How Would You Approach This lake?

[.dsaavedra.]

hi guys, biggest lake  i hav access to is St. Mary's Lake, 250 acres. i hate fishing there cuz its so big i feel like i have no chance. but something makes me like it, cuz it has features not typical of small ponds, like dropoffs, points, ledges, creekbeds etc. i have no clue where any of these are, but hey, at least it has em.

this pic might not tell you much, but its the only pic i have of it.

here is a link to the DNR page for the lake. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/stmaryslake.html

thanks for any input.

[Gatorbassman]

I wouldn't approach it from that angle. It might hurt a little when I got to the water.  

[BassinWill301]

I fish there also, what time of year are you considering, now or..........

P.S how big is the bass in your avatar and what lake in St. Marys County did you catch it?

[Gatorbassman]

Are you in a boat?

What kind of vegitation if any?

What time of year?

What are your strengths?

What are the primary baitfish for bass?

[BassinWill301]

The main forage is bluegill and very small minnows and some crawfish

[.dsaavedra.]

hey Will glad to see a st. marys boy!

the fish in my avatar is 7lbs and i caught it in st. charles (waldorf)....secret spot...cant tell

how do you make out at st. marys lake?

anyway, to answer the specifics that i should have included...

boat: 12' leaky jon, no electronics/way to locate structure

veggies: lots of fluffy underwater grass (hydrilla maybe?) and tons of fields of stumps.

time: any time i can/feel like it....not winter though

strengths: shallow crankbaits, weightless plastics

baitfish: i have no idea...will says bluegill minows and craws...i guess thats right...i know all of them are in there but idk if they are primary forage or what.

[BassinWill301]

Thats a nice bass in your avatar

My PB is also 7 Lbs. from St. Marys Lake!!

But i usaull do pretty good at st. marys lake when i go but with alot of smaller fish

[Gatorbassman]

What's the usual water color?

How deep is the lake? (up both arms, and at the dam.)

[.dsaavedra.]

north arm is shallow (10 at the mouth and probably 1 way up there) and there is a big ole stump field at the mouth of it. from about the middle on up there are fluffly weeds underwater that go maybe midway up the water column. ive never been up the west arm, but i havent seen any stumps and it looks shallow and weedy.

[Gatorbassman]

I like that S turn in the West arm. The creek channel will make two drastic turns there and this is a good place for bass to hang out.

For lure/rig selection, it sounds like you need to put a little weight on those soft plastics. In those weeds I would fish a light 1/8 or 1/16th oz splitshot rig or mojo rig on 8lb test line. Drag it across the weeds like a C-rig. A couple of small pops of the line will free it from the weeks when it collects some. Concentrate on where the weeds drop into deeper water and whatever edges you see.

Catt has written a few good threads on how to flip the weeds with heavy jigs and T-rigged plastics. This will also be a good technique.

The timber in the grass is good to. Pitch close to the stumps and let it sit for several seconds.

Pay close attention to the color of the weeds. The brighter green the better. If you see that it is turning brown, go find another place.

[Hawg Bass Assassin]

Fish the finger's of the lake.

Start with a 4" plastic worm then jump it up to a 6".

Dark water= darker bait's-Black-pumpkin seed

clear water= lighter bait color-white and so on.

Jig n' pig's... black on blue in a 1/4 oz to start with.

Rattle trap's look good for this lake to.

H.B.A.

[Glenn]

Whenever I fish a new lake, I ALWAYS focus on the points first.  You can fish all the depths in one area, and points tend to attract baitfish and bass. Usually there's a variety of structure and cover as well.  In essence, you can fish a lot of different presentations in one area.  Once you start catching fish, you can then focus just on they depth and cover you caught them for the rest of the lake.

A very effective way of narrowing down a large lake in a hurry.

[BassinWill301]

The Water is Mostly stained to muddy

[Evan Pease]

The point that you can see underwater looks exactly like what Ive been fishing. Id try a jig on it.

[Catt]

There are some points at the end of the Camp Casoma Rd area that I like, even more so if the creek channel is close; I also like the area to the west where the creek enters the lake. I've looked at satellite imagery and not topographical so a little more study would be required.

[.dsaavedra.]

thanks for all the resonses guys. this is wonderful.

i think the next time i fish there i will go up that west arm and fish around the bends...since ive never fished up that way.

why is greener grass better than brown grass?

[Catt]

Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy into chemical energy by living organisms. The raw materials are carbon dioxide and water, the energy source is sunlight, and the end-products include glucose and oxygen.

Brown grass is dead  

[.dsaavedra.]

haha i know what photoshynthesis is and i know that brown grass is dead, but why is that bad for bass? they can still hide in it right? or is it because the oxygen levels are lower around dead grass or what?

[Catt]

haha i know what photoshynthesis is and i know that brown grass is dead, but why is that bad for bass? they can still hide in it right? or is it because the oxygen levels are lower around dead grass or what?

[.dsaavedra.]

ok thanks ;D

[farmpond1]

I would approach it very quietly, and from behind.