I need a lesson. 2024
Savage33 reply :
Ok guys. I’m fairly new to looking at contour maps. On the attached picture, what areas would you target for largemouth bass and why? Let’s say post spawn time of year. I think I see maybe a couple spots that could produce but I’m not sure.
Sam reply :
Bass have "highways" they use to get to and from their spawning areas.
Right off the bat I see a creek channel and a road bed. These are good highways for the bass to get to their spawning grounds.
The bass will go from one structure to another on their way to shallow water as the water warms.
Look for highways and structure and you will find their favorite routes.
Catt reply :
"Let's says post spawn time of the year"
Nothing!
Why? Because I see nothing that says spawn to me.
Post spawn bass move back out using the same structure/breaks/breaklines they came in on.
TnRiver46 reply :
That looks like a tricky place to fish, I always like to try the deepest places. “Post spawn” is a pretty broad time, if you mean immediately after spawn I might try right here around this choke point
BassWhole! reply :
I would need to see a zoomed in and out version of the whole body of water, but based on just that snap shot, I'd probably start somewhere else.
scaleface reply :
Theres a saddle leading out to that hump . See it . Thats the spot . Looks like a nice structure lake .
scaleface reply :
On 2/15/2018 at 8:41 PM, TnRiver46 said:try right here around this choke point
I'd be allover that .
Savage33 reply :
On 2/15/2018 at 8:50 PM, reason said:I would need to see a zoomed in and out version of the whole body of water, but based on just that snap shot, I'd probably start somewhere else.
Same spot is in top left now. It’s on Kentucky lake.
And yes. Immediately after spawn.
TOXIC reply :
First drop adjacent to a spawning flat.
TheNickFlair reply :
I can’t really help too much on the map but I would like to know where you got it from because that’s a distinct map. I also would like some help on my post if any of you guys have any extra time. Thanks!
Hawkeye21 reply :
On 2/15/2018 at 11:25 PM, TheNickFlair said:I can’t really help too much on the map but I would like to know where you got it from because that’s a distinct map. I also would like some help on my post if any of you guys have any extra time. Thanks!
Looks like it's from the Navionics app. It's very useful.
@Savage33 Are you fishing in the KBF Championship?
WRB reply :
On 2/15/2018 at 8:17 PM, Catt said:"Let's says post spawn time of the year"
Nothing!
Why? Because I see nothing that says spawn to me.
Post spawn bass move back out using the same structure/breaks/breaklines they came in on.
^^^this^^^
I just read this thread and was about to reply the same "nothing looks like a spawning area".
How about a larger area to look at.
Tom
Team9nine reply :
Lots of spawning areas around there that you just can't see due to map scale. That whole area is the back side of the river channel - all backwaters off the river with a lot of nice cuts and holes.
Lots of nice water to check there. A lot would depend on whether there is any weed growth in the area when there. If so, top waters along the edges should be good, or jigs or plastics flipped to the same areas if sunny. If you can find some good hard bottom on any of those points and bars, a Carolina Rig or crankbait might be good. The same baits along the roads where they lead in and out of the channel cuts would also get my attention. If you are late post-spawn, moving a bit east, closer to the main river channel nearer current might be a good move.
bigbassin' reply :
@WRB @Catt What makes you say nothing in that area looks like a spawning area? I'm not a pro at map reading and just want to know what y'all are looking for. I'd personally say the two-pronged cove in the top left corner that has a creek bed coming out of it could be productive. Depending on the depth that the fish are bedding at in this lake, the 6-7 foot area outside the creek channel that has a roadbed running through it and is surrounded by a 12-ft contour line also looks promising to me. The chokepoint with a road bed running through it would also be something I would check out.
Looking at the second image posted, what would y'alls thoughts be on the 2 foot of water area in the middle-bottom left that has two islands in it, a road bed on the northeast corner, and a creek bed running parallel to the southeast?
WRB reply :
I have no idea what the larger surrounding areas are like. I know this is a reservior because of the road beds and would be a good area other then for spawning. You may find a few isolated spawners depending on what type of bass is in this lake.
Lets wait and see if the OP posts another larger map. The detail of the map is excellent with 1' evelation scale, it's a small snap shot of a much larger reservior.
