Fishing Clear Mountain lakes

[TravHale]

I'm an inshore fisherman, but am starting to fish freshwater lakes in my area. A lot of the lakes are mountain lakes, and have very clear water. Since my experience in this area is lacking, I'm hoping that you guys can get me headed in the right direction in targeting these fish. All of my reels are loaded with 30lb braid, so I will be using fluorocarbon leader.

[dragon1]

What is the quarry, the average going size and typical lures you intend to use?

[TravHale]

Large Mouth Bass

I don't fish freshwater, so I don't have an arsenal to throw at them. I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I have a few worms and creature baits, but that's about the extent of my freshwater lures. The average size of fish is yet to be seen because i've yet to catch more than 3-4 bass at this lake. I could readily see what appeared to be larger 5-6lb bass cruising the rocks below the surface. But they paid zero attention to my baits. The fish that I did catch were on a weightless white Zoom fluke being fished like a twitch bait.

[Inspectorlee]

I'm biased, but for water that clear and deep, I would recommend two methods: 1) using the dropshot method if the bottom of the lakes aren't too snag-prone, or 2) small/light jig and a craw type trailer combos (1/16 oz).

I've found that with clear water, sight fishing isn't as effective, because if I can see the fish, they can usually see me as well, and will tend to ignore my offerings. My catches have been via long casts, usually just tossing them straight out, probing likely locations for fish. The dropshot method will allow you to work the bottom, and the finesse jig combo will allow you to work most of the water column. I like the 1/16 oz weight because it glides much slower, and I've found that fish will be able to see it for a longer period of time (due to the slow fall). And as it's falling, the craw trailer will be wiggling its claws during the entire descent, tempting the fish. Usually however, they'll follow it all the way to the bottom, look at it as it sits, and then pick it up off the bottom. But with your braid, you'll be able to feel this, even on a long cast.

All the above is in relation to fishing from the shore. If you will be using a boat, most of my recommendations still apply but you'll have more options for casting locations obviously.

[TravHale]

I'm biased, but for water that clear and deep, I would recommend two methods: 1) using the dropshot method if the bottom of the lakes aren't too snag-prone, or 2) small/light jig and a craw type trailer combos (1/16 oz).

I've found that with clear water, sight fishing isn't as effective, because if I can see the fish, they can usually see me as well, and will tend to ignore my offerings. My catches have been via long casts, usually just tossing them straight out, probing likely locations for fish. The dropshot method will allow you to work the bottom, and the finesse jig combo will allow you to work most of the water column. I like the 1/16 oz weight because it glides much slower, and I've found that fish will be able to see it for a longer period of time (due to the slow fall). And as it's falling, the craw trailer will be wiggling its claws during the entire descent, tempting the fish. Usually however, they'll follow it all the way to the bottom, look at it as it sits, and then pick it up off the bottom. But with your braid, you'll be able to feel this, even on a long cast.

All the above is in relation to fishing from the shore. If you will be using a boat, most of my recommendations still apply but you'll have more options for casting locations obviously.

Thanks for the sharing. I'll be fishing from my kayak, which allows me to be pretty stealthy, but with the water as clear as it is, they will see me regardless of how quiet i am. I'll read up on the dropshot and give it a go. Would it be ok to use a small jig as the weight?

[dragon1]

IMO, your best friend will be wind (read chop on the water), cloud cover, any other type of cover (including DEEP water adjacent to flats, humps, weedbeds, etc), and low light. Add any finesse type plastic like natural colored tubes and don't forget about finesse topwater like small popper, small buzzbait and classic floating Rapalas. LONG casts on power topwater techs. will also surprise you so long as the water is warm enough, like on a clear/natural colored walking bait.

I also have had quite a bit of success with deeper cranks, and especially metal blade baits when the water cools down in clear water bodies like what you describe...if there is shad there, I also rec that you toss a bigger flutter spoon and work some depth. Dragging a CRig and a football jig may also work, depending on the bottom structure and what type of rock and forage this body of water has.

Lighter line will help, but so long as your presentation is stealthy, precise, and your casts long...line size and diameter will not be so important unless for techs like the drop shot with finesse plastics.

Nothing however, will replace time on the water in experimenting and proving what works - when, where and how and why.

Good luck.

[Inspectorlee]

I'm biased, but for water that clear and deep, I would recommend two methods: 1) using the dropshot method if the bottom of the lakes aren't too snag-prone, or 2) small/light jig and a craw type trailer combos (1/16 oz).

I've found that with clear water, sight fishing isn't as effective, because if I can see the fish, they can usually see me as well, and will tend to ignore my offerings. My catches have been via long casts, usually just tossing them straight out, probing likely locations for fish. The dropshot method will allow you to work the bottom, and the finesse jig combo will allow you to work most of the water column. I like the 1/16 oz weight because it glides much slower, and I've found that fish will be able to see it for a longer period of time (due to the slow fall). And as it's falling, the craw trailer will be wiggling its claws during the entire descent, tempting the fish. Usually however, they'll follow it all the way to the bottom, look at it as it sits, and then pick it up off the bottom. But with your braid, you'll be able to feel this, even on a long cast.

All the above is in relation to fishing from the shore. If you will be using a boat, most of my recommendations still apply but you'll have more options for casting locations obviously.

Thanks for the sharing. I'll be fishing from my kayak, which allows me to be pretty stealthy, but with the water as clear as it is, they will see me regardless of how quiet i am. I'll read up on the dropshot and give it a go. Would it be ok to use a small jig as the weight?

Yes, you can use a small jig as the weight for the dropshot rig, allowing you to basically offer double the offerings. There is one big caveat however: the main purpose of using dropshot specific weights (the ones that pinch the line) is so that when the weight gets snagged on rocks, timber, etc., you can apply slow and steady pressure, causing the sinker to slide off the line. The dropshot rig (hook, lure, line) will be saved, except for the sinker which is obviously sacrificed. You can then pinch on another weight and are good to go immediately, without the hassle of rigging the entire setup.

Your choice in what to use as the weight for the dropshot rig will probably depend on whether or not you know what the composition of the lake's bottom looks like. If it's mostly leaf litter and a dirt/sand bottom, you might be okay with a jig. But if the bottom consists of mostly jagged rocks, you might end up loosing quite a few jigs, so I would recommend the dropshot weights. Or if are cheap (or already have them), you can crimp on a few split shot depending on how much weight you want and use that. Lurewise, I think to go with 4 inch lures, it hits the sweetspot for me in terms of number of fish and size of fish.

Lastly, it probably goes without saying, but largemouth bass have a STRONG relationship to cover. Target wood piles, clumps of rocks, fallen trees, etc. This should maximize the amount of time spent catching fish vs looking for fish. Best of luck, I envy you. I used to live in Colorado and miss mountain fishing.