowest number, or top of the arch, as you and/or the fish move away the distance lengthens, and the leg of the arch will dip down to a deeper reading. the deeper the water/wider the cone angle and faster the object or you are moving, the more pronounced the arch will be

now if the boat is still, and the fish stays in one place, it will appear as a solid line, because its depth and relationship to the transducer stay the same. so these are the fish that COULD be the inactive fish IMO. But when the lines go up and down quickly, to me that means that they are actively pursuing bait up and down, or laterally, which would still show up on the graph as vertical movement.

a good example would be a real tough crappie bite, where you can't hardly get bit, but you can see nothing but solid lines on the graph. they are there, they're just grumpy.

[Randall]

Fourbizzle after reading what I wrote I could see it could be confusing so I just deleted it. Its hard to explain without photos or showing someone as they are looking at the screen as it happens. The article with photos explains it way better than I did.

[jb_adams]

You guys have got me feeling like a one-eyed monkey starring at a square peg and trying to force it in a round hole at at test lab.....

OK, I'll play with the settings tomorrow.

If the sensitivity is high, should the ping speed be slowed down?

[fourbizz]

set the ping speed high. some graphs max out right where you want it, but some are clearly too fast. as long as it doesn't seem "skippy" then you will be good. even with my graph tuned as sensitive as possible, if the ping speed isn't high enough, it won't pick up a bait that is moved quickly like a spoon.

so turn the sensitivity up as high as possible without encountering too much "noise" which will appear as random dots/black bar at the surface. turn the ping speed as high as it will go without scrolling all jumpy/skippy.

this is just what i have learned for myself, i'm no expert. but learning your electronics is WELL worth the tim e you put in and becomes exponentially more important the deeper you venture.

[jb_adams]

Thanks guys!  I took a look at that link.  Pictures are worth so much more than words and that link has pictures and words.

Thanks for the tip about the ping speed.  I though I might need to slow it down for increased sensitivity.