Lake Full of Trees , what to look for ?

[CMorg]

I have a lake near here that is just full of tree's. I mean full. What do you look for in this situation ? There are nice fish caught there , but most fish are 12"ers. You know there has to be someplace other than trees the bigger fish gravitate twords. It is also full of grass , hydrilla and snot grass , and lined with lilly pads. Sounds great huh ? Its actually too much to take in. Last year I noticed huge red ear fish had beds in the thick grass mats , under them actually. The lake is 1600 acres and has a 10hp limit , therefore limiting me to a much smaller section of the lake. There is a tree lined creek in the cove , and fellen trees along the bank , and a few in the water. Again , grass chokes out the shallows and the pads line the bank. There is also 2 bever huts in there , but I have never cought a fish off one of them. The other huts in the lake usually hold at least one keeper.

[cassidyta]

CMorg,

When I am fishing a spot full of trees I look for the trees that are more isolated than the others. The might be further back than the rest, or they might be ones that are in the front of the group. I find that these trees tend to hold the better fish. I also look for any tree where the fork in the tree is below the water. Those spots have been known to hold some gret fish from me. The big one's treat it like a fort.

After I have fished those spots, I will look for any good ambush spots. These tend to be places where the bottom slopes up quickly to the tree base. I feel that the big girls will sit in these places waiting for a meal to swim by.

Another good idea is to hit anywhere where the tree has green in the water. This helps with the oxygen and also means bugs are making their way into the water. I believe that this will bring a lot of bait fish into that spot which will attract the bass.


When all else fails, I find myself pitching to every tree I can reach in the amount of time I have. In the morning, I always toss to the sunny side of the tree and later in the day I will pitch to the shady side.

[lilmule]

Not a bass behind every tree or on every tree,target intersections of road beds creek channels ,or possibly a different kind of tree or laying horizontal versus vertical,transition areas from one structure or cover to another ,and myself id still toss toward shore at those pads and thick grass ,with frog in hand.

[everettvet]

I have to agree with what has been said already. I would think that finding the creek channels would be a key to that lake.

Also, is there a good view of it on bing map or google earth? If there is, post a link. I love looking at that stuff.

[Lvitch]

What every one else said , plus Find the bait! We have a few lakes like that. The biggest fish come on the creek channel edge, on flats, and where ever the bait is. I have heard some people do well on those type of lakes just fishing them like the timber isn't there. Kind of the same mentality as fishing the Florida lakes with miles of vegetation.

[CMorg]

Allright guys , I went today and put the SideImaging to the test. i have some snapshots of interesting items. I will attempt to post them at a later time , my wife doesnt like me being gone all day , then on the computer all night ( rightfully so ) I found 2 bends the that creek channel , and a possible log jam in a creek channel , this one was really close to the docks , which means it gets boats over it daily.

http://maps.google.com/

Not sure if that link will work. If not type Dogwood lake , In , in the search bar. I can basically reach all the light area with my trolling motor only. The big cove in the North East side has the creek channel running all the way threw it.

[CMorg]

I hate putting pics on here. Sorry if it isnt right.

[bamabassman]

awesum cmorg!! shaky head? jig? worm?

[Frogman20]

Depending on the water temp top water frogs are great in area's like this.
http://bassfrogclones.com

[SaminVa]

Always look for something different,ex. a whole lotte submerged oaks... then a maple. try that.. as others have said pretend that the trees aren't there & disect small portions of the lake. I fish a lake that is much smaller,but is full of standing timber with numerous lay downs.... we also have lots of lilly & dollar pads. I find the deep water close to spawning areas..bays coves, flats. We fish that thouroughly.

Note:You may want to edit your picture or fix them in the future.. you have the gps coordinates on there..I hope its not a honey hole...

