Tjames09 Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 Recently added a good motor to our aluminum boat so we can head to the main lake of Sturgeon, but felt relatively clueless on the main lake as all Ive ever really fished is the river, and it didnt seem to really transfer well. We tried fishing the weed edge around 10ft, but had zero luck both Saturday and Sunday. Normally in the river we would fish soft plastics and do fairly well (its the only spot we caught fish on the weekend). But it didnt do well at all on the main lake. Perhaps we werent in the right spots, or just the lures werent meant for the open water deeper depths. Just looking for some suggestions on lures, presentations, maybe depths. I know people are fussy at giving to much away here, just looking to be put in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRISONER Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) drop shots with jackall cross tail shad or gulp alive...owner stand up jigs with psycho dads or OSP craws...all damn day Edited August 29, 2016 by AKRISONER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjames09 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 drop shots with jackall cross tail shad or gulp alive...owner stand up jigs with psycho dads or OSP craws...all damn day Okay, so slow presentation works as well in the open deeper water. I was thinking it need a moving bait since there's a lot more area to cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netminder Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) It's not as easy in open water to cover water, but you have to look for the right underwater structure/depth/weeds and watch your sonar. Bass will often times show up on sonar unlike pickerel or other bottom huggers. Edited August 29, 2016 by netminder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRISONER Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 my rule is that no matter what, fish will always relate to structure...and sometimes its not the fish you are targetting, but the bait that is. This weekend provided me a perfect example of how being aware can get you onto fish. fishing in 25fow, i see a hump with a school of bait on the unit. I think to myself "that much bait, you know theres fish nearby" go about 10 meters away with the swimbait and sure enough i find the fish and watch as 3 smallies follow the swimbait to the boat. My pattern lately has been to toss swimbaits while moving from structure to structure (top water in the morning) and then once i find a hump or something interesting on the sonar or seeing an edge i switch to a drop shot or crayfish presentation. Ill tell you right now that 90% of the time if you mark a fish on your unit and drop a drop shot on its head it will bite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkpie Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 I'm not a bass guy so don't have much expertise to offer, but I can say that whenever I am fishing depths of 10-15 feet or so, I can't seem to keep the things off of a rapala clackin rap. It's pretty versatile, you can fish slow or fast and running depth will correspond with how fast you reel. The brown and orange colour is my favourite. That's all I got! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRISONER Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 Okay, so slow presentation works as well in the open deeper water. I was thinking it need a moving bait since there's a lot more area to cover. caught a smallie on a owner stand up jig this weekend off a 50 foot ledge. I almost couldnt believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted August 29, 2016 Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 What are you attempting to catch? It can make a big difference in lure selection and water depths to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjames09 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2016 What are you attempting to catch? It can make a big difference in lure selection and water depths to try. It was in the title....bass. Thanks for the other replies guys. I dont have sonar, just navionics on my phone, so I can only just tell if Im in certain areas, but thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 It was in the title....bass. Thanks for the other replies guys. I dont have sonar, just navionics on my phone, so I can only just tell if Im in certain areas, but thats it. LOL, duh, missed that! Without a sonar unit of some kind you will spend a lot of time guessing depths and edges. Largemouth are usually found in shallower water than smallies, they also seem to accept a dirt or muck bottom better, areas with lots of lilies and weeds, slop. I have caught largemouth in 18-22 feet of water, but it was accidental and somewhat of a rarity for me, it wouldn't be the first areas I went looking for them. Smallies are found in deeper water a lot more often, and they will frequent a rocky or sandy bottom with little or no cover more often. Soft plastics aren't usually thought of as search lures or speed baits, those would be spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, surface lures, crankbaits and such, fishing some of them in areas of heavy weeds will be a problem. If your after largemouth hitting the shorelines with weeds, wood, flipping boat docks, a rock and weed mix isn't a bad place to start, a weedy flat with deep edges around it could hold both species. In weeds, texas rig a worm, lizard, tube and peg the slip sinker, in deeper water with less weeds a carolina rig with more weight will allow you to cover more water faster. Some lakes seem to have a million places that look good, a lot of those places can be a complete waste of time, time on the water and remembering areas that held fish helps. http://www.fish-hawk.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=129 They don't have a lot of places indicated on that map, 15 miles long? That makes it in the Lake Erie size lakes here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Need a little more info. Describe the lake and general area "Halliburton"lake. Are you fishing for large mouth or smallies . