What am I doing wrong?

[Chuck.Estes]

Guys this can be a long narrative, but out of respect for all and my being new to the forum I will try to keep it short. I recently rediscovered my passion for fishing. I needed to in order to relieve stresses of life. I have spent my younger years enjoying the experience of bank fishing many of central Kentucky's best Bass producing ponds. I took a a long break while I concentrated on my career and with that came more stresses of life. So I began fishing again thinking if I bought a Bass boat I would have more access to more fish. So here is my pain...... We have a lake here in central Kentucky that is a state managed 762 acre "Trophy" Bass Impoundment named Cedar Creek Lake. This lake has thousands of standing trees. I have been endlessly studying everything about dropshotting, shakey head, whacky rigging, jigging, texas and carolina rigging and in 13 trips to this lake or 100 or so hours or better I have caught 3 fish. the biggest was 16". I ask others as they're coming off the lake what works and what they have been using along with where were you and I get their detailed answers along with the "we filled the livewells" speech.... I am beyond frustrated. If there is a presentation, I've tried it... if there is a bait I've bought it and tried it. I just can't figure it out..... what am I doing wrong????

[islandbass]

First, welcome to the site.

Perhaps you've just found pockets of the smaller fish. Usually, if you're on a spot and you start seeing the ones you catch are about the same size, it probably is a fair indicator that the others you will catch from their will likely be in the same cookie cutter class.

Besides, while they told you they've filled the live wells, did they say how big the avg. bass was? We all know how "honest" fishermen are when it comes to catching them big fish, lol.

Lastly, you shouldn't feel frustrated at all. It's all part your your learning curve. Basically you're putting in your time and "paying your dues". Even when you don't catch anything, try to take at least one thing that you did learn and store it in your memory banks. To make my point, my brother went for nearly a season and a half before landing his first bass by himself. Now that is persistence and determination where many would have quit a long time ago. You're already way ahead of him too.

[mrmuskie5]

first off you haven't tried every presentation or bait.... no way no how. second you need to pick a presentation that you feel half way comfortable and grind it, i dont mean use it for a hour or two then see some guy get one on a spinnerbait a switch, i mean use that bait from sun up to sun down until you know just how and when to use this bait. Now color changes are gonna be difficult at first so stick to something basic, black,greenpumpkin,blk n blue, white, keep it simple. (A jig is a great place to start). once you got this puppy pretty well whipped move on to the next bait and so on.... good luck man!

[Chuck.Estes]

Thanks guys.... I guess what I trying to say is how do you pattern a lake that is chocked full of standing structure....... my fishing partner must loose $30.00 bucks a week losing jig after jig and crankbait after crankbait getting hug up in all the trees. I've often said that I don't want to win the lottery.... I just want the dollar amount of the lures that have been broken off in this lake. How can you fish a lake so heavily laden in trees? I know fish relate to structure but how can you get to them?

[kennethdaysale]

Chuck Welcome..There are some things I would need to know if I were you. You say this lake is managed for trophy fish, there is a lot more to that than just putting a 1 fish 20" limit in place and calling it managed. Talk to the local DNR agent in charge and ask him a bunch of questions. How long has that limit been in place and how often if ever do they reevalute its success, how often do they sample the fish populations and densitys, do they use electroshocking or just creel surveys to gather data, what is the predator/prey ratio as expressed in lbs per acre, are there big predators in the mix capable of eating big bass(stripers-blue catfish etc), whats the forage base-threadfin shad? gizzard shad? shiners? minnows? bluegill? perch? alewives?+ (<this is critical). etc etc Out of the 13 trips how many times have you been checked by DNR, if you say 2 or less thats not good, limits are only effective if enforced. Also 700+ acres is pretty big but it appears your lake gets a lot of tournament pressure, I'm sure those tourn. guys are C&R but still too much pressure for a BOW that size. South Carolina manages a lot of small lakes around here and one in particular is billed a TROPHY lake and 10 years ago it actually was. But in 04 a new fisheries guy took over, budget cuts, non-existant management and enforcement crept in yada yada yada...nowadays its just another so so pond.
Regarding the standing timber, too much of anything can be too much. A few trees can really draw and hold fish, thousands of them can lose their mojo. I would focus my attention on the edges and bottom contours. In other words turn you sonar on and just forget that the trees are there and look for bottom features that look interesting and that you feel would hold fish if you were just graphing wide open water, Now look up and see where the trees now play into the equation and fish those key spots. You will eliminate a lot of water that way. It's the same way guys faced with hundreds acres of vegetation eliminate water. I mean it all looks good but is it?
Finally try everything but once you find an area that you feel good about throw a weightless trick worm at the best trees and let them slowly descend and work their magic...many more lure choices to follow from other members, all good. One last little thing that you might try..find out who is consistantly winning the local tourn's there and ask to either talk to him or better yet offer to buy his lunch/gas to go spend a day out fishing and talking.