I luv my H-Bird 798cSI

[Bassboss]

Look for anything different. If not cover wise, than structure wise. Once the water warms up, it might be a good idea just to put the troll motor on high and zip through as much of the place as you can with a buzz bait or spinnerbait. Mark the places you caught fish. Go back the next day, and try fishing those same spots with a slower presentation like a jig, or what what every you have confidence in. Those fish were there for some reason.

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by SaminVa

Always look for something different,ex. a whole lotte submerged oaks... then a maple. try that.. as others have said pretend that the trees aren't there & disect small portions of the lake. I fish a lake that is much smaller,but is full of standing timber with numerous lay downs.... we also have lots of lilly & dollar pads. I find the deep water close to spawning areas..bays coves, flats. We fish that thouroughly.

Note:You may want to edit your picture or fix them in the future.. you have the gps coordinates on there..I hope its not a honey hole...

I luv my H-Bird 798cSI

Thank you for the insight. I am pretty sure this isnt a honey hole. However I dont know as I have never fished it. I just found it. But I will pay more attention to that in the future !!

[bamabassman]

AIN'T NO SECRETS HERE GUYS! com'on now...........LMBO!!!!!

[Raul]

Lake full of trees .... like this one ?

I study the terrain above water level looking for structural features I can identify by plain sight ( flats, dropoffs, creek/river channels, etc ) and how they relate to each other, then I identify the species of trees that grow on specific places. In my neck of the woods willow trees only grow where the soil is moist year round and in my neck of the woods that only happens along creek/river channels and springs, but since springs are very rare then it´s creek/river channels. If I can identify the tree as a willow then I know that the creek/river bed is at it´s feet no matter if it is in the middle of the lake, two or more willows in a distribution pattern ( like a row ) tell me the direction of the creek channel. It´s a matter of adding one thing to another to make a mental image of cover and it´s distribution tell me how is the structure underneath.

Once I have a mental image I begin by selecting the most promisorious spots, then the less promisorious and so on. Then I refine the spots by looking at my depthfinder in search for food supplies. Done that then I begin to fish by starting at the surface and increasing the depth with different baits or rigs until I reach the bottom.

[CMorg]

Just like that Raul , but all underwater right at the trolling motor height. I broke an older troller motor mount on a tree there last year. And , more trees that that , but scattered. I am telling you what it is crazy. I am noticing a very defined creek channel with trees on either side. I also notice a wider less deep and real smooth creek if you will.

[bamabassman]

sounds alot like calling panther in mississippi. mississippiboy took me there once. ask him what the locals caught theirs on in that lake.

[Raul]

I know what you mean, the pic is when the lake is missing 15 FOW, full pool you don´t see them trees, it´s just because I have an idea where the trees are at reason why I can navigate the lake without incidents ( but have witnessed incidents with those trees from people who don´t know the lake the way I do ).

Okie dokie, given the description you are giving me I would focus more on the weedbeds than on the trees unless they have no weeds around them and they are located on an important structural feature. In a lake with weeds and wood as cover weeds > wood, in my experience weeds will be primary cover and wood will be secondary cover, most of the lakes I´ve fished with weeds and wood I catch most of my fish out of the weeds than out of the wood. As I mentioned, for me is a matter of adding one thing to the other, the juiciests spots have several structure/cover items on them or they are very near by.

For example you mention a very defined creek with trees on either side, that is a promisorious spot, but does it have weeds ? if it does man, that sounds like a very juicy spot.

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

sounds alot like calling panther in mississippi. mississippiboy took me there once. ask him what the locals caught theirs on in that lake.

All or most of the big fish out of that lake were caught on big 6" shiners, from what I gather.

My thought with having that many trees, is to look for something different. A lot of times, when fishing a more typical body of water, a tree or laydown IS the "different" thing, so that's where we concentrate our efforts. But in this case, there are 6 million trees, many of them basically the same.
So, what I mean by something different could mean one big tree in a group of little trees, a bend in the creek channel, a drop to deep water right beside a flat...you get the idea.