Fishing the spillway?

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Hello, I was wondering what might be pretty profitable to use when fishing right under a spillway? Just last night I caught my very first large mouth bass (he was about 2lbs) using a dual indiana gold blade spinnerbait (1st fish caught on a spinnerbait, not my actual very first fish that is). I just found this spot yesterday, and I almost always make it a point to go out fishing when it is overcast. Fishing here lately has been very terrible, that is until I found this spillway and caught that large mouth. What are some other lures you guys would suggest? My tackle ranges from rat-l-traps to plastic worms to buzzbaits. I am not very adept at using Jigs or rat-l-traps, so what would you suggest? Many thanks for your advice!

[Jig Man]

If you are not good with jigs, why not try swimming them.  All you have to do is put on a trailer, cast it out and slow roll it back.  When you feel a pickup don't set the hook.  Just keep reeling unitl the fish has it and is putting a lot of pressure on.  Most of the time you don't even have to set the hook.  The fish will do that for you.

[Raul]

Fishing a running spillway is very much like fishing a relatively fast running river, the fish face the current and locate behind obstructions, the catch is adjusting the weight of your baits if you are fishing below the surface to contrarest as much as possible the drag of the water and adjust the retrieval speed and weight to drift the bait towards them and into their face, can 't tell you how much weight if I can 't see how fast and how much water is running through the spillway, that 's soemthing you have to do on your own but it 's very productive, if the water runs fast fish don 't have time to inspect the bait, they just go for it as soon as they see it.

Be careful ! you don 't want to end up in the water.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

If you are not good with jigs, why not try swimming them.  All you have to do is put on a trailer, cast it out and slow roll it back.  When you feel a pickup don't set the hook.  Just keep reeling unitl the fish has it and is putting a lot of pressure on.  Most of the time you don't even have to set the hook.  The fish will do that for you.

Thanks for the nice comment, I'll try that.  I think the only jig and plastic type bait I have is a black and blue claw crayfish, which I'm not really sure how to use.

Fishing a running spillway is very much like fishing a relatively fast running river, the fish face the current and locate behind obstructions, the catch is adjusting the weight of your baits if you are fishing below the surface to contrarest as much as possible the drag of the water and adjust the retrieval speed and weight to drift the bait towards them and into their face, can 't tell you how much weight if I can 't see how fast and how much water is running through the spillway, that 's soemthing you have to do on your own but it 's very productive, if the water runs fast fish don 't have time to inspect the bait, they just go for it as soon as they see it.

Be careful ! you don 't want to end up in the water.

Thanks for this excellent tip, I appreciate it.  The drop between the fall and the water is about 5ft.  Maybe this is why I was so successful with my spinnerbait?  I also tried to run a jitterbug and a buzzbait later that evening, but to no avail.  I'd like to just post a picture of the drop, but it seems I need to get my post count up.  Once again, thanks for your advice.

[Raul]

You have several factor that come into play when fishing a spillway, one is the height which creates another ---> turbulance and bubbling ( reduces the vision ), then add the speed of the current and the fish cant see the bait very well, they can feel it and: "Hey, it looks edible, feels nice and  ..... man it 's going away ! " ---> wham !. A sound created by a bait like a buzzbait or the bug maybe reduced or eliminated by the turbulance so they can 't hear/feel it.

[brushhoggin]

i like to put a drop shot on for fishing at the spillway in my town. but i use an ounce weight so i can get it all the way to the gates where the water is coming out, then just let the current do all the work. let it carry your weight as far as you can before reeling it in. flukes and buckhair jigs are all i use. the bite really turns on after 3-4 inches of rain. are there stripers in there?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You have a prime spot for jigs, tubes and weighted plastics if you want to learn to use them. Deep cranks have produced for me at canal lock spillways.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

You have several factor that come into play when fishing a spillway, one is the height which creates another ---> turbulance and bubbling ( reduces the vision ), then add the speed of the current and the fish cant see the bait very well, they can feel it and: "Hey, it looks edible, feels nice and  ..... man it 's going away ! " ---> wham !. A sound created by a bait like a buzzbait or the bug maybe reduced or eliminated by the turbulance so they can 't hear/feel it.

Seems to make sense.  I did pretty good on a senko earlier, fishing it just before the spillway.  The spillway I fish is actually just in a canal that is only about 20ft wide.  The depth is 7ft where the water falls, and the part above where the water falls is 20ft.

i like to put a drop shot on for fishing at the spillway in my town. but i use an ounce weight so i can get it all the way to the gates where the water is coming out, then just let the current do all the work. let it carry your weight as far as you can before reeling it in.  flukes and buckhair jigs are all i use. the bite really turns on after 3-4 inches of rain. are there stripers in there?

I'm really not a big fan of the drop shots, as I have cleared them all out of my tackle.  The only weights I carry are bullet weights (which I use to peg my line toothpicked).  As far as stripers go, I'm really not sure, im not too familiar with the area.  I moved to Florida from Indiana just this past february.  However, I have heard of people seeing crappie, snook, and some catfish in the area, although I personally haven't seen any.  The waterway is completely freshwater as well.

