Cypress Infested lakes

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

Hey guys I have been fishing a small lake about a 1000 acres and it is conjested with cypress trees and coon tail grass. I cant seem to find a consistent pattern for catching them any thoughts, ideas, tactikcs would be appreciated Lake could be compared best to Caddo Lake in East Texas

[sockey]

On Caddo, isolated trees and old duck blinds usually hold a decent fish or two apiece. I'd key on that stuff for starters.

[kickin bass14]

From watching Kevin Short on the Elite Series, I would try cranks around the trees.  Flippin and pitchin to the trees might work too but many times the fish are suspended around the trunks and not holding tight to the bottom.  So once you find out what depth they are at, you can nail them.  Also, when you catch a fish, study the size of the tree you caught it off of and if the tree is close to other trees or out by itself.

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

cranks would work accept the place is infested with coontail even in the main boat channel, its just ridiculous I cant use anything with treble hooks basicly

[kickin bass14]

I would try swimming a jig then.  All you need to do is try and get a reaction bite and swimming a jig is perfect for that.

[Joe D]

We have a couple of lakes around me that are very similar to what you describe and the biggest mistake i have made in the past is going out and fishing " the trees" What works for me is to try and thin out what I am fishing. Trees on points, trees near the channel, trees in a certain water depth, and specifically with cypress trees are they in groups, do they have low branches, are they isolated. Day in and day out the majority of the fish will be in one of these types of sub groups. So when you catch a fish really analize why it was caught on that particular tree and then try to duplicate that. This time of year I would start with trees on point near deeper water or along migration routes into the creeks. The more shade would probably be the best. As far as lures. I love cranking cypress trees, but the grass is an issue. Try a slow rolled spinnerbait, soft jerkbait, swim jig. Or my favorite pitching a jig or worm. A wacky rig senko works well for me also. I hope this helps.

Joe

[Joe D]

And remember the knees on a cypress can be huge, 6 or 7 feet away on each side, so don't just cast right up to the tree, make sure you fish around it well.

Joe

[Bass Fisher55]

Try topwater such as the Zara Spook.

I'm always partial to twitch soft plastic on inland lakes.

[brushhoggin]

Joe D nailed it. i've been out on lake washington in mississippi a couple times which is full of cypress trees. i always get out and think, man where do i start because it all looks so prime for holding bass. so yes, look for the details Joe described. banging cranks off trees and stumps and flippin black and blue jigs in and around those type of areas have worked for me

[senile1]

In lakes such as this with coontail everywhere and plenty of Cypress trees, the number of places where a bass can hide seems to be innumerable. You have to narrow down the choices using your knowledge of bass behavior, lake structure, breaklines, the season, the weather, etc or you will waste a lot of time fishing unproductive water.

[Dalton Tam]

ok me a sockey are from Louisiana so we would probably know the most about this. I would say 99% of the lakes I fish are exactly like what u described. if the grass isn't too thick you might start by throwing spinnerbaits around the trees. Buzzbaits are good early in the morning right at first daylight and right before dark. If the grass is extremely thick I would throw a fluke or frog in the grass. Now the depth of the trees matters alot also. If these trees are 8 foot or deeper and the grass isn't too thick, throw a brush hog or rage craw with a 1/4 to 3/8 oz weight and peg it or texas rig. Or use a jig. Clear water use anything watermelon. If the grass is extremely thick. Take a 3/4 oz to 1 oz weight pegged and use a 7.5" to 10" worm so that it will punch threw the grass. I would key on isolated trees and trees that run closest to creek channels. These usually produce the best. That's all I got for now.

Good Luck 

Dalton

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

BassFishinMagician it seem we would get along very well  but yea Magician thats pretty much what I have been doing, Frogs flukes, buzzbaits, and pitching and flipping with a Senko,beaver or tube. Spinnerbaits work ok for me but I cant ever seem to find a exact pattern like you would typicaly in other lakes. Its one or two fish here and there all I know is jackfish get really expensive lol. Tungsten aint cheap lol.

[pudmunk]

I watched BASSEDGE on WFN the other night and they were fishing a cypress tree filled body of water and they had a tough, tough day

[Dalton Tam]

Ha yea i started using flourocarbon and tungsten weights about a year ago. I love them both but, with it being my senior year and not having a load of money to blow, I am switching back to mono line. Yea jack fish really make me mad. alot of people like catching them on this site. They call them Pike though but down here they don't really get big and they just seem like a trash fish to me. But hey we also eat Grinnal or "Bowfin" which seems to intrigue alot of yanks on the site lol. ;D I am from Louisiana I'd try anything once..... or twice lol. The motto is if you see something and you don't know what it is..... shoot it and eat it and ask questions later. But about your problem on the lake. Is the lake a very deep lake? Because when I think of your description a few lakes come to mind in a small community just south of here, matter of fact, the fish in my avatar is from one of them. These two private lakes are small Cypress lakes and when I caught the fish in my avatar, it was late January and we had a streak of warm weather for about a week or two. We fished their twice in that period and caught one about 6 1/2- 7 which is the one in my pic and another about 5 lbs. along with about 15 -20 2-3 lb fish. I went back to fish them this summer and the grass had taken it over and we only caught a few small fish here and there, and ALOT OF JACKFISH. I think you should stick with the lake and wait till winter sets in and gets rid of some of the grass. Go back in the spring and Molly Hop 'em like I will in these lakes. In the mean time find a lake that is productive for this time of year or get ready for hunting season cuz it's right around the corner.

Well I decided to change my avatar pics here are the pics that i meant for u to see.

Good Luck,

Dalton

[general3380]

I'm from southern Illinois but use to travel to Caddo Lake for a fishing trip once a year. I knew a few locals down there and went fishing with each one for a full day...One was a local legend on Caddo and through almost nothing but crank bait at the trees, his main point was not to waste to much time on a tree, he would throw two casts at a tree, one on each side...no bite move to the next one...The other guy was the one who introduced me to fishing sinkos wacky style about 9 years ago. he would rig the sinko wacky style pitch to the tree. If a fish didn't take it on the initial fall, he would give it a few twitches and bring it back in. It worked on Caddo...He boated a 8.5 pounder and a 7.5 pounder amongst several 4 and 5 pounders in 6 hours of fishing.

[WookieeJedi]

The larger trees will have a root system that forms a canopy under the water where a bass can hide to ambush prey. The bigger the trunk, the bigger the canopy, and isolated trees will have the most defined roots. You can throw anything at the tree and drag it off the roots, and lots of times it will get mugged on the first drop. A senko is perfect due to the slow fall. I have used T-rigged plastics and jigs on cypress too. You can also try a bluegill imitation like the Jackall Giron by pulling it alongside the roots. Try a weedless soft plastic on the tree first, so you know where those roots stop, you can get hung up pretty easily.

[VirginiaKayakBasser]

I have great success using Texas rigged craws and creatures around cypress.  I cast the bait right against the trunk and let it fall on a slack like.  I use 1/8 oz bullet weight to slow the fall.  Work all sides of the tree if you can. I also do well casting right into the surrounding visible knees.  I fish from a kayak so flipping and pitching is difficult, but if I could, those would be my fish choice to presentation.  Spinnerbaits worked close to the tree trunk, bumping the roots, is killer too.  Everyone talks about square bills, but the just get hung up too much where I fish and don't increase my catch rate.  Also, there are usually tons of trees to fish so don't waster a lot of time on each one.  Active feeders will usually hit the bait on the initial fall or within 5 seconds. I don't work it back to the boat like many people. I am constantly amazed and the tight places big bass get into.