Tom
Savage33 reply :
That’s about the best pic I can get. If I zoom out any further on my phone, the contour lines go away.
Savage33 reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 1:13 AM, Hawkeye21 said:Looks like it's from the Navionics app. It's very useful.
@Savage33 Are you fishing in the KBF Championship?
No sir. I don’t own a kayak. Just a big tin boat. I want a kayak tho. I think itd be pretty fun.
scaleface reply :
That hump with the saddle s very close to this hump with a saddle . In this map it makes an island but in the spring it is always a hump and a productive post spawn area .
WRB reply :
So now we know the screen shot is a tiny portion of Kentucky lake, a massive riverine reservior with current. Everyone still think this area is a good spawning site?
Tom
Turkey sandwich reply :
I don't know Kentucky Lake (other than some of the same basic stuff WTB posted above), so I don't really know much about the scale of the map, bottom composition, weeds, etc, etc. Kentucky Lake has good populations of both smallmouth and largemouth, I believe. Which species are you targeting? While largemouth and smallmouth like similar things, they do have some different preferences come the spawn.
On the first screen shots there are small areas where I would expect to see some spawning bass, but none that are going to be the main spawning sites on that reservoir. There are some saddles near the road beds, what looks like a hump, maybe some stretches along one or two of the island, etc that if they are protected from current, have decent bottom composition, etc will likely hold some spawning bass. But there isn't likely going to be enough to make it worth fishing any sort of "spawn" pattern in those areas. These aren't big flats, nor are they large, shallow stretches along those great big creek arms. Those are going to likely be the prime spawning areas on that lake. For a post spawn pattern, find those areas and move into adjacent deeper water in the channels, or back out of the channels toward the main lake.
bagofdonuts reply :
Was there the last week of April 2017. Fishing was pretty tough. Only reliable patern we had was in the very back of the pockets,and I mean very back, burning soft plastic jerk baits over top of what was probably nest guarders in the mustard weeds. We had better luck with the smallmouth on secondary points on football jigs. Highlight was my brothers 7 lb, 23.5 inch smallmouth. We caught fish but it was work.
Catt reply :
This is where I would start & then zero in from there!
Savage33 reply :
The screenshots I posted are from the new Johnsonville area. I’ve had some stellar days flipping bushes all around those islands. But once the bush bite starts slowing down, I’m lost as where/how to catch them until they get all the way out to the ledges at the main river channel. For example, I can hammer them for a few days, then it’s just over the next. So I head to the main channel ledges and it’s terribly slow for several days. I’m just trying to figure out what to look for between the islands and main ledges. I’ll post another screenshot but it’s mainly just a giant flat across there.
Turkey sandwich reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 10:47 AM, Catt said:This is where I would start & then zero in from there!
Bingo.
Catt reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 11:03 AM, Savage33 said:The screenshots I posted are from the new Johnsonville area. I’ve had some stellar days flipping bushes all around those islands. But once the bush bite starts slowing down, I’m lost as where/how to catch them until they get all the way out to the ledges at the main river channel. For example, I can hammer them for a few days, then it’s just over the next. So I head to the main channel ledges and it’s terribly slow for several days. I’m just trying to figure out what to look for between the islands and main ledges
That's post spawn fishing ????
WRB reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 11:50 AM, Catt said:
That's post spawn fishing ????
I believe that was your initial response!
Never fished Kentucky lake so will take many hours to come up with good recommendations. I do know the Little River area is where most early tournaments are won so that is where I would focus my efforts.
Tom
Ben Miller reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 9:22 AM, WRB said:So now we know the screen shot is a tiny portion of Kentucky lake, a massive riverine reservior with current. Everyone still think this area is a good spawning site?
Tom
Isn't the shore the most spawned? Like real close to shore, edge?
WRB reply :
When you look at the screen shots notice the red and green navigation buoys that indicate boat traffic lanes. Spawning areas areas are wave and current protected places that bass instictively seek to make nest sites.
Tom
Catt reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 12:45 PM, Ben Miller said:Isn't the shore the most spawned? Like real close to shore, edge?
Nope!
Depends on the size of the body of water
Not every bass in the lake is gonna swim to the bank.
A lake the width of Toledo Bend there are bass that spawn miles from a bank in 10-12' of water.
scaleface reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 12:45 PM, Ben Miller said:Isn't the shore the most spawned? Like real close to shore, edge?
