Deep water bassin?

[RKP514]

I was just looking for some pointers on how to target bass in say 20-40 ft. of water this time of year. The lake I am going to be fishing this afternoon/evening, is very deep as it was an old gravel pit. What would be the best lures and presentations? How to rig them up and how to fish them would be very helpful as well. I will be checking this thread throughout the day and hopefully by the time I head out I will have an idea on how to boat some quality fish. I was also wondering if it would be a good idea to take my vexilar out? Can you just hand the transducer over the side of the boat? I was thinking that if you would use the bottom lock feature on the Vex that it would work. Has anyone tried this? I thank you all for your input on this topic.

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

[thedude]

fishing on bottom, go w/ a hula-grub on a stand up jig or medium sized jig/pig.
if you're fishing breaks or structure a carolina rigged worm, senko or lizard is a good choice.

probably won't find many bass on bottom in 40 FOW, 20 FOW sure. fish will likely be in the top 20' of the water column in which case a crankbait that dives to the appropriate depth of the fish is a good choice. hope you have some kind of graph.

[GoneFishin]

Rarely fish bass over 15 ft deep but when I have here are some of the methods I've used.

Bottom bouncers and live bait. Use enough weight to keep in contact with the bottom for the speed you are going to be trolling or drifting, usually use an air injected crawler or float rig such as a "Roach Rig".

Draggin' lead (popular on L. Erie and St. Clair). Can use tube jigs, twister tails, or hula grubs, use enough weight and let enough line out to tick bottom if drifting, or cast and let sink to bottom before retrieving keeping in contact with bottom (tickin' bottom).

Vertical jigging. Drop jig, spoon, or bladebait over side of boat make contact with bottom and jig off or just above bottom. If ya find 'em suspended count down to desired depth.

Carolina riggin' with plastics such as worms, craws, salamanders, or any of the "creature baits".

If fishin' waters with northern pike be prepared for bite-offs as in may of the clear water lakes I find decent sized northerns hangin' at 20' - 30'.

Hope this helps.

[The Fishing Pollock]

Drop shotting. Gonna be yourbest bet to keep that bail in the strike zone. then I would follow with crank baits, and for a last ditch effort try soft plastics pinned to the bottom with some serious weight

[RyGuy525]

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/index

Article tells all about fishing deep!

[ezyeric]

Yeah i would try jig type lures like grubs or tubs, and then drop shotting