Your Scenario...

[mackkie]

Hi guys, in an effort to give me a better idea as to how to approach my fishing trip coming up, I decided to turn this into a little game . I am posing the following scenario:

This lake is known for its smallmouth, but has also been productive for largemouth fishing as well.

Your Conditions

1. Water Temp: 65 Degrees

2. Outside Conditions: 66 Degrees, Rain Showers

3. Map of the lake: http://mainegov-images.informe.org/ifw/fishing/lakesurvey_maps/kennebec/cobbosseecontee_lake.pdf

4. The fish are spawning

Your Gear

1. 17' bass boat, 90HP

2. 3 Rods

3. Lures: Strike king coffee Tubes, Ikas, cranks (lucky craft rick clunn, rapala DT4, DT6, DT10, DT16), x raps, shad raps, rattle traps, mattlures baby bass, spinnerbaits, senkos, strike king king shad, minnow spins, drop shot gear.

4. Rain gear  

Given the above conditions, what would you use on your 3 rods and why? Where or what depth would you be fishing at, and why?  I am trying to start to learn how to approach different unfamiliar lakes, and hearing the though process of the experienced anglers out there would be very helpful!

I am voting for 1 coffee tube, 1 rick clunn 2.5 lucky craft crank, and 1 drop shot setup.

Let me know what you guys would

[sean0920]

ditch all of it except the dropshot gear and a bluegill colored crankbait. go get some berkley gulp minnows for the dropshot and hold on with both hands!

[mackkie]

Thanks for the reply.  Lets hear some other ideas as well!

[mallardecho]

What is the water clarity?

[mackkie]

What is the water clarity?

Hmm, lets say you can see 6-8 feet down.

[wisturkeyhunter]

1 senko rigged weedless and weightless

1 spinnerbait darker color like blue or black with 1 colorado blade

1 xrap any color

Use the senko about 75 percent of the time and the spinner bait about 24 percent of the time. Had to pick something with the 3rd rod so went xrap with your set up but in reality I'd probably rig up a top water bait like a spook or devil's horse.

[NinjaFishin]

If I had to come up w/ 3 set ups out of the given options, I would go w/

1.) tube set up w/ jighead for brush, cover, and structures.  Mix up retrieves between bouncing off the bottom, steady retrieve, and letting it sit on bottom with small tugs every 20 seconds or so.

2.) rapala shad or baby bass colored jointed shad rap.  Very versatile bait, for shallow to medium depths.  You can really retrieve it any which way and produce. Just see what works for your area is all I can say on how to fish it. WATCH FOR SNAGS!  Those treble hooks will cause you problems if you are running into logs or sticks

3.)the last set up I am torn between a spinnerbait and a drop shot rig. It all depends on where you are at the time, deeper areas being much better for drop shot, while shallower areas being much more favorable to spinnerbaits.  (when i think of drop shot rigs I think of minnow or bait fish imitators and/or grub tails)

[mallardecho]

Rod 1. 3" grub on 1/8 oz jighead, Clear or smoke color

Rod 2. Tube T-rigged less weight the better

Rod 3. DT-6 Parrot color

[roadwarrior]

Rod 1. Rapala X-Rap

Rod 2. Fat Ika

Rod 3. Buzzbait or your favorite topwater

In low light I would alternate fishing rods 1 & 3. After the sun rises above the treeline, Rod 2. Throughout the day, soft plastics and jigs would be my main choice, but for a change of pace, I would give the Rat-L-Trap and Mattlures Baby Bass a workout, too.

If you have grass or other cover, that's where I would start early. Later I would recommend structure in deeper water, i.e., steeply sloped rocky points.

Good luck!

p.s. If you decide to target smallmouth. I think you should also carry single tail grubs (5 1/2" GYCB Single Tail, clear with silver flakes) and 3  1/2" tubes (Mizmo, Kent's Classic or squash green).

[MarVaBC]

Here's what I'd go with.

1) Tube Rod - don't leave home without it!

2) Drop shot - great spawning rig

3) X-rap or Spinnerbait

I would toss the x-rap/SB around covering water while searching for spawners.  Once on them, use the DS and the tube.

That lake looks awesome...good luck

[mackkie]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I hope that the rain wont effect the fishing too much, we will see i guess.

Surprise, surprise, RW picked an Ika for one of his lures  

RW, do you fish this weightless?

Keep the responses coming, hopefully i will catch enough big fish that I can post a good trip report.

[roadwarrior]

RW, do you fish this weightless?

Huh?

[mackkie]

Bad Ika question??  :-[

[roadwarrior]

Well, I have posted a few comments on fishing the Fat Ika.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141053342

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1187047441

Anyhow, I always fish this bait weightless and weedless on

a 4/0 EWG Gamakatsu or XPoint Offset Worm Hook; skirt

up (towards your line).

8-)

[justfishin]

Early in the morning for smallies fish tubes on the drop offs on the outside of the flats in around 8' to 20' of water ( sharp drops being the best ) and creek channels that enter the outside of the coves and intersect the points, as well as, flukes in White Pearl around the grass. Rocky bottoms, pebble bottoms and the like is smallie territory. Pay attention to your depth finder and the width of your band. Narrow band is harder bottom. I like my flukes rigged with a 3/0 Owner off set hook with a 1/64 Water Gremlin Bullshot pinched at the nose. A dropshot on light line using a 4" Zoom finese worm in smoke/blue flake gets the nod as well. A no. 10 Rapala Husky Jerk in Tenn. Shad is also a good option. Have fun. If you have any boat docks on the lake try a Wacky Worm. For smallies in our clear lakes I like a Zoom Centipede in Green Pumpkin wacky rigged on a 2/0 WG hook.

[BigBass DEZ]

If those smallies are still spawing , i would look for hugh flats next to deep water and burn rattletraps and cranks / if the sun stays in stay shallow ..  BBD

[Woodsman]

Being only five miles from Cobbossee I suggest the following:

Rod 1. Senko Wacky Rigged Weightless

Rod 2. Swim Senko Texas Rigged Weightless

Rod 3. Leave it at camp. You should be busy enough with the first two.

Have fun!