You have a prime spot for jigs, tubes and weighted plastics if you want to learn to use them. Deep cranks have produced for me at canal lock spillways.

I tried using about 3-3 1/2 inch green tube earlier, but with no luck.  I had a pretty heavy jighead on it as well.  It's probably just a lack of experience is all.  I usually do pretty well however on plastic worms (most notable the Culprit Fire & Ice).  I'm really eager and curious to learn any and all techniques with many different fishing lures.

[1234567]

Hey, Fort Myers here,

We have the same type of "spillways" here that I fish alot.  I have done really great throwing a black horny toad weightless and letting the current take it while paying very close attention to my line.  You will see when they take it.  Also, look for barriers under the water that the fish will hide behind waiting to ambush forage.  Also pay close attention to where the current looks strong and try to find an area of calmer water, sometimes these calmer pockets will hold a number of bass, at least in the spillways that I fish.  I also fish a football head jig, in any color, and that has produced alot of fish.  Cast up to where the water is falling into the canal and let it sit, sometimes you will be hooked up up before it gets to the bottom.  Line watching here is also very important, especially with a jig.  Dont let these little areas fool you as I have caught a number of bass in the 4-7 pound range in these areas sometime.  Also, 4 inch swimbaits in these work very well, try the spro BBZ 1 shad, and another that not alot of people like but I have found success with is the revolution shad, they will absolutely slam these little swimbaits.  Let me know, maybe we can fish sometime.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Hey, Fort Myers here,

We have the same type of "spillways" here that I fish alot. I have done really great throwing a black horny toad weightless and letting the current take it while paying very close attention to my line. You will see when they take it. Also, look for barriers under the water that the fish will hide behind waiting to ambush forage. Also pay close attention to where the current looks strong and try to find an area of calmer water, sometimes these calmer pockets will hold a number of bass, at least in the spillways that I fish. I also fish a football head jig, in any color, and that has produced alot of fish. Cast up to where the water is falling into the canal and let it sit, sometimes you will be hooked up up before it gets to the bottom. Line watching here is also very important, especially with a jig. Dont let these little areas fool you as I have caught a number of bass in the 4-7 pound range in these areas sometime. Also, 4 inch swimbaits in these work very well, try the spro BBZ 1 shad, and another that not alot of people like but I have found success with is the revolution shad, they will absolutely slam these little swimbaits. Let me know, maybe we can fish sometime.

Great to see someone on here from the surrounding area. Thanks for the bait suggestions, I'll check some of those out. Since you live in Fort Myers, you'll know what I mean here. The moss is extremely thick in those canals, so using something like a tube is very difficult for me. The water is also not exactly clear but yet not exactly dirty. It's difficult to short hop it without snagging on the bottom's moss. I looked up that spro BBZ 1 shad, seems I have something pretty similar to this already in my tackle, except it's in 2 parts instead of 3. Basically the only way I know how to fish these is to reel it in and do quick jerks. I also try the stop-pause approach. I have caught only 1 bass doing this, but I don't feel confident at all using them. Sure, maybe sometime we can go fishing, always great to have a fellow fisherman.

EDIT: Also saw that I have a few horny toads in my tackle.  The only problem I have with fishing those is the cast range that I get.  They are extremely light, and I have quite a long cast to get it up to the spillway.  I'll have to post a picture of the spill as soon as I can.

[1234567]

the spillways here have cleared out with all the recent heavy downpours so it is clear of weeds.  Do you use a baitcaster or spinning reel.  It seems that you can cast a weightless plastic much further with a shimano curado baitcaster compared to a spinning reel.  It took me awhile to figure out where the fish were  holding in the spillways here, so make several casts covering all the area especially if you can't see in the water well.  These places at night time have been especially productive for me, actually it seems better than in the day.  I believe maybe the fish come up more often under the cover of darkness to feed.  I also believe  with this summer heat that these areas provide plenty of oxygen for the bass so you may find these small areas holding alot of fish.  I am still learning alot about bass fishing every day and read and fish constantly.  Once you figure these spill ways out you may catch a couple dozen bass in these areas.  Good Luck.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

the spillways here have cleared out with all the recent heavy downpours so it is clear of weeds. Do you use a baitcaster or spinning reel. It seems that you can cast a weightless plastic much further with a shimano curado baitcaster compared to a spinning reel. It took me awhile to figure out where the fish were holding in the spillways here, so make several casts covering all the area especially if you can't see in the water well. These places at night time have been especially productive for me, actually it seems better than in the day. I believe maybe the fish come up more often under the cover of darkness to feed. I also believe with this summer heat that these areas provide plenty of oxygen for the bass so you may find these small areas holding alot of fish. I am still learning alot about bass fishing every day and read and fish constantly. Once you figure these spill ways out you may catch a couple dozen bass in these areas. Good Luck.

