Lake Choice
Lake Choice
Giving the choice of different lakes during cold front conditions, would it be better to choose a lake with deeper structures and average water color or a shallower lake with better water color? I know that water color is a big factor but being shallower would the fish be more affected? Beckman.
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DouglasBush
Buck wrote a series of articles on this topic maybe 20 years ago in the old defunct Fishing Facts Magazine. He was fishing with Carl Malz in Florida.
The fish in the shallower lake will be affected more by the front since they have no great depths to swim into. On the other hand, the deeper lakes with the average color mean you gotta dig deep and of course fight the wind and all that misery.
I will always take the lake with the better water color and just straggler fish all day. Thats what Buck did. If any fish become active they can at least be reached with the lures while having control. If you got weed troubles in that shallower lake then you may have to get back into those weeds now and then with a plastic worm or a minnow..thats when the thing the bass pros do called "flipping" comes into play.
The rest of the time its back to the slow grind of troll troll troll with the lures that will cover the depths available. Mainly at the 8-10 levels.
Stay happy.
Douglas
The fish in the shallower lake will be affected more by the front since they have no great depths to swim into. On the other hand, the deeper lakes with the average color mean you gotta dig deep and of course fight the wind and all that misery.
I will always take the lake with the better water color and just straggler fish all day. Thats what Buck did. If any fish become active they can at least be reached with the lures while having control. If you got weed troubles in that shallower lake then you may have to get back into those weeds now and then with a plastic worm or a minnow..thats when the thing the bass pros do called "flipping" comes into play.
The rest of the time its back to the slow grind of troll troll troll with the lures that will cover the depths available. Mainly at the 8-10 levels.
Stay happy.
Douglas
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Fran Myers
- JB1
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:08 am
- Location: St. Paul, MN
Lake Choice
Another body of water to consider in difficult weather conditions is a river.
Generally rivers have excellent water color and while both a positive and negative issue, is the MOVING water. However difficult rivers can be, if I had to bet pinks on my truck and boat I would pick a river.
In a river you should expect cleaner bottoms for better bumping, however nature’s sewer can get you pretty messed up with floating debris. I try not to fish rivers too soon after a heavy rain (leaves and plastic bags are down right irritating).
The water is churning so you have fewer water temperature issues. The temperature will generally change at a lower rate throughout the season and the temperature would be pretty consistent in the water column except for the deep holes. However, later in the season I would suspect the water to be warmer deeper in a river than in a lake.
Other issues to consider is that with the natural migration/wandering tendencies of northern's, walleye’s, white bass, and sauger - fish can be in VERY concentrated groups that are spread very far apart. There are places on the Mississippi that are infested with HUGE walleye's and sauger from November to about June - depending on water levels. Then it seems like the listed fish were never in the river. They are in the river but they could be as much as 100 miles up or down river seasonally.
Rivers will humble everybody at sometime especially when you are just learning the structures, but rivers are my goto places when I want to get into fish. Whether I have fished them before or not.
Generally rivers have excellent water color and while both a positive and negative issue, is the MOVING water. However difficult rivers can be, if I had to bet pinks on my truck and boat I would pick a river.
In a river you should expect cleaner bottoms for better bumping, however nature’s sewer can get you pretty messed up with floating debris. I try not to fish rivers too soon after a heavy rain (leaves and plastic bags are down right irritating).
The water is churning so you have fewer water temperature issues. The temperature will generally change at a lower rate throughout the season and the temperature would be pretty consistent in the water column except for the deep holes. However, later in the season I would suspect the water to be warmer deeper in a river than in a lake.
Other issues to consider is that with the natural migration/wandering tendencies of northern's, walleye’s, white bass, and sauger - fish can be in VERY concentrated groups that are spread very far apart. There are places on the Mississippi that are infested with HUGE walleye's and sauger from November to about June - depending on water levels. Then it seems like the listed fish were never in the river. They are in the river but they could be as much as 100 miles up or down river seasonally.
Rivers will humble everybody at sometime especially when you are just learning the structures, but rivers are my goto places when I want to get into fish. Whether I have fished them before or not.
Fran Myers