i fished a water conservation lake near Glen Rose and was skunked.  The wind was up so I was anchoring so I could fish spots.  About noon, I was in 15 feet of water and started to raise my anchor and I could see it on the bottom.  15 feet!!  

I am at a total loss in water that clear.  Give me red clay and coffee and I'm right at home, but ultra clear water is beyond me.   Would love some advice!

Bruce,

Obviously, fishing can be really tough under those conditions, especially under a bright sun. For me, conditions like that normally mean downsizing to spinning tackle with 6# or 8# line, smaller lures, and longer casts. My go-to baits would be a 4" black worm, Texas-rigged on a size 1 (not 1/0) hook with a 1/16 oz slip sinker. Fish it slow with long pauses - even deadsticking for up to a minute (or 2) at a time. If that didn't work, I'd either dropshot with a 6" worm and size 4 hook or use the T-rig with a tiny split shot about a foot in front of the worm. If fish are shallow, try a long cast with an original #11 balsa Rapala (silver if sunny, gold if overcast), wait for the ripples to disappear, and then twitch it on top with long pauses. Even crappie jigs will work for bass in clear water. Try one under a bobber so the fish can look at it in the same place for a long time. Other productive lures would be small lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Some people like to fish faster in clear water so the fish can't get a good look at the lure, but that never worked well for me. Even a small jerkbait has worked for me at times, as have small swimbaits on fished on a 1/8 oz jighead. Hope this helps.

Tom

Thanks, Tom.  Very helpful.  

Hello Bruce,  My family used to fish Bull Shoals Lake every spring for many years.  It's not gin clear like Dale Hollow in TN, but can be pretty clear and tough.

For normal fishing, the bait was always a TX-rigged 8" red worm, usually with gold fleck.  Red and black Power Worms were a second best substitute.  But any natural colored soft plastic could produce as well.

In clear water, I've learned that bass tend to school more, so Zara spooks or other walkers can draw fish from 50 feet away.  We've caught schooling spots in 50 feet of water chasing shad.  Late evening, the bass tend to run in shallow for a couple hours and may linger in the shallow brush, and a weightless trick worm or Kut Tail worm can produce.

In the late mornings and afternoons, we used to troll deep diving Fat Free Shad and DD22's, and caught anything from nice bass, to catfish, walleye, and the occasional crappie.  With a thin braid line, you can get these baits down to 20+ feet on the troll, so the fifteen feet you are talking about is very doable.  Another option may be slow-rolling a deep spinner bait.

Some people say any depth over about 10 feet is prime for a Carolina rig, and in that deep water, a more finesse approach with a split shot rig or even a drop shot might work.

Now that I'm thinking about all this, I'd love to give that place a shot!  

Jim

Bruce, were you fishing at Wheeler Branch? If so, I can give you some good and more specific recommendations.

Yes, Wheeler Branch.  I fished it when it first opened and the cover was plentiful.  They bulldozed all of the shoreline timber about two years ago and I have not done well since.  I was dropshotting and trying a deep crank on a bluebird day, but no luck.  Thanks!

Bruce, email me (tomdillon1942@yahoo.com) and I'll reply to you some tips and locations for Wheeler Branch.