Fishing in crowded conditions and clear water?

[Shoemoo]

I recently found out there's a 20 acre filled gravel pit near where I live that has largemouth and bluegill. I heard it's one of the few local ponds don't get choked with weeds during the summer so I went down to check it out for a few minutes today. The water is super clear. I was able to see rocks on the bottom at least 6' deep.

No lily pads in the lake, but lots of overhanging trees and bushes. Not sure about the quality of the fishing, but I did see a bluegill about 6" hovering close to shore. It looked like it was fanning a nest, but there was just one.

Unfortunately, there's a dive shop/watercraft rental place right on the shore, so there were at least a 100 people swimming and a 20+ rafts, paddleboards and kayaks of all types making a tremendous racket. Hopefully it won't be as bad during the week. On the plus side, the divers have posted some videos on youtube that show some decent sized fish and the bottom composition.

[video=youtube]

[video=youtube]

Any tips for fishing a spot like this? The main attraction is it's very close, not weedy and big enough so that you can fish from a boat without worrying about being in casting range from either shore.

 

[JSC]

Early & Late as well as night time

 

[hookup]

Take a mental day from work - tues, wed should settle things down

 

[quivira kid]

Early and late.... Natural looking baits, light of line as you can get away with....

Sometimes it is good to fish a bit faster and not let them nitpick and look at what you're giving them.... Sometimes.

 

[macon1]

4 lb test green mono, I use Excel from Bass Pro. 1500 yards for about ten dollars. I like the green line, but others like the clear.

Take a watermelon/red speed worm from zoom baits and pinch off the tail, texpose on a 2/0 worm hook weightless......cast out using a skipping sidearm cast and let free fall to bottom....let sit on bottom 20 seconds, then lift slowly off bottom about two feet....hold at that level for ten seconds, then tremor the bait once, tremoring is easy to do, just suddenly grasp the rod handle a little tighter trying not to move the rod tip.....of course it will move suddenly, but not far....this gives the fish a start and often elicits strikes. If nothing happens, let the worm re-fall again and let set for another 20 seconds before lifting two feet again, and tremoring after the pause......if nothing happens this time, reel in at a moderate pace and cast to another likely spot.

You may use the same presentation with smaller jigs, but as you know, the jigs will often fall much faster... I think you could easily create a slow fall jig by adding foam to the tie.

On the bottom the lure appears to be an intruder, sitting still bugs any territorial bass in the neighborhood, but also because the bait falls so slowly, it will be seen by suspended bass on the way down. It's paramount to become an avid line watcher with this method of fishing.

Good Fishing, Mac

p.s. With the zoom speed worm being watermelon/red is important. Often the bait will rock back and forth sideways on the fall making the glitter reflect as though being mini lights turning on an off during the fall. Also have tried other colors in the line of baits but wat/red
outscored all others hands down. Zoom also has an Ultra Vibe Speedworm....I've had much better catches with the regular Speed Worm.