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjames09 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Need a little more info. Describe the lake and general area "Halliburton"lake. Are you fishing for large mouth or smallies . All of this is in the original post... Its Lake Sturgeon, and targeting LMB. Recently added a good motor to our aluminum boat so we can head to the main lake of Sturgeon, but felt relatively clueless on the main lake as all Ive ever really fished is the river, and it didnt seem to really transfer well. We tried fishing the weed edge around 10ft, but had zero luck both Saturday and Sunday. Normally in the river we would fish soft plastics and do fairly well (its the only spot we caught fish on the weekend). But it didnt do well at all on the main lake. Perhaps we werent in the right spots, or just the lures werent meant for the open water deeper depths. Just looking for some suggestions on lures, presentations, maybe depths. I know people are fussy at giving to much away here, just looking to be put in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRISONER Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 sorry all my info relates to smallies...although the same applies for largies off weed edges, especially when the water is this hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sauce Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 If I were targeting LM away from shore I would be looking for weedbeds. Good ones will have edges that end where "open water" starts. Smaller isolated patches close to the big beds are prime. Without sonar it will be tough to find all the weedbeds. Shallow stuff will be obvious. Deeper weeds should be visible if you are wearing polarized glasses. Keep the boat moving slowly while you pick apart a big bed. Keep scanning for the smaller isolated patches and pitch your soft plastic when you see one. Don't forget to let a bait like a Senko sink all the way to the bottom. They aren't a great bait for covering water. But if you put it near a hungry bass and give it a little time to investigate you will have success. You should always have a moving bait on at least one rod while fishing for bass. Swimbaits squarebills topwater chatterbaits jerkbaits crankbaits and old faithful spinnerbaits will all work to cover water and allow you to relax a bit. Pitching plastics and staying patient is tough some days. So mix it up and have that Senko rod ready to go at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 This old map may help you a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjames09 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 If I were targeting LM away from shore I would be looking for weedbeds. Good ones will have edges that end where "open water" starts. Smaller isolated patches close to the big beds are prime. Without sonar it will be tough to find all the weedbeds. Shallow stuff will be obvious. Deeper weeds should be visible if you are wearing polarized glasses. Keep the boat moving slowly while you pick apart a big bed. Keep scanning for the smaller isolated patches and pitch your soft plastic when you see one. Don't forget to let a bait like a Senko sink all the way to the bottom. They aren't a great bait for covering water. But if you put it near a hungry bass and give it a little time to investigate you will have success. You should always have a moving bait on at least one rod while fishing for bass. Swimbaits squarebills topwater chatterbaits jerkbaits crankbaits and old faithful spinnerbaits will all work to cover water and allow you to relax a bit. Pitching plastics and staying patient is tough some days. So mix it up and have that Senko rod ready to go at all times. Most of Sturgeon is weeds, theres a massive area north of the river that is between 4-10feet and is all weeds. The weeds dont really dissappear until past the buoys much further north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Jr Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 I thought I sent you a map of the area you wanted to fish . I sent you a PM it might help you find a couple good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 I was going to help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch Posted August 31, 2016 Report Share Posted August 31, 2016 Edges are tough to find sometimes. Plug the gaps and holes with a flippin jig and pig. Pop it once or twice, rinse and repeat.....a bunch. Keep it wet. Eventually a fish will hit it. Need to find green weed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishindevil Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Most of Sturgeon is weeds, theres a massive area north of the river that is between 4-10feet and is all weeds. The weeds dont really dissappear until past the buoys much further north. . Most of sturgeon is weeds ?? Where are you getting your info ??? ..... Garnet was going to help you ..... don't assume what you are not sure of .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landry Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 The end near Lindsay is very weedy and I think that's where he is fishing mostly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 I never not throw a spinner bait NO matter the depth. Have got them in 3 fow and as deep as 40 fow throwing a spinner bait. Just need to use a heavier one when throwing in the deeper waters. Also change up your retieve. I always start out burning searching for active fish, then slow it down a bit. I know my buddy Terry likes to slow roll in the deeper sections,and when they are on this, he does well. Throwing tubes with light wieght is also very effective. I really like the slow drop and it swims back and forth going down. Yes, jerk baits are effective too. Another great active search bait. Good luck, and like I said, just change up. Nothing is wrong, on how to fish a bait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 Like brian says! If you put in the time, ive never not caught fish on the spinnerbait Black, chartruese and white are all must haves!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 Spinnerbaits aren't just bass lures! My biggest walleye came on one up north, the very next cast I got a 12-14 inch crappie on it! Muskie and pike will eat them too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 Spinnerbaits aren't just bass lures! My biggest walleye came on one up north, the very next cast I got a 12-14 inch crappie on it! Muskie and pike will eat them too! Yup ,like I said, Nothing is wrong, on how to fish a bait. I got a real nice pickeral on a top water last year. Surprised the doo doo out of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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