Bass Report, 8/3

[Lifes2Short]

Maybe it should have read "Lack of Bass Report". :-) Put in at Roark at 5:30, fished till 3:30. Had my first one on a spinnerbait before it got light and thought here we go!! Then nada for the next hour. Ran up river into the trees and the bass were going nuts chasing shad, caught 8 or 10 on a kastmaster but nothing over 13". Spent the next 3 hours trying all my " good" spots without so much as a thump. Ran back into Powerline Cove and caught my only 2 keepers on a finess worm on a shakey head. Spent another 3 hours dragging a c-rig on main lake points without any luck. 82 degree water, mostly sunny, 10 mph northerly wind. Guess I'll try some main lake stuff later this week. I'm open for suggestions???? Tight Lines!

[Dutch]

I suggest you go to Pommy,

[dennis boatman]

It's August...

[Bluff-Bassin]

Apparently Pete caught them good the other day fishing 12-15' on a big worm ledge fishing. He mentions it about 3 quarters of the way through the report FYI.

[Walcrabass]

_{btlifes3 short,}

_{Yes it is August. Yes it is hot. The fish still have to eat. Find deep water. I said DEEP WATER. 50 to 80 feet. Find 20 to 25 foot water nearby or fish for suspended fish in the deep stuff. If you fish in the 25 foot stuff use Big Worms, Jigs with big trailers, or maybe even drop shot. Gotta get down there with them you know. Early and late or cloudy days are best. Fish in areas where there is something for them to hide under or beside. Big Rock, logs, etc. Put it right in their living room. Main lake is much more stable and easier for the fish to slide up or down the water column to be comfortable. If you can come up with a safe ( I said safe..... don't get drowned ) way to put logs in the lake in prime areas you will create some great fishing for yourself. Probably others too, but it is worth it. Concrete blocks tied to 4 to 6" hedge logs with wire are great. Put them perpendicular to the bank in 25 foot. Bass love them. A 4 to 6 foot log is plenty. If you have a favorite spot sprinkle a few on it. I usually put at least two of this type of structure together just a few feet apart.}

_Walcrabass

[wtr dogs]

Fished 4 days last week and I could not even catch a fish on my graph. Walacrass is correct in saying go deep.

Normally in August you can find the thermocline somewhere around 27 feet . Down by the dam maybe there was one at 60 feet and the fish were spread from top to bottom.

When you drag minnows and nightcrawlers and don't get bit it's slow.

[blacknoseddace]

How about a drop shot or spoon jigged around suspended fish in deep water on Stockton, are there any comments about that? Bass fishing in August is tough. I've been dragging jigs and 10-12" worms with little or no results on the last 2 trips. I fished points mainly from 15 to 25 feet. Do I need to be sitting over deeper water on top of schools of shad?

[Walcrabass]

Blacknosedace,

If you are fishing that 20 foot water next to 50 to 80 foot water you should be in the right spot. Most of this deep water is the old river/creek channels and believe it or not it may still be carrying a little current even this time of year unless the dam is closed tight......which really can't happen. Current is like an open window bringing air ( in this case oxygen in the water) to the fish. The fish can easily slide from one depth to another as comfort requires.

Stay with those deep and slow baits. I personally believe in huge worms ( 15" is not too big ), scents, and nice big skirted Jigs with trailers this time of year. I really hate to say it but I have caught fish consistently all summer.....not huge numbers..... maybe 10 to 15 fish per trip. The quality of them has been good. The Jigs help you to catch larger fish and keep the little ones away. Keep in mind that I fish very early ( before daylight), very late ( after the sun is not on the water ), and just plain in the middle of the night. As the night goes on and some fish move onto shelves and shallower water a good throbbing Spinner Bait can be a great asset. Use a plastic trailer and a trailer hook too.

The Main Lake is the ticket for larger fish right now unless you have a secret spot with cover that has held them in smaller parts of the lake.

As far as the spoon and drop shot goes...... the drop shot is fine. Might have to have a long tag line to interest them. If you use a spoon it needs to be light so it will flutter slowly as they are not exactly jumping through hoops right now.

Hope this helps... if you would like to hear some more send me a Personal Message.

Good Luck and Hang in there,

Walcrabass

[powerdive]

We trolled cranks for walleyes, scratching bottom at 20-25 feet on the edges of the Point 7 flats and at the buoy across from Ruark Bluff on Wednesday (weather was cloudy and cool). Caught a number of walleyes (no keepers, whazzup with that?) but also several 15 to 17, maybe 18 inch bass. They're "nuisance fish" to us, so please go out there and clear 'em out, eh?

It was weird. We tried crawler harnesses, but only bluegills would bite 'em. Seemed there was an intermittent thermocline at 40 feet...couldn't get the deep fish to go. This is a very odd year.

Also, there were some 1" shad around, up high, and fish were breaking the surface in ones and twos. No big blowups, but steady activity. For what it's worth.

[blacknoseddace]

Thanks Golden Shiner, that was very informative. Sounds like you know your stuff.