help with deep/clear/ lake smallies

[Greg Duggan]

looking for help with upcoming tourny.

last tourny of the season is going to be held at a very deep, ultra clear lake in Nh. water temp was at 65f saturday.

fished some humps and lots of rocks shoals. also went shallow to see if the bigger fish were cruising. found only two fish up shalow. i only managed 1 fish in 7 hours. the other two guys with me got nothing.

so what would you guys do that fish big deep lakes.what would you be looking for this time of the year.

for you guys up north, i will be fishing Newfound lake in bristol NH.



i fished senkos, rigged both wacky and texas.

crank baits in craw fish patterns.

drop shot rigs with grn/pumpkin and watermellon.

spinner baits.

spider jigs.

lipless cranks

zara spooks

any help would be great.



Thanks for any help.



GregD

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

The only thing I could add to your list would be a suspending jerk bait or floating Rapala.

 

[Bill McElroy]

Use Tubes and twin tailed skirted grubs...drag the tubes and grubs over the deep humps and shoals...find rocks and you'll find smallies!! Drop shot is also an excellent choice. You may have been fishing too fast.....those are all good baits you mentioned,...so maybe the problem was in the presentation.....too fast maybe?!



Topwater's, jerkbaits and tubes/grubs should be excellent this time of year!!

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

Mac, At what water temp would the smallies move back up shallow? Curretly 72 degrees surface temp. In Oct I have a T on same lake conditions as Greg, would that list still do well? I would assume the water temps in 50's by then.



CJL

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Rocks are where it's at at this time of year and this will probably be the deepest they will be until winter. Humps,stumps and any bumps

One other tip that I could add to Mac's list would be a 4 or 6" worm or fat grub worked on a 1/4 to 3/8 oz. jig worked very slow. Color may depend what they are feeding on.

Look for drops that most are overlooking...I like outta' the ordinary. Of course a disadvantange would be a local yocal that does know them:unsure:

I do something that even Ike himself uses....look at the first fish you get thoroughly. Sometimes when they are feeding in rocks on craws...their bellies will be crunchy and may even see what looks like mud coming from unowhere and may even be a little banged up

If they are suspended and feeding on shad...they won't have a mark on em' and the bellies will feel lumpy and mushy. sometimes they'll spit up shad when they come from deeper water too.

 

[Bill McElroy]

Not sure when they'll move shallow,...but during the State Championship 2 weeks ago the river's/channels were 72 deg and they were catchin SUPER TOADS in 50ft!!!:blink::wacko:

with tubes and drop shots!! Fish deep until you start getting them shallow. If you don't get'em shallow first thing in the a.m. then I'd hit the first deep edge,..and then the humps and rock piles. Start shallow,....then work your way deeper.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

It's very common for some of the toads I'm about to do battle with here in a few weeks to be in 40 to 50 foot. You know if you hook one that deep, it's gonna' be good

 

[Greg Duggan]

Thanks for the replys.

this lake has a tough reputation. i was marking fish 50/60 feet. i assumed they were trout and or salmon.

i did not try any tubes. mac. would you fish the tubes in deep water? what size would you use. i have some 4/5" tubes i use with a florida rig when trying to punch through the weeds.

Tee, from your post in the past. you have shown some nice toads. what are you using when fishing super deep? i do have a silver buddy. i was going to rig it for this sunday and try some vertical jigging.

maybe i was fishing to fast. i fish drop shots all season. i have a lot of confiddence in it. Mac what would you rig on your drop. i was using baby brush hogs in green pumpkin, yamotto drop shot flat worms. i have used zoom crawdads in the past but not last weekend.



thanks again guys

GregD

 

[Bill McElroy]

Greg,...We use tubes a LOT in deep water. I use as light of weight as possible that will make contact with the bottom. I'd use 3/8 or up to 1/2 if you can get them. Texas rigged is good but I like exposed hook set ups better. If you go with a football head jig,...use a 5" twin tailed grub (I like BPS brand) in brown or mellonpepper...and rig them on a 1/2 oz FHJ..



I like mono, but a lot of folks use braid.....it's personal preference. Use a longer rod too...7ftr if you have it...you can take in a lot of line with a hookset in deep water using a 7 ft spng rod!

Just remember to keep contact with the bottom and fish slow......you'll feel the tick-tick of the bait on the rocks...and when a fish hits,..it'll usually be a good THUMP!!..they hit a grub to KILL it!!...It looks like a crawfish to a smallie and thats like LOBSTER to us!! Don't turn your back on your buddies when there's Lobster on the table!!:blink::lol:



Good luck,....like Tee said,...a deep fish is usually a GOOD one!!

Mac

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Silver Buddy's rock but, to be honest...unless you have a lot your willin' to lose.. they'll get hung up alot in the rocks. Heddon Sonars that have the rattles built in with a double hook vs. a treble may be a better choice. You could also vertical jig with a Snakiespoon or similar with a little more control but, that takes fairly calmer waters.

If you have wind and it starts getting tough on control...you can use a drift sock to slow you down and footballs or rounds jigs up to 3/4 to 1 oz. is not unusual for me.

Another trick for suspended fish that have lockjaw is to Texas Rig a 4 or 5 in. worm,grub or tube with splitshots added up the line until you reach your depth on slowdrifts. The baits are numerous...finding fish will be your first priority.

Good Luck and I hope any of these tips work for you....Remember Confidence is your best lure

 

[Greg Duggan]

Thanks guys,

i will take this post with me to the lake on sunday.

i will let you all know if i do well.



GregD