Episode-1350- Fishing Lakes
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I am going to continue our fishing show today and move on to lakes. By lakes I mean anything from a small farm pond to a large 50,000 or bigger reservoir. In some ways I like fishing lakes less than just about any other option, especially large lakes.
Why? Well with the exception of smaller ponds of a few acres of less lakes are often more like hunting than fishing. Exactly where are those fish at becomes the key to catching them. If you are seeking certain fish at certain times you might have a great start on things. During spawning channel cats will be on rocky shorelines in shallow water if they exist. In lakes that don’t have a good river feeding them, sand bass often spawn on rocky humps near channels or rocky wind blown points.
Lake fishing is unique and really must be broken down into many disciplines. Big lakes vs. small ones. Man made vs. natural , north vs. south. Stocked and managed vs. wilderness and wild. The key though is, most people tend to have more access to lake and pond fishing than any other kind. So today we will focus on some of the basics of this type of fishing.
Join Me Today As I Discuss…
- Lake Structures
- Rip Rap and Rocky Areas
- Points
- Humps
- Docks and Bridges
- Brush Piles
- Standing timber
- Jetties
- Coves
- Weedlines
- Ledges
- Holes
- Shallows
- Thermocline
- Your Own Creations
- Why I love GPS for lake fishing
- Some ways to target specific species
- Channel Catfish
- Crappie
- White Bass and Striper /Hybrids
- Bluegills and Sunfish
- Yellow Perch
- Trout
- Final Thoughts
NOTE Today’s show notes are abbreviated due to technical issues, they will be updated with sponsor links etc. later today. Right now I am getting the show published while the internet is up.
The gravity quote is from Big Bang theory.
Lake Amistad has the wildest contours and humps of any place to pattern. 160′ up to 3′ out in mid lake and whadya know, hook up w big bass or striper. I took pictures when the lake was 60′ low so I’d know what was there if it filled back up. Sure enough it was my ticket to success on a good week fishing there under tough conditions when others were getting skunked. Pictures from periods of drawdown have proven useful over and over on several lakes for me.
To respond to Jack’s swapping of the history segment years… you may not have noticed, Jack, but I actually STOPPED emailing the history segments to you, but I rethought it. I worried that some day you might lose your Internet connection just as you were recording a segment, and since my training compels me to do many things that seem to have no purpose at all, I started sending you emails of the history segment again… just in case.
Two is one. One is none.
That’s why I email the history segment to you. No other reason than that.
I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t select the other segment for 1351 “The Stuttering Aftermath” but with your Internet down, you wouldn’t have had the latest update anyway. I changed “My Take” after seeing the latest episode of the TV science show, Cosmos, today. Dr. Tyson uses half the show to talk about microbes from space raining down on Earth. While this theory for the Plague is not entirely foolish… it sure comes close. I point out how Dr. Tyson uses a logical slight-of-hand to say only truthful things while giving the wrong impression to non-critical thinkers. Then I dump all over Dr. Tyson.
I suppose most of it would be of little interest to the TSP listener. I just hate it when intelligent people like Dr. Tyson try to roll me like I was a rube.
Alex Shrugged
Are the fishing shows about done? Maybe im the only one butbut I dont even both downloading these.
Water contracts as it cools, to about 40*, then from 39* to 32*, water molecules expand, this we have lake turnover, in some lakes.
I am surprised that Jack didn’t talk about moon phases, at least I didn’t hear it in this lake episode, I didn’t listen 100% to two of the other episodes.
Regardless, coming from a person that lives on Kentucky Lake, and have fished for most of 64 years, I learned a few things about fishing, and enjoyed the topic.
as I said I can’t cover everything
Jack,
Holy cow! … now it’s called a hell-pet?
Waaaaay back in 1980’ish I was using a similar rig to catch white bass in Milford Reservoir when I was stationed at Fort Riley KS.
I was actually fishing a club bass tournament, and we couldn’t catch- or buy a black bass with bars of gold!
So we ended up fishing for schools of white bass churning up the topwater.
I grabbed what used to be called a WhiteWaterDog, removed the rear treble and added a 3 foot leader with a white curley tail grub , and we caught as many as three at a time!
So many we eventually got tired of it.
Thanks for the series on fishing, I know quite a bit, but still learned some new tips for the future.
We kept just shy of our limit, just to get something out of the expense for the day.
When are you going to cover ICE Fishing???
Love it. Some of my best fishing has been Ice fishing, and some of the best times.
From sleding in to the lake, to pulling out a friend when the ice has buckeled
To catching some of the biggest Ling Cod Fish ever. LOVE Ice Fishing Jack
I fish (or try anyways) a lake that is large enough to turn over. I may have missed it since I listen at work, but how do you know what depth the thermacline is?
It depends. Seriously in a lake with a solid thermocline you can actually see it on the depth finder. Sometimes it isn’t that pronounced and you can’t see it or see it everywhere.
In general in MOST fresh water lakes you are looking at 18-22 feet.
Most large lakes have weekly reports on temps and O2 levels you can look up or get somewhere. When you see O2 levels drop to 3 parts of dissolved O2 you are hitting it, when you see it drop to 2 parts you are likely below it.
This video shows what it looks like and talks about it quite a bit, note that it is right about 19 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8155r8G5Eqw
Thanks for the link. I’ll pay more attention to the depth finder next time I’m out on the lake. Really enjoyed these fishing shows man.
Good show Jack! I love fishing and even though I knew a lot of the stuff you cover it was very informative and there were things that I forgot until I heard you talk about them. Seriously I could listen to 10 more fishing or hunting episodes. They just get my blood going. Friday can’t come soon enough! Staycation next week and I live on a 150 acre lake. Take a wild guess what I’ll be doing. This is where I live, http://www.ltpoa.org/ and before you say it yes I know its a POA but I can do pretty much whatever I want including chickens.
Are there ever any TSPer local meet ups in say DFW area or you guys don’t do that kind of thing? Kinda new guy…
That’s cool idea bro, I live in the Houston area but would love for us to put a meet up together, like a Texas get together for a camping and fishing weekend!
10-4. I’m at the Red River but Texas is my town and my schedule is my own so I’m in. Still waitin to hear somebody put a time and place on the coastal trip…