November 11, 2011
Lake Amistad continues to put out some very good quantities of bass as the fall season starts to take a hold of the lake conditions. Water temps are varying from mid to high 60’s and there are a lot of bait fish that have now moved into the backs of creeks. The bass are taking advantage and feeding heavily on them. The big bass are not yet set up in the creeks but lots of 1 – 3lb fish are being caught with the occasional 4 -5lber. This fish movement from the main lake to the creeks makes the bass catchable in all depth zones. I have seen good surface action one day and a great deep bite the next. With the constant change of weather conditions, I am sure to target different areas of the water column from shallow to deep for consistent fishing success. Lake Amistad water level is steady at approximately 1109 ft above sea level.
Current Patterns -
Shallow: Find the Shad! On days with the water is calm I have been very successful using small profile topwater baits like the Ima Skimmer. I have been working these topwaters slowly in the backs of creeks where there are shad present. When conditions are windy I have had great success throwing an Ima Flit jerkbait and assorted shallow running crankbaits with colors of natural looking shad patterns. When scouting for fishing locations look for little drains in the backs of creeks and target the deeper sections as well as the flats. If there is hydrilla present as well then I have typically found more fish to be utilizing in those creeks.
Mid-Depth: I continue to find some decent fishing in the 10-15 foot zone around points and creek channels with a combination of grass and rock. I ‘am throwing deeper running crankbaits around outside edges when these conditions are present as well as assorted soft plastic lures either Texas or Carolina rigged. Although much of the hydrilla is starting to die off many of the better quality fish are still relating to it.
Deep: The deep bite continues to improve and the presence of quick drops associated with the deeper ledges is the key. I have targeted these fish drop-shotting 4 inch worms, football jigs and Carolina rigs with a variety of plastic lures imitating bait fish such as the El Grande Lures Boom-R-Ang.
See you on the lake,
Kurt
