Pool 8 report/questions for JC

Got out for the first time Sat. morning and had 7 or 8 lm, all 10-13″. Backwater areas seemed pretty vacant, as we had most of those fish in a little rip rap area under a bridge. They all hit cranks/traps and seemed pretty active. I tried to fish a few points and drop offs but had no results.

Couple questions (here you go, JC! )…Would bass spawn on rip rap banks? Also, would prespawn and spawning fish be in the same areas (rip rap) in the river. I don’t know, it was a frustrating trip because we obviously did not find any big fish and once again ended up beating the banks, though I did try to work a bit deeper off the rip rap…one of the fish hit the crank 3/4 ft. out from the rip rap. Do fish just hold on drop offs in any old place or what? I threw a jig at some bridge pilings and worked it down a drop off or two with no results. Does just a bare bottom drop hold fish? I’m not seeing where seasonal transition places are in the river. You’d have points at the mouths of coves in lakes, the edges of flats there (though I don’t know if this actually holds fish), and wood. I go to the river and the laydowns had no fish

The areas you are looking for are different for the SM and LM. The LM are staging right now in a lot of the backwater sloughs gettting ready to spawn. They are sitting on logs and on current breaks going from deep to shallow depending on the weather and feeding mode. I had just found nice LMs in 2 feet of water on top of a flat next to deep water on Sat. These same fish were holding in 6-12 feet of water a few days before. Smallies are also getting ready to spawn too. My buddy actually caught one on Sat that had its tail beat up good (I assume from the spawn).

As far as your results, you may just be looking in the wrong spots right now. Good luck and remember what you try so you can change until you find success. I keep a journal to keep track of conditions and places, as well as how I catch my fish. You may want to try the same.

Bassman

I also keep a journal, jotting down results, locations, lures, my guesstimate of water conditions, and rationale for choosing the location.

“they are sitting on logs and on current breaks going from deep to shallow depending on the weather and feeding mode.”

How important is current right now? I ask this because I rolled a spinnerbait down some very very bassy looking logs in a backwater spot with no results. In fact, I’ll tell you where…it was in the channel right underneath the Cass St. bridge just North of the Pettibone boat club. The logs went from the shore out to 5/6 ft., but there was no current. It seems like a decent prespawn spot…out in the channel, shallows nearby (Perhaps Pettibone Park bay) for spawning. But I got nothing. Pettibone Park, btw, was equally dead as we threw some cranks at the deeper rock shorelines. Anyway, what makes your spot a staging/prespawn spot vs. a summer spot? Current breaks are good in summer as well, correct? Do RIVER fish often overlap seasonal locations? I am not asking these questions to critique your choice or get your spots (I have no idea what pool you were even in) but to get an understanding of fish movements…I’m just struggling with that aspect.

“These same fish were holding in 6-12 feet of water a few days before.”

I’ll be heading back out this weekend or perhaps this week, so if I want to be fishing out away from the banks (something I really really want to practice and learn about) what should I be looking for? Was your 6-12 ft. in conjunction with the logs? A guy told me the other day that “sandy drops” had fish now, but I am really unsure of which ones to look for (heck, the black River’s bottom makes our flasher jump up and down the whole way) and how to fish them effectively.

Well, enough of my rumblings for now…thanks for any insights. I’ll let you know how it goes this coming weekend.

Greg, I also fish pool 8. The spot that you are refering to I know gets pressured this time of year. That may be one factor that is affecting the fish and putting them in a negative mood. A jig or some sort of soft plastic may have had better results for you. I always will switch between a vertical and a horizontal presentation when I am trying to locate fish. I also love spinnerbaits, but I have learned more and more that though they are easy to fish, they don’t always catch.

Also, some of the spots that I am fishing now, will have fish by them throughout the year. They tend to repositon themselves differently around the structure that I am working. Chances are, you are near the fish you are trying to catch, but are presenting the bait wrong or in the wrong part of that structure.

Lastly, you have to remember that all structure is not created equal. I have found numbers of great looking areas on the river, yet to never catch a fish off of them. There are numbers of comtributing factors that need to be considered aside from the visable. I know I have read others talk about this as well.

