03-11-12, 11:05 PM | #1 |
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Location: Harrison, AR
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Prespawn Reservoir Fishing
I fish a fairly deep, fairly clear reservoir. Average depth is about 75 feet and water temps are around 55 degrees as of present. Aquatic vegetation is nonexistent. I'm fairly new to lake fishing on my own since I just purchased my first boat and was wondering what the best approach would be for a successful day out on the water. I understand that in prespawn bass are looking to stage for the spawn on points, breaks, and whatever structure lies between their wintering hole and their spawning grounds, but there's lots of holes in my train of thought on just how exactly they do it. Do they travel a long distance from wintering holes to spawning grounds? Should I be focusing deep or shallow? How do they relate to channels if the main lake channel break ranges from 80-100 feet deep and the creek channel breaks range from 60-80 feet deep? Should I still focus on places where there is bends in the channel or points that drop into the channel if the breaks are that deep?
My plan is to start fishing the points on the creek mouths and work my way back fishing likely (to my knowledge anyways) prespawn staging areas until I find fish. Is there a more logical method? Will the fish be schooled up or scattered out for the most part? |
03-11-12, 11:41 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: rock hill, sc
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Hey Slounch...Welcome to the site. Might help to put your city/state or region in your bio. We've got members here from all around the country and likely some of your neighbors. While a bass is a bass wherever you find them, there can be regional patterns.
If there is shallow water suitable for spawning along the shore or in coves of the Northwest corner of your res. I'd start there. At 55 deg. pre-spawn type activity should be well underway. Do you have a topo map? Look for sharp breaks close to the likely NW spawning flats. Fish will use both channels you mentioned and will travel as far as they have to..and no further. If there is an abundance of good shallow spawning habitat they could be quite scattered, if bedding areas are at a premium they can be stacked like cordwood waiting on the right time to move in. This time of year on a lake I've never fished I'd start shallow first and then work out deeper. Chances are you'll find mostly bucks in the shallows and the bigger females still staging deep...but you never know!!
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03-12-12, 12:22 AM | #3 |
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Thanks for the welcome and the info. This may seem like an awfully specific question but just how deep might I expect those females to be if the bucks have moved up and the females are sitting back? I have a topo map and breaks are few unless they are very deep. Pretty gradual just about everywhere but there are a few good breaks, but they are just really spread out. To help me understand prespawn better I need to understand how bass relate to structure during the winter. During the winter, do they stay deep relating to creek channels and the main lake channel and move shallow to feed? Do they relate to the main lake more or the creeks more during the winter?
Sorry for being such a noob but any help is much appreciated. |
03-12-12, 06:54 AM | #4 |
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Actually differences like you stated creek channels,turns in main and those creek channels are the basics for ledge fishing,species like spots would be suspended like needing a drop shot etc.But for 55F its typical prespawn,long points ,lead in lead out banks not 60 ft deep more like 10 that first drop,bay mouths starting to heat up on said points.
Clear water -jerkbaits run fast.As for how far they migrate in winter generally to nearest deep water no more generally downstream. |
03-12-12, 07:02 AM | #5 | |
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Quote:
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Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit. Last edited by kennethdaysale; 03-12-12 at 07:14 AM. |
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03-12-12, 12:42 PM | #6 |
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Thanks a lot for the info. I've learned a tremendous amount from just the previous couple of posts. Thanks again. I'll definitely take pictures and hopefully I can find my usb cable for my camera lol. Thanks again.
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03-13-12, 03:15 AM | #7 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Rockford, Ill
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What lake you fishing? The first places I look for the females are on secondary points near the spawning flats. As far as Depth is concerned, that will probably vary through out the staging period. Use a white spinner bait to judge how far down you can see then add a foot extra for every three to four feet down you can see it. Choose a bait you can fish at that level. So if your sitting in 15 foot of water and can see the spinnerbait down to 6 feet, then throw a crank that dives down to 8 feet ( I would actually be throwing a suspended jerkbait first in that scenario), just as an example (and just as a starting point). I think the depth depends more on what cover is available because I believe they are starting to feel more vulnerable when they stage the closer to spawning they get and they tend to hold tighter to what ever cover is available. You said the water is clear but that term seems to be rather subjective. Some guys I know call 3 ft. vis. clear. and others don't think water is clear unless they can see at least 8 ft. down. The beds well be made based on how far down the light penetrates. So if visibility is ten feet, the majority of beds will be in the 8ft to 12 ft. zone, and females tend to stage at that same depth if not a little deeper. Although you will see beds in the 6ft or even possibly the 4ft. zone, the bulk of them will be deeper. None of this is written in stone, things can vary greatly from one body of water (or year) to another but these are more like guidelines on where to start your search.
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