Lucky you, even after the massive heavy rains we've been getting lately, the coverage is still pretty bad.  I always end up snagging on something, but I'm pretty used to it now.  It just really makes fishing things off the bottom that much harder.  I use a Shakespeare spinning reel and 7ft Shakespeare rod rigged with 20lb power pro braided line.  I also have a generic shimano baitcasting reel that I use from time to time.  I really don't know a whole lot about rods/reels.  The summer heat is tremendous here, so you're probably right.  I just caught a few pretty good sized bass again yesterday using senkos.  I tried using tubes, but I get too frustrated with them.

[0119]

Hi Lehigh Acres- Im up one county in Englewood. With all the rain our area has been getting spillways are on fire right now.  I have had alot of success using Spro's BBZ Shad, but for Snook and Tarpon.  All the freshwater around here has salt fish in it too.  For Bass soft swimbaits like a Storm 3" Shad works great as does the Zoom Super Fluke.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Hi Lehigh Acres- Im up one county in Englewood. With all the rain our area has been getting spillways are on fire right now. I have had alot of success using Spro's BBZ Shad, but for Snook and Tarpon. All the freshwater around here has salt fish in it too. For Bass soft swimbaits like a Storm 3" Shad works great as does the Zoom Super Fluke.

Ah, I didn't even think about using my Zoom Super Flukes. I have some of those in Baby Bass color. The only way I know how to fish those is to fish them like a topwater bait. I fish them an inch or so below the surface and do some quick jerks. How exactly do you fish that shad? I had no idea tarpon could be in the canal, nor snook.  From the Google Earth map I looked at, it didn't appear the canal connected to any main river.  The main river where I live is the Caloosahatchee River, which eventually connects to Lake Okeechobee.  Thanks for the tips and advice.

[1234567]

Let the fish tell you, try them weightless, twitches, maybe even with a small bullet weight.  I think the key with these spillways here though is too locate where the fish are behind the underwater barriers or in the calmer water.  Try flipping a creature bait or jig inside the holes in the weeds letting it sink to the bottom.  I have caught alot that way.  The spill ways here are fairly shallow (4 feet) until it opens up into the canal, which is around 8-10 feet.  Sometimes moving down the canal you will find more fish away from the stronger current.  Don't be surprised to hook a snook or tarpon even out in Lehigh, I have heard that they have been caught even out in that area. 

[SirSnookalot]

Tarpon and especially snook love current.  White is generally the best color for snook.  I fish an inlet with very fast tidal water, both in and out, snook and tarpon will just come up to the top in white water type rapids.  Primarily ambush predators out of the shadows.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Let the fish tell you, try them weightless, twitches, maybe even with a small bullet weight. I think the key with these spillways here though is too locate where the fish are behind the underwater barriers or in the calmer water. Try flipping a creature bait or jig inside the holes in the weeds letting it sink to the bottom. I have caught alot that way. The spill ways here are fairly shallow (4 feet) until it opens up into the canal, which is around 8-10 feet. Sometimes moving down the canal you will find more fish away from the stronger current. Don't be surprised to hook a snook or tarpon even out in Lehigh, I have heard that they have been caught even out in that area.

I'll try flipping some and I'll let you know the results, thanks for the tip.

Tarpon and especially snook love current. White is generally the best color for snook. I fish an inlet with very fast tidal water, both in and out, snook and tarpon will just come up to the top in white water type rapids. Primarily ambush predators out of the shadows.

I'm still in disbelief that there are tarpon in these waters, but if there are, I'd imagine they aren't very big? I'll try throwing a tarpon lure out and see what I get, thanks for the info.

Here's where I fish:

http://i53.tinypic.com/2dtvj7s.jpg

As you can see in the picture, my casting is rather limited, because the gates are locked/blocked off. I have to stand there on the bottom of the hill to fish on that side.

[SirSnookalot]

Fish the bait that is conducive to the conditions, tarpon and snook will hit any type of bait small or big, bass baits are fine.

As I understand it landlock snook and tarpon can live in freshwater but cannot reproduce.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Fish the bait that is conducive to the conditions, tarpon and snook will hit any type of bait small or big, bass baits are fine.

As I understand it landlock snook and tarpon can live in freshwater but cannot reproduce.

I didn't know that, I thought I had to use some sort of special bait.  I guess I don't understand why snook/tarpon would even want to live in freshwater...is it easier to catch a meal for them or something?  Thanks for the great info, it helps alot.

[SirSnookalot]

Snook and Tarpon like to feed on the freshwater baitfish when a spillway lock opens after a rain, they get landlocked.  I have never caught a " freshie".  IMO the best baits to use are soft baits on a jig head, feathers, Storm wild eyed shads, hard baits like xraps and bombers work good too, but I lose a lot of them.

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

Crankbaits, Rattle traps , Heavy Spinner baits to keep it from getting washed away. Cast out into the current , current  Breaks, and so so. You will see a pattern on where the fish are located at with the current pretty easily.

[0119]

I have better luck fishing baits that do get washed away yet look lifelike. Its when they look helpless that I get the bite.

[1234567]

same here, have caught many on 4 inch senkos letting the current take it.