jessezm
Member
Hey folks, just joined the forums, seems like there's a great active membership here! I'm in Atlanta and just got a Jackson Coosa kayak to fish out of in local lakes and rivers, and took it out for the first time today to a local park I've heard rumors about and fished a few times.
So I'm new to bass fishing on the fly, and bass fishing in general. It was a nice sunny 60+ degree day and I spent the afternoon paddling around and scoping things out. (I did catch a 1lb-er on a crank bait from the shore a couple weeks ago so I know there are fish willing to play). While drifting around in the standing position I spotted a group of 3-4 very nice sized bass patrolling the shoreline where I had noticed minnows schooling up. Several times I saw some big swirls just below the surface and a few major explosions as well. Im low on flies but I tried a few things, both topwater (stimulator, caddis, kent's stealth bomber, chartreuse popper) and sub-surface (lefty's deceiver, RLD, BH hare's ear) and didn't get any takers.
So here's my question: how should I be targeting these bass this time of year, now that I have access with my kayak? We are probably talking about a 4-5 acre pond/lake(?), and in many places the bottom is totally covered with a single species of weed that is thick as carpet. So if I'm fishing streamers, anything deeper than 1-2 feet in most places and I get hung up, though there is one section of very deep water (compared to the rest) that seems to be weed-free. There is tons of great structure along the shoreline with downed limbs and entire submerged pines, and an island in the northern half of the lake. This seems like a very healthy piece of water, despite being in the inner city (pretty shady part of atlanta just two miles from my house...)
Anyways, I have no doubt that come Spring I'll have no trouble catching fish here on poppers in the shallows and corners and along the shoreline. But how do I catch them now (i.e., February, when temps are anywhere from 40's to 60's on a given day)? My casting is improving and I can get the line out pretty effectively now (also have an 8wt on order to supplement my Sage RPL+ 596), but I just don't have a strategy for how to catch these guys, what flies to use, and how to deal with all the weeds, whether to fish the deeper spots, etc... Anybody out there who fishes similar body of water in this weather? I would love y'alls advice on any part of these questions (patters, tactics, etc...) Thanks! hope to be an active member here!
So I'm new to bass fishing on the fly, and bass fishing in general. It was a nice sunny 60+ degree day and I spent the afternoon paddling around and scoping things out. (I did catch a 1lb-er on a crank bait from the shore a couple weeks ago so I know there are fish willing to play). While drifting around in the standing position I spotted a group of 3-4 very nice sized bass patrolling the shoreline where I had noticed minnows schooling up. Several times I saw some big swirls just below the surface and a few major explosions as well. Im low on flies but I tried a few things, both topwater (stimulator, caddis, kent's stealth bomber, chartreuse popper) and sub-surface (lefty's deceiver, RLD, BH hare's ear) and didn't get any takers.
So here's my question: how should I be targeting these bass this time of year, now that I have access with my kayak? We are probably talking about a 4-5 acre pond/lake(?), and in many places the bottom is totally covered with a single species of weed that is thick as carpet. So if I'm fishing streamers, anything deeper than 1-2 feet in most places and I get hung up, though there is one section of very deep water (compared to the rest) that seems to be weed-free. There is tons of great structure along the shoreline with downed limbs and entire submerged pines, and an island in the northern half of the lake. This seems like a very healthy piece of water, despite being in the inner city (pretty shady part of atlanta just two miles from my house...)
Anyways, I have no doubt that come Spring I'll have no trouble catching fish here on poppers in the shallows and corners and along the shoreline. But how do I catch them now (i.e., February, when temps are anywhere from 40's to 60's on a given day)? My casting is improving and I can get the line out pretty effectively now (also have an 8wt on order to supplement my Sage RPL+ 596), but I just don't have a strategy for how to catch these guys, what flies to use, and how to deal with all the weeds, whether to fish the deeper spots, etc... Anybody out there who fishes similar body of water in this weather? I would love y'alls advice on any part of these questions (patters, tactics, etc...) Thanks! hope to be an active member here!
