Need some advise

[StumpHunter]

I have a kayak bass tournament this Saturday. I don't target bass but catch a lot of them while crappie fishing. The lake (Hartwell) water level has come up 20' (yes 20') since I fished there two months ago. The lake is 4' above full pool and up in the trees. There are many docks on this lake also.
Being in a kayak I won't be going over a mile or so from the landing. What tackle would you use and how would you fish the high waters? Top water or cranks/spinners or others.
There is no trolling, no fishing from the land and only artificial baits.
We are fishing for the black bass family so this lake only has large mouth and spotted bass, no small mouths.

Thanks for any help,
Ronnie

 

[toadfrog]

I'd take buzz baits spinner baits and a few flipping jigs for fishing piles of structure . Then if that fails put on a watermelon / red worm with a ribbon tail . Reel it in with short strokes giving and taking slack .

 

[Bucko]

spinnerbaits, brush jigs, senkos, crankbaits both shallow flat bills and deep.divers, also I wouldnt rule oit some finesse drop.shot rigs. start shallow in the morning then move deeper ass the day goes to find the big ones. I assume no electronics on a kayak so maybe pre fish it some and use geographical landmarks to reference later. also a topwater like a spook would be good to have if you find baitfish popping the surface. deep green weeds are what you want. if the weeds are brown, paddle on.

 

[AtticaFish]

Hmmmmm....... think my Plan A would be hitting the close by docks with silicone skirt jigs. Cast up under them or next to any underwater posts if you can or even out in front of docked boats and alongside them. The more complex docks the better. If there are any marinas that have concrete walls or rock break walls, those would be good too. Twitch it on the fall then just a slow lift/drop retrieve for a couple feet away from the dock - a lot of time your line will just go completely slack when they inhale it.

Plan B would be a spinnerbait w/ colorado blades. Can make long casts and cover a lot of ground quickly. You can also either slow roll them in deeper water (sunny/calm day) or fast across the top in the shallows.

One big disadvantage i have found bass fishing from a kayak is being so low to the water. Longer rods help but it is still hard to actually see what kind of structure you are fishing when you are not up above the water. Pitching jigs at brush piles is nearly impossible.

Where are you launching from on Hartwell? I always like to pull up a Google map and get an idea of the area from overhead. You might see some docks or other good looking spots that you might not have known was there otherwise.

 

[AndyLane]

I have never fished from a kayak but I suppose if I were to get my big butt into one and go after some High water bass this is what I'd do. If the water is out of its banks up into the trees and bushes like you say that is where I would go first. Everything from baitfish to crawfish to bluegills to bass will be moving into the new structure and feeding on all the new forage. If the water is on the fall I would also work where the water is normally cause the bass will transition back to old structure pretty quick. In the morning I would work topwater and/or suspending jerkbaits or toss some zoom "floating" (Trick) worms around bushes and other cover. As the day went on I would prolly start making some noise! (Specially if water is muddy) Throw some baits that rattle....Cranks, jerkbaits, rattle jigs...ect... around stumps, rocks, rock shelfs, boat docks..ect. I don't Bass fish half as much as I used to but thats prolly how I'd go about finding a few fish. Good luck to ya Stump!

 

[StumpHunter]

Thanks for all the info guys. This is where we are holding the tournament http://www.lake-hartwell.com/RampsAndRecreationAreas/FairPlayRecreationArea.htm
I have fish there for crappie and know the area enough to know where the points are and most of the rock structure is. I will be working the river run to the right of the park. All the dock on Hartwell are floating docks, all the old wooden dock had to be removed. We can use depth finders so that is a plus.

 

[hookup]

Big bass feed on panfish so add a few swim baits in the mix.

If the water's stained or muddy stick to baits that are obnoxious - make allot of noise & push around allot of water. Black & blue jig & pigs work in stained water too - Uncle Josh are expensive pigs, but work.

If the water's clear, smoke, pumpkin colors work.

I'm a huge soft plastics fan, so if there's a crawfish population in the lake, tubes w/ a rattle fished either on a stupid jig or t-posed with a weight stuck up its rear.

 

[StumpHunter]

That part of the lake is clear from the report I received. A friend told me that the spots were biting Junebug trick worms fished Carolina stile. There is water in the 70 to 80' feet deep in the channels but some long points also. I took some pics there in Jan of this year and you can see how low the water was then and also all the rock on the banks. Caught a few striper and spots then, hope I can find them this trip You can also see how fast the depths will drop off. All these fish were caught on a 1/16 road runner tied with marabou using 6lb line.

 

[StumpHunter]

OK I got three pack of trick worms, flipping jigs, buzz baits, spinner baits some poppers and a few jitter bugs. I have a box full of cranks I use for crappie so I'll take a couple of those also. Thanks so much guys for the help, I studied the lake map last night so I have a good plan of attack Well report how it goes.

 

[Pup]

If the water is out of its banks up into the trees and bushes like you say that is where I would go first. Everything from baitfish to crawfish to bluegills to bass will be moving into the new structure and feeding on all the new forage. If the water is on the fall I would also work where the water is normally cause the bass will transition back to old structure pretty quick.

This is very sage advice, especially if the rise in water level occurred very recently.

Don't know anything about your lake's water chemistry or detailed physical characteristics, but it appears on the map to be a fairly large reservoir. I'd keep your kayak near shore, because I am a "safety first" chicken wanting to avoid the wakes of power boaters.

That said, try some Texas-rigged 6.5" curly-tailed worms for the largemouth in shallow areas among the flooded trees, bushes, and grasses. They are candy to virtually any largemouth bass. I like to fish them using 1/16-oz. bullet weights with #1 or 1/0 offset worm hooks. Gamakatsu worm hooks work best for me (thin wire ). You mentioned clear water for the upper end of the reservoir, so try throwing purple first. Purple or black fire-tailed worms (orange or pink tail) make great largemouth bass targets in clear waters, just my opinion. BTW, patience is a virtue when fishing plastic worms. Be sure to retrieve them slowly, so crawl them along.

Bring along some 1/8 to 3/8-oz. Rooster Tail Spinners. These are what I call "spot removers". Spotted bass do seem to like them in my experience. Largemouth bass hit them too. They are very good fish finders in shallow waters. For deeper spots, I'd try 3 to 4-inch long curly-tailed grubs in watermelon, green pumpkin, pumpkinseed, pearl, or any of a variety of black-peppered colors. My jighead weights would range from 1/16 to 1/4 of an ounce. Find some bridge abutments near or at river/stream inlets and fish these around them. Fishing should be pretty good if the abutments are near rock riprap. Spots are ready biters.

Best of luck to you StumpHunter. :icon14:

 

[StumpHunter]

Thanks for all the info, it all will be put to use until I find something willing to bite. I may need to take two yaks, one for the tackle This will be the first time meeting the group of guys and sounds like they will be close to 40 kayaks plus the kids tournament. Going to be interesting and fun to try and fish out of a kayak. I have fished short trip with my fly rod and light tackle but can't wait to hook up to a big fish and see how far it pulls me