Mid Lake - Jan 2, 2025 - Deep bite

[Dock-in-it]

The deep bite was really good in December and January is starting on a good note. The weather is about to go into an extreme cold spell so I got this morning while the weather permits.

I had several nice LM (about 10) but it was mainly a Kentucky bite. Fast vertical presentations have been key for triggering bites. Too many fish will ignore the bait if they get a good look at it. Some days a swimbait will work for fish postured high in the water column (1-15 ft below surface). The shad are less than 2" so a small bite has worked best.

A 1/2 and 7/8 oz spoon, 5/8 and 7/8 oz ice jig, and Damiki style baits. 

I have been keeping the boat in 35 to 70 FOW. The fish closer to the bottom are easier to catch and the majority of bites come from closely grouped up fish. The deep water fish are moving at a steady pace. 

You do not need a ton of shad to hold fish in an area. Most mornings the shad are in numerous small pods. Trees are a plus but most fish will be caught in the general area because they are normally moving vs setting up in trees. 

 

[Dock-in-it]

[cheesemaster]

Nice work!! I appreciate the report.

[Quillback]

Good to see you back Dock!  Nice fish!

[dblades]

Great report

[gabe]

Great report. Thanks 

[Champ188]

Nice work, sir. Just curious, still using 2D sonar or are you live scoping these days? Regardless, you're one of the best deep fishermen I've come across. 

[Dock-in-it]

Hey Champ, these days I use FFS but as you know, 2D for deep winter fishing can be very effective. 

On a real good morning I luck into an area about the size of a football field that is holding hundred(s) of fish, but most mornings I am fishing around much fewer opportunities. About 99% will ignore my bait so FFS allows you to find and manage opportunities much more efficiently than 2D. 

With 2D, you normally have to be on top of deep fish and they are constantly moving. So you have to start dropping your bait as soon as you see ONE fish and hope others will appear while your bait is still dropping. Where as FFS allows you to see the direction a group of fish are moving and that allows to have your bait in the right place at the right time. 

A few days after this Jan 2nd report I found a real good deep water swimbait bite where 2D was all you really needed because the fish provided surface activity clues and your depth finder showed their average depth (1-15ft) below the surface. That morning the fish postured deep were super tough to catch but the fish postured in 1-15ft were relatively easy to catch because they were aggressively feeding and breaking the surface to show their location away from the boat.

I liked using 2D for deep fishing and when I first started learning FFS I would switch back and forth because 2D was more pleasant for an older set of eyes. I finally got better with FFS and stopped using 2D, but if you took FFS away I  would absolutely enjoy my trips with 2D.

 

[Dewayne French]

Class act for sure and a great report as always.  I can't get fish to bite ice jig I always resort back to a plastic shad type bait, but I guess it just confidence. 

[Maverickpro201]

I used to go to Fayette County Lake on the first of January every year in Texas, No matter what the weather was. I vertical spooned by the dam, in 40 to 45 ft of water. 2 to 4 ft off the bottom and caught the heck out of some really nice bass. Best was one over 9lbs. 4's 5's and 6's were the normal for me then. It was always my way to bring in the New Year.