A long-time lurker jumps out to ask:

I'm going about halfway up the lower peninsula of Michigan the next to last
week of August. I'll have everyday access to a 100-120 acre, natural lake
that gets relatively little bass fishing pressure. In the past the water
has been clear, with visibility anywhere from 10-20 feet. I don't know the
average depth of the lake, but I do know it has flats around about 75% of
the shore perimeter that extend about 50-100 feet. Then there is a
substantial dropoff from that point into the depths of the lake.
Substantial lily pads mirror the dropoff all the way around the lake.

The southeast arm of the lake is a relatively shallow cove (about 10-15 feet
deep), with lots of submerged vegetation (I don't remember what kind,
sorry - I think it was relatively grassy?). I've caught a number of fish on
texas rigged worms in this section. I also have had success in the evening
with topwater lures in this corner.

The west corner of the lake is visually unremarkable, but I always seem to
catch the most fish there, using texas-rigged worms and flatfish lures,
working them back toward the center of the lake. There are also a nice
number of perch up to 10 or 11 inches in this corner.

The northwest side of the lake has flats that are about 100 feet wide, and
then it drops off into a system of (visible) humps until it gets too deep to
see. I have never had too much success fishing there, though I've seen some
giant snapper turtles swimming there (up to nearly 3 feet wide across the
back!).

I have had similar success with worms and flatfish on parts of the east side
of the lake in terms of bass fishing.

My question is - what techniques and lures would be best on a lake like
this? I do not have access to electronics, so I'm fishing blind. I know it
's hard to tell me from my meager description of the lake, but :-) ..

Thanks,
Nate

Nate,
One lure I'd use for sure on the edges of that grass . . . Pearl White
soft jerk bait. I prefer Bass Assasins sp? myself. Texas rigged w/ no
weight. You can fish them on top with a fast jerking splash retrieve or let
them fall slowly down the face of the grass edge. The action on these lures
are a killer in clear water. Sometimes as they fall a little pop of the end
of the rod will make the bait fall extra erratically. Trust me a dynamite
lure for sure.

--
God Bless America

Josh The Bad Bear

"NH" wrote in message
...
I'm going about halfway up the lower peninsula of Michigan the next to
last
week of August. I'll have everyday access to a 100-120 acre, natural lake
that gets relatively little bass fishing pressure. In the past the water
has been clear, with visibility anywhere from 10-20 feet. I don't know
the
average depth of the lake, but I do know it has flats around about 75% of
the shore perimeter that extend about 50-100 feet. Then there is a
substantial dropoff from that point into the depths of the lake.
Substantial lily pads mirror the dropoff all the way around the lake.

The southeast arm of the lake is a relatively shallow cove (about 10-15
feet
deep), with lots of submerged vegetation (I don't remember what kind,
sorry - I think it was relatively grassy?). I've caught a number of fish
on
texas rigged worms in this section. I also have had success in the
evening
with topwater lures in this corner.

The west corner of the lake is visually unremarkable, but I always seem to
catch the most fish there, using texas-rigged worms and flatfish lures,
working them back toward the center of the lake. There are also a nice
number of perch up to 10 or 11 inches in this corner.

The northwest side of the lake has flats that are about 100 feet wide, and
then it drops off into a system of (visible) humps until it gets too deep
to
see. I have never had too much success fishing there, though I've seen
some
giant snapper turtles swimming there (up to nearly 3 feet wide across the
back!).

I have had similar success with worms and flatfish on parts of the east
side
of the lake in terms of bass fishing.

My question is - what techniques and lures would be best on a lake like
this? I do not have access to electronics, so I'm fishing blind. I know
it
's hard to tell me from my meager description of the lake, but :-) ..

Fishing blind like you are isn't necessarily the detriment that you think.
Anglers were fishing without electronics far longer than with, and somehow
they managed to catch fish.

Going with a very simplistic approach, it would be fairly simple to use a
"search" lure like a 3/8th oz. Secret Weapon spinnerbait. I would get three
colors, firetiger (which mimics a perch quite well), a bleeding shad and a
midnight snack. Work the edges of the weeds, as well as any pockets that
you can, firing out casts and working the spinnerbait over the tops of the
weeds, letting it flutter at the deeper water edge. This allows you to
cover a fair amount of water in a relatively short period of time, catching
the actively feeding bass.

When you do make contact and catch the active bass, now is the time to pick
up a rod rigged with a soft plastic jerk bait like the Bass Assassin, Zoom
Fluke or Lunker City Sluggo/FinS Minnow. Rig the minnow Texas Style, with a
3/0 to 5/0 hook, depending on the lure's size. Go back through the areas
that you found the active fish on the spinnerbaits and pick up the less
aggressive fish on the soft plastics.

It's a method that I use when fishing new water.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:07:21 GMT, "NH"
wrote:

I'm going about halfway up the lower peninsula of Michigan the next to last
week of August. I'll have everyday access to a 100-120 acre, natural lake
that gets relatively little bass fishing pressure. In the past the water
has been clear, with visibility anywhere from 10-20 feet.

Been there...done that and you should have success with the following:

1. Natural looking cranks - IMO, its the best bait you can use to
catch big bass in natural lakes. When I fished tournaments, I had 9
consecutive top 10 finishes on a natural lake up north primarily using
a natural crankbait..in regional tournaments (Federation and Operation
Bass).

2. Pop-R (chrome/anything) - when I was up in school in Michigan and
fished those natural lakes...I probably caught more bass on a pop-r
than anything else...and it will catch big fish.

3. Plastic worm - there are a lot of color combinations that work well
in clear natural lakes. My favorite is 6" junebug/bubblegum closely
followed by a 4" junebug/black grape with a chartreuse tail. However,
I've caught a ton of fish on grape and red too. Generally, clear
natural lakes means smaller finesse worms and tubes and 4" finesse and
krinkle kut (ie. Zoom Centipede) worms are hard to beat..but you don't
necessarily have to go small.. I've done well with a 7" ringwhip worm
There is a worm called the Touchdown worm. (grape, red, blue) which is
an old reliable for clear water natural lakes. It's basically a 5-6"
do-nothing that has a sinker rigged 10-18" above the worm. Worms with
a spinner on them (ie. Kunkel's) are also very good for clear natural
waters and I've seen times when it literally killed em' when nothing
else worked. A trick that I've done on this worm is fish it in deep
water carolina rigged!

4. Shallow-diving cranks (ie. Bandit 100, Wee-R) - reaction bait over
weedlines...

5. Tandem spinnerbait - another reaction bait when buzzed over
weedbeds..

And 3 to have tied on if the weather is a tad nasty (rain, overcast):

1. Nippididee - this is a fat bodied double propeller lure that calls
up bass...especially good when there is some wind and late at night.

2. Black spinnerbait (1/2 oz.) - especially during overcast/rainy
conditions...

3. Black buzzbait - its amazing how well fish love a black buzzbait in
clear water...especially if there is a tad chop on the water and
especially if its lowlight conditions.

The above 3 will sometimes work even if its not
overcast/night/rainy...

--
Dwayne E. Cooper, Atty at Law
Indianapolis, IN
Email:
Web Page: http://www.cooperlegalservices.com
Personal Fishing Web Page: http://www.hoosierwebsites.com/OnTheWater
Dog Fishing: http://www.hoosierwebsites.com/onthe...fishing040.htm
1st Annual ROFB Classic Winner