Rising Water

[fishingrulz]

two days ago i went to a pond the water was well below the pads i talking a foot or so. yesterday i went and over night the water rose up and over the pads and it is now to the point where it looks as if there are no pads how should i fish this?

[fishinfool]

Some sort of topwater bait would be my first choice. Throw it right over the tops of where the lilies are. Knowing what the vegetation is under the water is a huge advantage.

[Chris]

Your going to have some fish that will move shallow and some that will stay in the pads or above them.

[flechero]

I wish we had some rising water around here.   You're options are endless.  I would try a variety of things... senkos or flukes over/through the area of pads, t-rig through them, jigs in them, buzzbait over them, etc.  You get the idea.  Basically fish like you would when you have any subsurface vegetation.  Normally when a lake or pond rises dramatically, lots of fish will be in the newly flooded areas feasting on whatever is there.

[Nick_Barr]

Throw Jigs in shallow and probably throw a black, colorado balde spinnerbait right above the level of the pads.

[Rattlinrogue]

Go shallow and pitch to vegetation.If the water is muddied up go to a dark or highly colorful bait that makes some noise or vibration.

[basspro48]

Let the water temp. and water clarity dictate what your presentation is. If the water is cool then fish the deeper side of the newly flooded cover, but if it's muddy stay shallow with slow moving visible baits; slow rolling a chart. spinnerbait. If the water is at a stable temp. fish the newly flooded cover with spinnerbaits, topwaters, and flip and pitch jigs and brush hogs. And if it's muddy and stable use fast moving baits that stand out, force a reaction strike; lipless cranks, spinnerbaits, shallow diving cranks.

Hope this helps.

[Guest avid]

This can be real fun fishing.  The fish will still relate to the pads, but now you can over them with topwaters, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, shallow cranks, etc.  You can basically pick your favorite method of fishing and go get 'em.  Good luck and have fun.