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I've taken up fishing and have been setting trotlines for catfish. Been catching a lot of cats and am filling up the freezer getting ready for the fireworks once this crazy election is over.

Am fishing a shad lake and could use all the help I can get learning how and when to try and catch bass.
Please help!

I've been fishing the shady side of a bridge that runs north and south. The rip-rap.(the route 48 bridge...see map) Have caught some nice keeper size ones but I know I can do better. Need training on how to find the fish. Have a cheap fish finder that basically sucks in water less than 5 or 6 feet deep. Is that normal? Gee it's fun reeling in a bass.

The lake has several fisheries. Walleyes, hybrid striped bass, small and large mouth bass, crappies, and pretty much anything you can think of except muskies. It's a nuclear power plant cooling lake and is too hot for muskies I think?
I sure could use some help figuring it all out.

It's called Clinton Lake in central Illinois.http://www.mappery.com/Clinton-Lake-Illinois-Site-Map
I duck hunt there. It has a hot side and a cold side. The cold side is sort of small.

AB, if shad are the primary food source for the bass in the lake, you might start experimenting with some shad-like crank baits, I flat hate dealing with the "trouble" hooks on this type lure, but can cover a lot of water in a short amount of time, and matching the hatch usually has merit. If fishing at daylight or dusk, a top water, walking the dog type lure (think Rapala Skitterwak, or ZaraSpook), can be exciting, and typically elicit bites from the bigger fish. If the area you are fishing is 3-6' deep, a spinnerbait or buzzbait can also cover a lot of water. Remember, you will be eliminating water as you go, and after a few trips, you will start to hone in on particular spots that produce, and can start spot hopping to productive areas.

Deltaman wrote:AB, if shad are the primary food source for the bass in the lake, you might start experimenting with some shad-like crank baits, I flat hate dealing with the "trouble" hooks on this type lure, but can cover a lot of water in a short amount of time, and matching the hatch usually has merit. If fishing at daylight or dusk, a top water, walking the dog type lure (think Rapala Skitterwak, or ZaraSpook), can be exciting, and typically elicit bites from the bigger fish. If the area you are fishing is 3-6' deep, a spinnerbait or buzzbait can also cover a lot of water. Remember, you will be eliminating water as you go, and after a few trips, you will start to hone in on particular spots that produce, and can start spot hopping to productive areas.

I bought a fishing guide/map of the lake and it confirmed that I'm fishing in the right spot for the conditions. Shiny metal crankbaits is what I'm using. (bombers) That map has a huge list of spots, the whens, wheres, and hows too. There are some humps that I was not aware of. Got a cheap fish finder for father's day and it's helping me find the holes and humps.
Thanks and will take any tips anyone can post still.

Been bass fishing til dark. Then I get out the cast-net and catch a mess of shad for trotlines. Been catching channel cats, bullhead, and flatheads. So far no blues but I know they're in there. Caught them b4. Finding the shad is getting easier too.
Never was much into fishing but suddenly I'm all about it. Fun fun fun.

Do they have any bass tournaments on the lake? Find out what a "good" day is. You may well be overly optimistic about what a good day bass fishing is.

Years ago me and a buddy would fish this southern impoundment and we hardly caught any bass. It was pretty frustrating. Then I happened to catch a professional bass tournament of the top guys. They were filming one guy in particular and all of it was about how tough it was Based on what the professionals caught, I decided time to fish for things besides bass

SpinnerMan wrote:Do they have any bass tournaments on the lake? Find out what a "good" day is. You may well be overly optimistic about what a good day bass fishing is.

Years ago me and a buddy would fish this southern impoundment and we hardly caught any bass. It was pretty frustrating. Then I happened to catch a professional bass tournament of the top guys. They were filming one guy in particular and all of it was about how tough it was Based on what the professionals caught, I decided time to fish for things besides bass

I've got pictures of keeper bass I caught at Ciinton. It's hard work but since I have no idea what good fishing is I don't know any better "until you had to rub it in". Gee thanks. There ain't a ton of ducks either but I killed more at Clinton Lake than I did in Arkansas last year. Maybe because I'm not that good at it either.

aunt betty wrote:

SpinnerMan wrote:Do they have any bass tournaments on the lake? Find out what a "good" day is. You may well be overly optimistic about what a good day bass fishing is.

Years ago me and a buddy would fish this southern impoundment and we hardly caught any bass. It was pretty frustrating. Then I happened to catch a professional bass tournament of the top guys. They were filming one guy in particular and all of it was about how tough it was Based on what the professionals caught, I decided time to fish for things besides bass

I've got pictures of keeper bass I caught at Ciinton. It's hard work but since I have no idea what good fishing is I don't know any better "until you had to rub it in". Gee thanks. There ain't a ton of ducks either but I killed more at Clinton Lake than I did in Arkansas last year. Maybe because I'm not that good at it either.

Maybe what you are experiencing is as good as it realistically gets.

I rarely bass fish because even the best bass fishermen don't seem to catch enough fish or big enough fish to keep it interesting for me. A great day, a dozen fish over 12" or a trophy fish of 5 or 6 lbs.

I'll take this as a typical day.



Plus I had the biggest fish of all in the cooler, but I couldn't get the lid closed because it was almost full and he was too long. After him flopping and carrying on for awhile with my trying to get all of him inside so I could close the lid, he jumped back over the side of the boat

Then again back where I grew up on the Susquehanna River I could often go and catch more smallmouth bass than I could keep count of along with throwing in a bunch of rockbass and a random variety of other things including trout, walleye, catfish, common carp, suckers, sunfish, etc. Often doing it right next to people that were catching next to nothing because they just didn't get it.

:pirate:

Tonight....we eat!

If it hasn't rained in a few days, get out early on a calm morning. Near lily's or cat tails are usually a good bet. If the waters calm, throw a top water popper, as the day goes on start going deeper and deeper.
Mid day we've had good luck running blue gill baits (worms and small hooks with a bobber, and drop them right off the edge of the cat tails or Lilly pads.
Evening I either go back to a top water popper, or sometimes I like to throw a top water frog into the thick stuff.

I caught my biggest large mouth ever using tackle I go after blue gill with. Don't mind the girly pose, and my friends are a-holes

team216 wrote:If it hasn't rained in a few days, get out early on a calm morning. Near lily's or cat tails are usually a good bet. If the waters calm, throw a top water popper, as the day goes on start going deeper and deeper.
Mid day we've had good luck running blue gill baits (worms and small hooks with a bobber, and drop them right off the edge of the cat tails or Lilly pads.
Evening I either go back to a top water popper, or sometimes I like to throw a top water frog into the thick stuff.

I caught my biggest large mouth ever using tackle I go after blue gill with. Don't mind the girly pose, and my friends are a-holes

The only lily pad lake around here that I know of is Sangchris Lake near Rochester, Illinois. That's a long long way. You're right tho.
That lake is good for bass and stripers when the pads start dying off around opening day of duck season. Great for a cast n blast.