help finding fish in this lake?

[NJfishinGuy]

ok i have this small lake i love to fish. it holds some really nice bass and its very unpressured. my biggest came out of it and ive been doing really good this year so far there fishing spinnerbaits in the emerging weeds. lake is about 40 acres and its a big oval bowl. 30ft in the middle and some shorelines are good drops. but the lake is basically lilypads or weeds all the way around. the one end is slightly shallower like 15ft up to 3ft and the weeds just grow thick and to the surface. i fished the place all last year the biggest goin 3.5lbs but this spring i got a 5 and 2 4's among other nice fish. what im wondering with endless weeds and stuff all over how do i find the fish in them its like picking a needles in a hay stack. what can i look for to find em cause im sure the big girls hide in all the weed cover somewhere

[Autiger1291]

Look for the weeds closest to deep water or that are under a tree. Look for something that makes one spot a little better than the last. A good technique for finding fish would be a rattletrap. Rip it through those weeds. For big fish get a floating frog in those pads. That is definately a big fish bait. I also like a wacky rigged 5 or 6 inch wave worm around the edges or in holes.

[RoLo]

It sounds like cover is not a problem in your pond, and that's good.

To narrow down your search, you might focus more on "bottom contour".

Somewhere in that big oval bowl there's bound to be a bottom step, channel or hole.

If you've got a good contour map your work will be easy, if not, then you'll have to use your depth sounder.

A steep slope offers bass several depth choices without having to travel.

But more than this, a drop-off into deep water produces a weed line,

the depth at which light becomes insufficient to grow weeds.

In short, you're looking to merge contour with cover.

Roger

[NJfishinGuy]

well theres a couple steep drops i know of that start about 10 feet off shore usually at the edge of the weeds/pads. i will work those area good but they are small and the rest is pretty basic and no real structure. i do have a map and it shows nuttin but a big bowl and the drops i already know about.  my plan was to located the deeper weedlines this year and use marker bouys, towards the top end they will be close to the surface till about 10ft then drop down

[Avalonjohn44]

Lunker City Salad Spoon

[captaininsaneo]

OK, im assuming NJ probably hasnt warmed up that much yet so theyre probably not holding as tight to those weeds.  It seems like you've already tried the bottom contour thing also... so I would say you need to find the area where the vegetation differs from most of the other lake.  Find a spot where the weeds arent so dense and try the outside edges (even better if these places are around those bottom changes).   Find where two different kinds of weeds meet each other.  Find a subtle difference because fish key in on those for some reason.

[Garnet]

I've never fish a lake this small. But start were you caught those better quality fish and work out. Little depressions on the flat can be huge or just a dark line. When you get to the weed edge say in 10 ft look for areas were the weed comes up 4-5 ft. it might only be 1 ft deeper or just a little more rock. This scattered grass can be good.

Garnet

[Catt]

It sounds to me like you already have this lake figured out; I would suggest you keep doing what you are already doing.  

[jomatty]

as the capt mentioned look for areas where two different kind of weeds meet.  i fish a lake a lot like this and the other thing that has been very succesfull for me is looking for any difference in the pads.  any hole can indicate rocks, as can any indention.  there can be so much of the same thing that i try to focus on what is different as it seems to hold more fish and give me a starting point.  i work the holes and indentions in the pad edge with heavy pegged plastics and jigs.  also fish the obvious frog type lures.

[RecMar8541]

There is a lake here that sounds very similar.  Pay attention to weed density as well.  Some days I find fish in the heavy cover, some days the thinner stuff.  On lakes that have weeds all the way around, look for secondary cover/structure.  A tree hanging low, a few stumps sticking out, a small rocck pile.  These things can be huge finds.  

Also try using a search bait.  Spinner bait etc.  If you find an area where you take hits, slow down and fish them with a worm, fluke, tube, or something of that nature.

Good Luck!

[NJfishinGuy]

yeah i do have the lake figured out pretty well but at times it gets to me. thing is i fished it like 15 times last year and i never came up with 1 bass over 2lbs. this year im 3 fish over 4lbs. but the weeds are growing up fast there and i think my problem is my limited access to some of these spot due to such thick weeds. and i dont want to find myself lost once they are in full bloom again.  im also catching nice fish in spots i never seen any life in last year. thats what also gets me  :-?

[Catt]

Then I suggest you read the topic on fishing heavy Hydrilla, there's some mighty fine techniques mentioned there.

[NJfishinGuy]

i am going to try the punching thru idea this summer, im not sure what kinda of weeds this lake has but i dont think its hydrilla. the weeds are like a tan color and more fluffy looking and they dont seem to mat more just gro stright up from the bottom

[Sam]

You are in New Jersey.

The foilage is brown.

I think it is growing out of dead bodies. ;D

[NJfishinGuy]

lol actually this lake is pretty clean.