Anybody have experience fishing strip pits??

[ssaB_htuoM_egraL]

Are there any tactics you use for LMB while fishing strip pits. Shorelines are fairly straight with tall reeds. Fish seem to be under the reeds. Some of the pits have VERY clear water while others are murkey. Shorelines drop off immediately, middles range from 12' to 20'.

Even though we have only managed a few bass, I would like to continue to go, have heard many stories how good this place is.

Thanks for any info.

[Raul]

Strip pits per se, nope, but I fish lakes built upon canyons with vertical walls, it 's a matter of how you approach the pit. Many anglers are used to fish lakes with a certain degree of slope, we all know that the fish make use of certain structural features so what 's the difference ? the difference is that those structural features instead of being in a relatively horizontal position in pits or in canyon lakes are in vertical or near vertical postion, the fish are "hanging" from them, any structural feature on the wall attracts the fish to it.

So the catch is NOT TO FISH TOO FAR AWAY FROM THE SHORELINE, if you are gong to fish not too far away from the shoreline and the water depth drops abruptly then if you are fishing from a boat you have to position the boat close to the shoreline and cast parallel to the shoreline so your bait doesn 't go too far away from the wall, if you cast perpendicular to the wall your bait gets away from the wall very fast and the fish are not going to chase the bait once it has left the strike zone which is only a few feet away from the structure.

If you cast your baits perpendicular to the shoreline the strike zone is not away from it but close and into the depth so when fishing baits that are worked with the rod tip ( like soft plastics and jigs ) you have to remember not to overwork the rod tip, a couple of short jerks is enough otherwise the bait moves too far away and sinks into the depths where most probably it won 't be chased. Tubes and baits that sink awaya from you ( like Ikas or Sweet Beavers ) are great when fishng places like that, tubes sink vertically along the walls, the others return to the wall so you always maintain the bait close to the structure. Presentations like D-shotting fit those places like a glove.

On the other hand, in a strip pit or quarry not everything is vertical walls, strip pits and quarries do have a particular bottom layaout which is built as the quarry is being exploited, they usually have a stair like appreance when they are being exploited, there are steps and terraces, piles of leftover material and roads used to remove the material, if you fish from a boat and have a depthfinder those features can easily be seen on the screen.

Here 's how one of the lakes I fish looks like:

[darren]

My brother and I fished a pit in So.IL a couple of weekends ago with good success. It was overcast all day so that helped... the owners brother fished the same pit the following weekend with bright clear blue skies and didnt catch anything... I think with the clear water, u have to 1. find some structure or 2. fish on a cloudy day...We had good luck with a tandem willow leaf spinnerbait parallel to the shore just so you are ticking the reeds and they absolutely hammered it...the biggest fish which my brother caught was 6lb3oz in 3 feet of water, believe it or not....darren

[wisturkeyhunter]

I fish pits all the time. My favorite smallie lake is a old iron ore mine. Pond here in town which is where I fish the most is a old gravel pit its got alot of nice largemouth bass in it. I fish both of these places by casting parallel to shore and working the bait along the shore. Look for submerged tree to fish to. Weightless or weighted tex rigged plastics depending on the depth work best for numbers of bass I like fat ikas and senkos, others work well too. For better size bass try a mattlures baby bass fished parallel to shore on a slow steady retrieve.

[Captain Rhino]

That's an awesome looking little pond there Raul. I'd love to have something I could go to like that. You wouldn't be able to peel me away...

There are some strip-mine ponds down in central and southern Kentucky that I know of, that haven't been touched since the mines were abandoned. I wonder if there are any fish in those.

[ssaB_htuoM_egraL]

Thanks Raul for the great information.  I will try to duplicate and see what happens.

[Raul]

That's an awesome looking little pond there Raul. I'd love to have something I could go to like that. You wouldn't be able to peel me away...

There are some strip-mine ponds down in central and southern Kentucky that I know of, that haven't been touched since the mines were abandoned. I wonder if there are any fish in those.

Oh well, that ain 't exactly a "pond" my man, it 's a view of one of the many coves Zimapán Lake ( 25 sq kilometers ) has to offer, the place is loaded with coves like that. If it weren 't so far away for a day 's expedition then  I would say what you are saying, nobody could peel me away from it, but being 4 1/2 hours drive away I can only fish it a few times a year.

Here 's some pics I took to my buddies Tapa and Pedro at that lake:

[WRB]

Agree with Raul's thread, well written.

The only experience I have with pit ponds is quarry lakes created when digging out sand, gravel and rocks in my local area. I grew up fishing these quarry lakes that have nearly vertical walls on 3 sides and one open area where the heavy equipment entered to excavate.

Bass in these deep clear water lakes or ponds become very wary of any surface shaddows that may indicate a preditor bird or animal is approaching. Keeping a low profile, drab clothing and your shaddow off the water is very important so you don't alarm the bass.

The majority of the basses time is spent roaming the shoreline edges looking for prey that has fallen onto the waters surface or hidding in the cover.

During low light periods you have an advantage with quarry lake bass becuase they can't detect your presence as easily and prey is more active. Fishing edges with a buzzer or other types of top water lures like frogs can be very effective. If the bass are not roaming, then soft plastics like Senko's and drop shot worms can be effective fishing edges and openings in the cover.

Quarry/pit lake bass are not highly pressured, so keep your lure selection simple and move quitely.

WRB

[Jim_H]

If it is very clear water, and you can do so, fish it at night using a jig and pig or tube bait, fished near the walls, especially any that have trees growing up. Black spinnerbaits also work well at night in these clear water pits