Bass will even spawn on top of stumps and laydowns . They do what they have to do . There are also two protective coves on the north of that map.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 7:52 PM, scaleface said:Bass will even spawn on top of stumps and laydowns . They do what they have to do . There are also two protective coves on the north of that map.
A lake I used to fish a lot had a huge tree trunk that was still in the lake bottom. It was probably about 2' across, came to within a couple feet of the surface in 17' of water. It was broke off in kind of a bowl indention in the top and there was a bed in the top of that tree every year. I caught one of the healthiest looking fish I ever caught out of that very overpressured lake. It was in the middle of a cove and well off the bank while everyone else was on the shoreline looking for beds.
Catt reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 11:03 AM, Savage33 said:. I’ve had some stellar days flipping bushes all around those islands. But once the bush bite starts slowing down, I’m lost as where/how to catch them until they get all the way out to the ledges at the main river channel. For example, I can hammer them for a few days, then it’s just over the next. So I head to the main channel ledges and it’s terribly slow for several days. I’m just trying to figure out what to look for between the islands and main ledges
As I mentioned this is typical post spawn fishing!
After the female is done spawning she'll pull back out to the first or second breakline away from the nest site. She to worn-out to even eat, so the active bit dies off. After a period of recuperation she'll start feeding again & moving.
This process like pre-spawn doesn't happen over night!
To address your problem of where they're at, ya gonna have to look beyond what's on the map!
Try as I might I've never been able to stay on em all the way back out!
Team9nine reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 11:03 AM, Savage33 said:The screenshots I posted are from the new Johnsonville area. I’ve had some stellar days flipping bushes all around those islands. But once the bush bite starts slowing down, I’m lost as where/how to catch them until they get all the way out to the ledges at the main river channel. For example, I can hammer them for a few days, then it’s just over the next. So I head to the main channel ledges and it’s terribly slow for several days. I’m just trying to figure out what to look for between the islands and main ledges. I’ll post another screenshot but it’s mainly just a giant flat across there.
I guess I'd either check the roadbeds with their bridges and saddles a bunch as they run straight to the river channel, as well as the channel cut breaklines that run South and connect to the main river. I'd also look just a smidge North (barely off your map) where two feeder cut channels run nearly together with a deeper water connection (Fourmile Slough creekbed and bridge area). As has been mentioned, it's hard to stay on top of them all the time, but if you can figure out their route, you can at least milk run a bunch of stuff and increase your odds of running into a group.
bagofdonuts reply :
Kentucky lake has become famous for the offshore/ledge bite. Bass are known to move offshore almost immediately after spawning. I would flip the bushes some to make sure. But try to find the shad in 10-12', depending on the water level that could be all the way out to the ledges on the main river channel or the first drop out.
I don't know for sure but seems to me the carp, which have taken over on ky lake, might be driving the bass off shore. I know when we were there last year, the big head carp were so thick in the bushes i don't know how any bass could stay there.
TnRiver46 reply :
For those who don't know about ky lake, it is the furthest lake downstream on the Tennessee river. From Pickwick lake downstream, the Tennessee river flows straight north. Take a look at the map @Catt posted, I bet most of you thought the water flowed from the top of the map to the bottom, but its the opposite. Just downstream of Kentucky dam the TN river enters the Ohio river near Paducah KY. The Cumberland river takes a similar path to the Ohio. The Ohio flows into the Mississippi in Cairo, not long after collecting the Cumberland and Tennessee river. To say it has good current would be an understatement right now, they were pushing 240,000 cubic feet per second earlier this week
Hawkeye21 reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 8:20 AM, Savage33 said:No sir. I don’t own a kayak. Just a big tin boat. I want a kayak tho. I think itd be pretty fun.
I was curious since the big tourney will be held there next month.
slonezp reply :
I have fished KY Lake a number of times but it's been a few years. Always in March/April. The bass will stage initially on the main lake points, then move to the secondary points, and finally spawn in the creeks around the buck brush. Never did any post spawn fishing but I would start at the secondary points and then the main lake points and go from there
Catt reply :
Ya gotta understand these maps only show so much, to connect the dots ya gonna look for breaks/breaklines not on the maps.
