what would you do in this scenario?

[sirslurpee]

I fished this lake the other day.. in a state park.. it's no wake and not many people fish it. I'd like to keep the name anonymous on here because this is more of a "what do you do if you see this?" type of thing..
Anyway.. I found a spot where I was catching some bluegills and crappies but I didn't have any live bait so it was difficult and I got bored of that.. I started looking for pike/walleye/bass.. you know, the apex predators. eh
The lake is mostly 3-7ft deep, LOTS of weeds in those areas. I pretty much consider them unfishable because there's so many weeds they bog my motor down and I have to pull them off every once in a while. There are some spots in the lake that are deep (20-30 ft in three basins and the big basin is like 70ft deep or something.)
There's a lot of stumps and old trees on the drop offs to these basins. Basically there were a few small ponds, and they flooded the area. So all the trees that were on the edge of those old ponds are still underwater, @ somewhere like 10-20ft.
I didn't really try to fish any of those spots, although I figure I should because those stumps will hold bass/pike.. am I correct to assume that?
But what really caught my attention, is when I was moving over 30-50fow, I would catch a good mark on the graph at about 15-20 feet down every once in a while. Just open water, no structure or anything.. Maybe a thermo line but I dunno if the lake has enough deep water for that? I figure it's a good sized pike or walleye. But I don't know how to get anything down to them that deep... I would try bottom bouncers and x-raps or something, but there's not much area I can troll over before it gets really shallow and I'd end up snagged real bad.
I was thinking maybe I could get a few countdown raps and drift over the area (wind permitting) and cast them and count them to around the depth I'm marking at. Or I could maybe use a slip bobber/minnow and get it down?
What do you guys think? Am I wasting my time trying to target these fish I'm marking in the deep water? Or if it's worth it, what can I do to try to target these fish I'm marking?

[catalysthackle]

I would use a drop shot with a 3" senko or gulp minnow. You could also use this rig with live bait if you got really desparate.

[sirslurpee]

Don't you normally fish drop shot right on the bottom though? and how can I tell how deep I am with the DS? Just kind of, eye how far down the line goes?

[DaveW731]

1) for your suspended fish, assuming lack of room for trolling, to keep something 15-20 feet down, I would consider verticle jigging, slip bobbers or using a heavy blade-type bait (e.g., Cicadia, Little Buddy, Mann's Tail Spinner) that sinks fast and can be yo-yo retrieved to maintain depth. Drop shotting can also work, but I would be more inclined to go with a T-rigged or wacky rigged worm or Senko and let the bait drift down to the desired level, then swim it SLOWLY back to the boat.
2)".......I figure I should because those stumps will hold bass/pike.. am I correct to assume that?" YOU BETCHA!!!! Predators love drop offs, any type of bottom transition and cover that can serve as an ambush point. What you have just described seems like an almost PERFECT environment. I would fish those areas extensively. About the only possible qualifier is, since this is an impoundment, the oxygen content may be a bit low away from the main channel: Look for green, healthy weeds; as long as there is healthy looking weedgrowth, you should be fine. Usual bass/pike/wallye rigs and here is where I would consider dropshotting as one part of the arsenal.

[wally-eye]

Jigging spoon. Take a magic marker with you and when you find them at a certain depth again pull some line out to that depth and mark it with marker then go back over the area and lower line to the magic marker mark and start jigging......should work.............all kinds of jigging spoons to consider, from big to small........try a few different buckshot spoons........maybe even tip with a perch minnow or two.

[waterfoul]

I would drop shot the drop offs. Then, I'd drop shot the drop offs.


Sense a trend???

[sirslurpee]

well.. i got 1 largemouth on a skitter pop today. only about 16 inches. I was out there for 3 hrs or so..
I guess I've got some things to try next time I go out (soon)
Also, I'm not real good with drop shotting yet. But I like the idea of jigging spoons. I've got a few from ice fishing that would work. I use smoke fireline and green power pro though.. so I might not be able to mark the line.
I guess if I can't figure anything out, I'll break out the banjo minnow. haha

[wolverines]

If your looking for the bass, I'd flip and/or through a frog/rat bait in all those weeds you say are unfishable:evil:

[sfw1960]

I would drop shot the drop offs. Then, I'd drop shot the drop offs.


Sense a trend???

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z289/sfw1960/bassicon.jpg

*cough*..... hoTT daWg HunTeR!!! *cough*

:lol:


Mike does well with his D/S rigs and YES the CD Raps might do well over the open water.
If those are walleye out/suspended high - you might hit it well after dark with X-Raps or Bomber suspending type baits & work the edges , because when they are on the prowl - they'll come up to whack something.....


RAS

[sirslurpee]

it sucks cuz the park closes at 10 and doesn't open again till 8am.. night time hours are pretty much a no go except the evening, when i've been going.

[waterfoul]

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z289/sfw1960/bassicon.jpg

*cough*..... hoTT daWg HunTeR!!! *cough*

:lol:


RAS

Yeah, what are you trying to say?

Try texas rigging a big ole twisty tail worm.... I've been catching fish on this lately too (shhh..... don't tell thedude!!)