Water - Deep & Clear - Weeding out the little ones

[The_Mad_Fisherman]

Whats your favorite way to fish water that is fairly deep and clear?  As in deep I mean like lots of 30ft. deep bluffs, etc.... And clear 5 - 10 ft. visiblity.  I was fishing a new lake to me this past weekend, and I managed to catch a ton of little fish.  The size limit is 12in.  but the biggest thing I managed to catch was about 11in out of about 35 - 40 fish. At one point I actually found a shelf that was about 7ft. deep that dropped down into the river channel.  After getting hung up, I went to retrieve my lure, and happened to notice a keeper sized fish laying in a small brushpile near where I was hung.  Out of curiosity I continued down the shelf and began to see more and more of these keeper size fish.  This place is noted for putting the best anglers to shame in the summer time.  For a tournament it usually takes only 2 -3 keepers to win.  But as I traveled the length of this shelf I saw probably a dozen keepers.  I fished far infront of the boat with small shakey head worms, senko, finesse jigs, topwaters, flukes, trick worms, crankbaits... etc...  

What do you like to do when the water is clear and the fish are just plain ignorant to eating anything?

So what do you think?

Thanks

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I fish the same conditions here. I'd try a 6" deep diving crankbait that will "root" bottom, kicking up a silt trail. I'd first fish parallel to the contour holding the fish, meaning hold the boat over that depth and cast parallel to the bank. Long casts will keep the bait in the strike zone the longest. Make sure your line will let the bait get down, and of course you'll feel it make bottom contact. If the bass are over weeds then try a Johnson Spoon or black spinnerbait with nickel Colorodo blades. Choose baits you don't see others using. Select a weight that will get down to the bass and stay there. I've found that increasing speed of retrieve helps a lot now. I'll also deadstick baits that can be held still, avoiding speeds employed by other anglers all the time. You might even try tolling over the fish with a high frequency vibrating crankbait, and don't be hesitant about cranking up to 3 mph. Some of Buck Perry's ideas work now in deep clear water.

If fishing parallel doesn't do it, then try casting to shallow from deep at say a 45 degree angle. Experiment with angles. Also try casting from shallow to deep.

Stick with very natural colors, matching vegetation or if you know it, crawfish colors, or match the shades of whatever bass are staying close to.

If you run the outboard don't kill it when you come up on bass in clear water. Leave it idling. They are accustomed to motor noise, and I think it throws them off high security alert. When the motor stops they are hearing something different. It's a lot like deer hunting. If a buck detects me and runs away I'll run after him since he can't hear me while he's running. He'll stop pretty soon to try seeing what spooked him. When he stops I stop. I get another crack at him. The types of noises to avoid with motors off (actually all the time) are slapping baits against the boat, constant on-off trolling motor thumps, a loose motor mount popping and crackling, opening tacklebox lids that pop, walking around in the boat while drifting, rocking the boat, or any other unnatural sound other than that motor running constantly. Bass hear it all.

Jim

[jb_adams]

Whats your favorite way to fish water that is fairly deep and clear? As in deep I mean like lots of 30ft. deep bluffs, etc.... And clear 5 - 10 ft. visiblity. I was fishing a new lake to me this past weekend, and I managed to catch a ton of little fish. The size limit is 12in. but the biggest thing I managed to catch was about 11in out of about 35 - 40 fish. At one point I actually found a shelf that was about 7ft. deep that dropped down into the river channel. After getting hung up, I went to retrieve my lure, and happened to notice a keeper sized fish laying in a small brushpile near where I was hung. Out of curiosity I continued down the shelf and began to see more and more of these keeper size fish. This place is noted for putting the best anglers to shame in the summer time. For a tournament it usually takes only 2 -3 keepers to win. But as I traveled the length of this shelf I saw probably a dozen keepers. I fished far infront of the boat with small shakey head worms, senko, finesse jigs, topwaters, flukes, trick worms, crankbaits... etc...

What do you like to do when the water is clear and the fish are just plain ignorant to eating anything?

So what do you think?

Thanks

I think he just described Beaver Lake perfectly!! ;D

I may try some of these techniques Ouchitabassangler just described next time I'm out.  My fear of crankbaits may have to be conquered.  Fear you say?  Yep, the fear of loosing a $5-10 bait within 5 casts.  It's happend many times before.  With experience and time, I'll learn to overcome the hangups and learn to fish effectively with them.

[The_Mad_Fisherman]

There's just one problem with using crankbaits and spinnerbaits on this lake.  There are lots of Muskies and Walleyes.  They just love to eat um up.

[Banor]

Multi-Species days can be fun