Ya gonna have to spend hours graphing the areas between those islands & the main channel ledges.
A-Jay reply :
On 2/16/2018 at 11:32 PM, Catt said:Ya gotta understand these maps only show so much, to connect the dots ya gonna look for breaks/breaklines not on the maps.
Ya gonna have to spend hours graphing the areas between those islands & the main channel ledges.
Say What ~ How come I can't just throw a dart at a map, plug in the numbers and go start catching hawgs ?
That sounds pretty time consuming and like quite a bit of work.
This bass fishing stuff seems very mysterious . . .
A-Jay
bagofdonuts reply :
240,000 cfi. That's hard to wrap your head around. The arkansas river at 70,000 cfi is dangerous.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/17/2018 at 12:25 AM, bagofdonuts said:240,000 cfi. That's hard to wrap your head around. The arkansas river at 70,000 cfi is dangerous.
It's gushing! You can probably find videos online of the dams spilling high volume. It is dangerous, people drown every year. When it flooded last year two guys got sucked over Pickwick dam in a jon boat and drowned
WRB reply :
Kentucky lake is the impoundment Buck Perry developed his theories and spoon plugs to control trolling depths along those ledges. Perry observed that bass migrated from spawning areas out into the main lake basin. Perry noted bass migrated along the ledge breaks and Kentucy lake was the ideal impoundment for these observations. 70 years later the bass haven't changed their behavior.
Tom
Catt reply :
I'm pretty sure ole Buck started in the Carolinas & I'm pretty sure @Team9nine will tell us exactly where!
Team9nine reply :
On 2/17/2018 at 4:11 AM, Catt said:I'm pretty sure ole Buck started in the Carolinas & I'm pretty sure @Team9nine will tell us exactly where!
Yeah, I was going to question that one. Buck lived in Hickory, NC next to lakes Hickory and Rhodhiss, and likely developed most of his theories on those lakes back in the 40s and 50s. He also spent quite a bit of time in Georgia and Florida, and ultimately traveled all over the country fishing most every major body of water available. To my knowledge, there's nothing special about Kentucky Lake and Spoonplugging other than a few jamborees being held there in the late 90s, and it being a popular lake for some members of the TN club who mapped parts of it and named some of the spots.
Tennessee had the largest Spoonplugging club in the nation back in those days, and Buck was actually going to develop a spoonplugging community near Nashville/Old Hickory Lake back in the 70s until his first wife passed away. Plans were scrapped and the land ultimately sold off.
WRB reply :
On 2/17/2018 at 3:26 AM, WRB said:Kentucky lake is the impoundment Buck Perry developed his theories and spoon plugs to control trolling depths along those ledges. Perry observed that bass migrated from spawning areas out into the main lake basin. Perry noted bass migrated along the ledge breaks and Kentucy lake was the ideal impoundment for these observations. 70 years later the bass haven't changed their behavior.
Tom
On 2/17/2018 at 4:11 AM, Catt said:I'm pretty sure ole Buck started in the Carolinas & I'm pretty sure @Team9nine will tell us exactly where!
You may be right, I read an article that quoted Perry that he fished Kentucky lake during a q&a regarding why he didn’t use sonar and that didn’t surprise me as Perry had little use for modern tools or presentations. The article was in 90’s.
Tom
papajoe222 reply :
The only area I see that may be a possible spawning area( depending on how big to is) would be that hump on the NW side that the road bed passes over. If the waters fairly clear and there’s a lack of traditional spawning flats.
Turkey sandwich reply :
On 2/17/2018 at 12:25 AM, bagofdonuts said:240,000 cfi. That's hard to wrap your head around. The arkansas river at 70,000 cfi is dangerous.
I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if I've ever been on a river flowing 70,000cfs+ that isn't the St. Lawrence.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/17/2018 at 6:49 AM, Turkey sandwich said:I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if I've ever been on a river flowing 70,000cfs+ that isn't the St. Lawrence.
Well in some parts the river is so wide you can barely see the other side so its only dangerous near the dams. The current flowing through the lake is your best friend when bass fishing anywhere on the TVA system. What’s crazy is the TN river gets swallowed by two larger rivers just below Kentucky lake
related General Bass Fishing Forum topic
previous topic
most viewed General Bass Fishing Forum topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.