Tips for Strip Pit bass fishing?

[Jaben]

Anyone have some tips for lures and methods for fishing strip pits? The one im speaking of isnt boat accessable so and lure tips and methods would be appreciated...

[Fishes in trees]

Isn't boat accessible?   Does that just mean that there isn't any ramp or that there is no way no how that you can't get a job boat or a 2 man plastic boat in?  Back in my meat fishing bush hippie days, I fished quite a few strip pits and most of them you could put a boat in with a modest amount of effort.

By June, for sure you could get a float tube in and not freeze stuff off.  May could sometimes get chilly using a float tube.  I knew some hard core guys who would fish with waders and float tubes in March and April, but those guys were crazy - extreme athletes types.

Basically, you treat a strip pit as a miniature canyon reservoir.  You have lots of banks where there is a very steep drop off.  Finding the shallow water is important and then you fish, not necessarily in the shallows, but close to it.  I never caught fish on the bottom - 40 to 60 feet of water was common.  Much more often they were suspended or if you could find a ledge 10 to 12 feet down, that was money.  Try to figure out the forage base.  My experiences with strip pit fishing was lots of numbers, 10-12" fish and very few big fish.  At the time, that's what I was looking for.  Frequently, 6 or 7 of us would go as a group.  We'd drag in a jon boat oars or small electric.  It would serve as the sag wagon, carrying everyones extra tackle and the beer. 5 or 6 other guys would fish out of float tubes.   I very seldom fished pits by myself, what with the steep sides, opportunities for falling and extra deep water, not to mention running into copperheads, it made more sense to go as a group.

There is the occasional isolated, hard to get to strip pit that has lots of decent fish in it. The rule here is don't get greedy and catch and release.  I personally ruined a couple of these pits by taking many 15  - 18" fish out of a pit in the course of a month.  It was never the same after that.

I caught some pit fish on medium cranks and some on Rapalas, the day in and day out producer on strip  pits was a 1/8 oz  plain jig head with a #11 pork frog or a pork split tail eel, fished on 6 lb test.   I'd just keep throwing it, trying different depths every cast until I found the depth of the day.  I recall the very first time I got a tube bait in my hands I went out and had a 100 fish day with it at Finger Lakes State Park, north of Columbia, Mo.  Never did that again.

Have fun fishing strip pits, but don't do some of the things I used to do.  Don't bust out the bolt cutters and cut chains.  Don't replace the links with ones that can be unscrewed.  Don't get good at taking gates off their hinges and replacing them.  Don't drive down horseback riding trails and get your car stuck. Somebody owns all the land now, try to get permission and don't trespass.  Trespassing is bad.  I'm not in my 20s anymore, and for sure this ain't the 70's.  These days, I have a boat and I stick to lakes with ramps.

[LAO162]

Fishes in trees, great information and great story.  As I'm approaching middle age (my wife says I'm already there ), I like to think my judgement is much better than it used to be.

[TommyBass]

Most likely your pits are very clear, at least they are around here.   Generally I use a natural colored soft plastic bait on lighter line, fluorocarbon if you see fit.  Topwater usually works well during the right times of the year.  Swimbaits also work well, espeically if you have alot of weeds to fish.

Like 'fishes in trees' said, stick to the areas where shallow water meets deep, especially in the spring.  You'll find more fish that are easier to catch in those areas.   There are also fish on the very steep walls but those are harder to fish, especially from shore.

[BrandonD]

the strip pits in se kansas are loaded with fish... trout live year round and there is not much pressure... its almost like fishing a farm pond... you can catch them on pretty much anything you throw... senko, 10 in worms in the summer, shakey head, jigs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits ... like i said almost everything works just give it a try... also i know alot the pits have boat access you might wanna look around