Briery Creek Lake...

[YankDerJawOut]

I am supposedly heading to Briery either this week or the next.  I am wondering how the recent cold weather will effect the fishing.  Been thinking of sticking to the 701 ramp and head to the shallower end of the lake working a suspending crank bait, and maybe some trick worm action. 

Has anybody done anything there lately?  What is the water temp like?  I haven't been there since last june/july which was a HOT, still had fun those two weeks, nothing huge, but fun nonetheless.

[Wayne P.]

Haven't been since Tuesday. The highest surface water temp I saw was 62. The dropping water temp should make finding them easier since they won't be as scattered.

[k o]

Hello Wayne and other Briery fans. I came up last year in late march. 2 inches rain, first night I was there and the water looked like coffee with cream in it. Not sure about this year as the Tidewater area offers some great freshwater fishing of it's own. Last weekend I went to Lake Smith (dishpan lake)  The water temp was 59. Had a nice three pounder and a 6.25 that measured 22 inches. White spinnerbait on top--Pretty girl , fat but not obese. I expect she will spawn next month. I Will let you know if I am coming up. Including picture.

[k o]

Just to qualify that picture---when I rotated it in my camera phone she came out looking fatter. 

[bassmanb69]

Hello, everyone. I just want to say thanks for all the information in this thread. I have read it twice now. My friend and I are going to be heading to Briery for the first time on the 16th. I was wondering if anyone has been there recently and knows the current conditions. This thread has given me a ton of ideas to try and I can't wait to see what happens. Thanks again to everyone that has been kind enough to share thier knowledge and tips. Its nice to see a group of people that are willing to help others have a shot at being successful.

[Mrbassface]

My girlfriend and I are going to Briery Creek this weekend and I have never been there before. The little bit that I know about the lake is that I should expect lots of standing timber. I can't seem to find a good map anywhere online so I will only have a map of the lake for a few hours before I launch. I would love to put my lady on some good fish and I would greatly appreciate all of the help I can get. I read a lot of people talking about wacky worms on Briery and I am not really confident with that technique. Is that something I shoud focus on or do they take lipless crackbaits and other soft plastics like senkos as well? Does anyone catch those giants on swimbaits at Briery? I am new to this forum and I really look forward to sharing and learning with everyone. Thank you very much in advance for any insight you can offer about Briery Creek Lake. I will post again early next week to share my experiences and hopefully post a picture of a nice fish.

[bassmanb69]

Mrbassface,

Good luck this weekend! I too have been told that the wacky rig is great. I have also heard good things about Rat-L-traps. I have been looking at the map found here- Briery Map. I have also been using the program Google Earth and really studying the layout as well. It really helps since its an aerial view. I have no idea what the water level is like but I saw some pics of the lake when the water was down and it was covered with stumps and timber. I was told that at normal levels, many of the stumps are just under the surface. Again, good luck and i hope the map might help. Looking forward to seeing some nice pics!

[Mrbassface]

Thanks bassman!

[Mrbassface]

bassmanb69,

I don't ussually fish a wacky worm. Do you know if I should fish it weightless or weighted? If I fish it weighted, should I use a bullet weight or a weight that doesn't slide?

[Bigbarge50]

So I am thinking about making a weekend run down from the D.C. area to see the action at Briery Creek and think might be way too big for me to hit with my zodiac and no outboard....

Anyone know of a good guide or someone who take people out for a day?

[bassmanb69]

Mrbassface,

I am by no means an expert on the wacky rig but most of the time I have used them or seen them used they are weightless. I have seen it used on occation with a weighted hook. After reading this thread I am pretty sure the authority on wacky rigs would be Mr. Wayne P. His posts and articles about wacky rigs are what started me using that rig to begin with. I am willing to bet he will be along at some point to correct me if I am wrong.

[Aluma-Bass]

Mrbassface

at briery you can catch them off anything that you would normally use for bass.Wayne has great success with wacky rig but that's not only thing they will take. Main thing is place is loaded with timber/stumps. First couple outing i would just throw weedless stuff till you get use to lake then start throwing cranks and other stuff bc you will get hung up alot and get frustrated. Fish it like you would any other lake...things should be starting to heat up at briery!!

[Wayne P.]

I fished there today. The water temp was about 54 this morning and got up to 62 in some downwind areas this afternoon since the air temp got up to 75 degrees.

I fish the weedless wacky rig with 30#-40# braided line, so I use 4'-5' of 20# fluorocarbon line for weight to make the braid sink faster. If it is windy, I use a nail in the worm head to reduce the bow in the line.

I was told that someone caught one over 15# recently on a live minnow at the North end of the lake.

[Mrbassface]

Thanks a lot for the help guys. Will any of you be fishing Briery this weekend?

[Mrbassface]

I see why everyone loves this lake so much. It is beautiful and I can see the potential it has to offer. I only caught 9 fish Saturday with the best one being 3 lbs but I learned a lot about the lake. All of my fish came on soft plastics and lipless crankbaits. I stayed midlake near the 701 ramp and the water is very clear with only a slight stain. It was between 55-56 degrees.

[Mrbassface]

Also, I am going to Kerr/ Buggs Island this weekend and I will be staying all the way up-lake a few miles past Ochaneechee. I have been to Kerr a few times but always stayed near the dam. I know this might not be the right thread but I thought I would ask if anyone has any tips. Thanks!

[Wayne P.]

I fished Briery Sunday and yesterday. Caught a few off beds yesterday where I could find some calm water due to the wind.

[Bigbarge50]

So does anyone have a guide or service they would recommend on this lake? I am really looking forward to making a trip down from D.C. to hit the water, but would love to have someone show me around and have a boat to use. Any info would be great if someone could recommend someone.

[Shane J]

I'll be at Briary in two weeks, so hopefully the action is picking up down there. I'm expecting to find prespawn fish with swim jigs, maybe?

[Wayne P.]

Shane, I have aleardy been catching some off beds there so you will find prespawn, spawning, and post spawn going on in two weeks.

[Shane J]

That's what I was hoping for, Wayne. Thanks.

[vegas679]

My buddy and I are thinking about going here on Wed. I have a 12 ft jon boat w/ a trolling motor. Will I be ok here w/ just a trolling motor. Also has anyone been here recently, and can help me with finding a pattern.

Thank you

[Aluma-Bass]

trollin motor is fine to get around...maybe bring couple batteries if you plan on exploring the lake. As far as fishing i havent been this year yet...Wayne could help ya on a pattern. Wacky rig will be on the list im sure

[Shane J]

I was there Sunday, and the water temp was 65, slight wind, and partly overcast most of the day, with a little rain in the early part of the day. From what I could determine, most of the big girls have spawned, and are suspended in 12-18 foot water, hanging around the 9-12 foot depth. The smaller fish (2-3lbs) are hitting everything under the sun up shallower, especially around lily pads, but the big fish were not hitting anything. We tried a ton of stuff, with no luck with the bigger fish. I was really hoping to figure out what those post-spawn females would hit, but it just didn't happen. Good news for me, is I will be back there in a little over a week, so I get another shot (actually two, since I'm fishing there back to back days). Anyone with any thoughts on how to get those bigger suspended fish to bite would be nice. I do love that place, though.

[Wayne P.]

I fished there today and yesterday and didn't catch any over 6# either day. I caught the most in the 4'-5' depth range yesterday and moved out deeper today and caught more and found several schools of 3#-4# bass. Once I figure out the depth that the fish are suspended in deeper water, I fish areas where that depth is the bottom, especially at creek channel drops. Side Imaging makes finding the fish kind of easy (doesn't make them bite though)