Bassman

First I will say that this time of year the fish are doing one of a couple things. They are in the bays getting ready to spawn, out on the riprap feeding and migrating towards spawning bays , or staging somewhere in between. I was on lacrosse on Saturday and found smallies both staging and up trying to spawn. The water temp is on the cusp meaning that any moment you will find them bigger than [censored] on the beds.

Areas right now are hard to come by because there aren’t any specifics that I can reference. I would guess the best places to look are secondary riprap and such. These are places they like to hang out and since many are traveling or staging any place that they like in close proximity to spawning areas has a good potential of holding an entire school. This time of year I would normally say that a tube is the ticket but in recent findings say that a spinnerbait can be effective as well. With the cold evening on Saturday we found the fish to be less interested in plastics and the spinnerbait was the ticket.

If you can find areas that you are confident fish will use to spawn fish these and follow them out until you meet up with the fish that are using this area. Deeper drop offs and riprap adjacent to spawning areas should be very good right now.
To draw you a clear mental image. Look for a shallow hard bottom bay. From there look for the first available deeper water area you can find. If this area has riprap you can bet smallies are on it. Have confidence they are there and try different offerings until you connect. The current is secondary to location since these fish are very adaptable. This is makes patterning them based on defining structure especially difficult. Just like Bassman said. Not all structure is the same. It could be the Fish Ramada Inn and if its not in close proximity you are wasting your time…. Which leads to my next issue. What makes a shallow bay a good spawning bay. This might even be a harder question to answer. All fish like a hard bottom but not all fish search them out. Many fish go back the origin of there makings and spawn in the best place they can find. This often is a muck filled bay while another perfectly formed gravel area is void of fish. Case in point is Bussy Lake. This area used to have sand in the back end. Now it is nothing but a foot of silt. This area is still used by many fish and some quite big ones. I wish I could draw you a perfect picture but fish are fish. Take the information you know and apply it to what you find. From there, take you best guess as to where you think these fish would position and fish the path from spawn out to the channel. Somewhere in the in-between you will find what you are looking for. As for finding the biggest in the ecosystem you will have to play this series of events many times over but the reward can be substantial.
Jc

Bassman, thanks very much for the comment regarding fish repositioning in a same area. I was under the impression that perhaps I should be in vastly different spots.

JC, thanks for the strategy…very interesting. Are bays the only places to spawn? What about a current reduced section of the river? The other spot I was going to look for were these flats off the points of islands…are those spawning places?

I was near where you were fishing on Sun in the rain. We were fishing the black river pitching plastics around the shore looking for bass. Well, we ended up with one northern 32 inches, several small bass, and to my surprise several walleye, one being 26 inches. I fished Black Deer on the lake on Sat and the lm&sm were hitting great. Caught around 30, many small ones, but some bigger ones kept it interesting. Using plastics and spinner baits. White was the only color I used both days that caught fish. I think it is just a confidence thing.

Just a thought! Piers in running slew. The docks behind Trussoni’s condos, north to the rip rap behind Dairyland’s Administration Building. Check it out, let me know! Pete.

I’ve been to those places before…am planning on heading down to the Bluff slough area as well. Anyone fish those gravel pits back there?

AmWatson, what is this Black Deer place I keep hearing about? In fact, it was mentioned in the Tribune outdoors report. I know it’s up on Lake Onalaska, but I’m not sure if it’s the name of a slough or a place (like Red Sails). Any info on that would be appreciated.

The Black Deer Camp was the little island that runs the length of the upper lake on the WI side. There is a launch that can be found off of ZB. As far as the SM there, I have been fishing it for three years now and have never caught a SM in there. They could be there, but most of your fish will be LM. One factor to consider if you are going in there to fish it is that you will have to go around a LOT of panfisherman. This is a well known spot for people to go for gills.

Bassman

Don’t be surprised if you see a parade of bassboats in there either. It’s one of the spots on the lake that gets hit the hardest.

I do agree with the panfisherman to a degree. While I was there they were to the North. I fished mostly to the South of the ramp. There was also a tournament on Sat. and I only seen 3 boats that were in the tournament in there. They all launched there and took off for parts unknown. It is still a good place to fish. The stump fields were the only place I could not get bit. it sure looked good. Any thoughts from people who know the area? Are they in there?