[bamabassman]

chuck.you have been given some great advise already. not gonna confuse oyu with more except to keep at it bud. rome wasn't built in a day and the fish ain't gonna jump in your livewell. so don't give up, relax.....it's fishing. most times when i catch my dinks, yes i am the dink master haha, it's usually when i ain't paying attention. jsut randomly casting.


and welcome ot the site chuck. there are some great folks here. oyu'll enjoy it i promise.

[keithdog]

Welcome to the site Chuck. Glad to have you aboard. Without knowing the lake I can't give you any special tips to fill your livewell. But I would make a couple suggestions. First, see if there is a topo map of your lake and if so, get one. Study the map and look for areas where shallow points drop off into deep water, or creek beds run close to shallow and deep water, bends in creek beds, shallow flats near deeper water, areas like that. Getting familiar with your lake is the first step. I would take a day at least and spend most of it just motoring around the lake watching your sonar and study the lake floor. Make notations on a map or in a log of areas that you find that are interresting, like an abrupt dropoff or a rock pile. Anything that is "different" from the surrounding water. Also, if your facing acres and acres of standing timber, eliminate a lot of it the way Ken mentioned. Isolate timber that is located near changes in the lakes contour. A huge flat of timber is slow and daunting to cover randomly. But if you can locate a creekbed in that flat, or a deeper pocket in that flat, you can key in on those areas. Also, areas where timber meets weedbeds are good to hit. When your looking at large expanses of the same cover, look for anything that is different in that cover, even if it seems insignificant. Lastly, try concentrating on isolated timber that stands alone out from the rest of the timber. They usually hold fish. Often, timber that is isolated from the main timber fields are there because of changes in the lakes bottom around them. Good luck.

[mrmuskie5]

This is my home lake. lots of standing timber... and im throwing 14" baits with giant trebles. trust me ive lost my share of pricey plugs but its all about risk for reward. If you aren't risking losing your lure you probably aren't anywhere near the fish. After getting in the "stuff" enough you will figure out way to get them out or over the structure without hanging up. One thing get a lure knocker it will pay for its real fast.

[dhaddix]

Chuck,

Finally, someone from my neck of the woods! I live in Lexington and have fished Cedar Creek quite a bit, so I am pretty familiar with the lake. Like yourself, the first few times I went I was "overstimulated", shall we say. I remember getting the boat off the trailer, running down the lake a little, and seeing an endless supply of standing timber. My first thought was "How in the world can I possibly fish all of this timber?" Needless to say, our first few outings weren't that spectacular. And I am not going to sit here and tell you that I fill the livewell every time I go, because that just isn't true. Like yourself, I hear stories of guys catching a ton of fish, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, nor heard stories like that from anglers I respect and trust.

I started having some success there when I pretended there was no standing timber, like someone else had mentioned above, and started looking for where I thought the fish should be based on the time of year and conditions. When you ignore the timber, you can recognize the points, bluff walls, old roadbeds, etc... and then concentrate on fishing the structure (in our case, timber) in those areas. This is when I started having some success there.

I am not sure if you come down through Stanford (which I would assume since you live in Nicholasville), or if you take the interstate to Mt. Vernon and go over, but Cedar Creek Lake Outfitters is located on 150 east of the lake a couple of minutes. You can find a map of the lake there, and although it is not a super detailed topo map, it does have old roadbed locations, submerged structure that was put there before they flooded the area, etc... This map should help you have a starting point for where to look.

As far as lure selection, I have had the most success with crankbaits, flukes, jigs, spinnerbaits, and of course topwater (seasonal permitting). Again, don't be overwhelmed by the abundance of timber. Remember that timber is cover, and although fish will relate to it, the starting pattern is structure related and things like depth, bluffs, points, etc.. should be looked at first.

Let me know what you think. To me it wasn't any different than the first time I went to Lake Herrington. Big open body of water, little visible cover, lots of bluff walls. I was lost, didn't see anything to fish (as I was raised on fishing visible cover in eastern KY). But, you start to figure out the puzzle over time and realize that you start with a broad picture of depth and structure, then narrow it down to find the cover on those locations.

[Chuck.Estes]

dhaddix, thanks for the info.... I can tell you that I'm almost glad I put my boat away for the winter last Sunday..... I was starting to think I needed to take up something less exasperating..... I am looking forward to the spring... maybe we can share some time on the lake and you can give me some pointers. I always seem to be 2 weeks behind on the seasonal patterns and hours it seems on the daily patterns.

[dave0943]

I can't speak for everyone but I bet I can for many. When I started out I was in such a hurry to catch fish. I'd try a technique or lure for a day and have no success and start a different one. I finally relaxed and took pressure off myself by saying to myself, I might not catch a fish today but so what. I'm going to relax and enjoy the water and practise a technique until I get it right. I went over my gear to be sure it all matched the lures I was using and I put focus on presentation, learning and enjoying the day of relaxation. Soon enough, I was catching fish, relaxing and enjoying being in nature.

[joedog]

A jig we've been talking about may interest you and definitely your buddy.
There's a couple others relating to this jig too.

http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ad.php?t=29958