Thread: What is it with high water?

They will bite in high water !! They are just harder to find!!!!!

Too much water.

Can't find 'em. Can't get to 'em. Can't put the bait in front of their nose. Can't stay in one spot. Too many spots.

This is a question for nimrod and Skitrip some of the veterans!!!

Originally Posted by MEATGETTER

They will bite in high water !! They are just harder to find!!!!!

Exactly right. The fish will adjust to where there is favorable cover and preferred food. When I fish rising water, I find fish in very shallow water taking advantage of all the worms, bugs, etc that are available. When I say shallow water, that does not necessarily mean shallow in depth. Many times on the oxbows along the Mississippi I find fish 1 to 2 feet deep in 10-15 fow.
Rising water/flooded areas are much more of an adjustment for the fisherman than the fish.

When it first rises fish bite but when it floods it scatters fish . On Nimrod the lake can be many times as big a volume of water. Like right now the average depth went from 8' deep to 30'. The surface area of lake also probably tripled! Water is muddy and falling but after it falls and clears some the fish will adjust and orient to certain depth and structure. The fish are catchable if you can piece the puzzle together. I usually wait till it drops to a certain depth and then fish the normal shoreline brush (Buckbrush , Ironwood and Willow trees along normal lake bank). Many times the fish will hang on the last brush line returning to the lake. I perfer to wait till it drops to less than 6' above normal and concentrate on brushy points on main lake. Sometimes one tree can hold a good mess of fish if you can find it.

High water some places can be 1' and other can be 30' or more! I don't mind a small rise but when depth doubles, triples, or quadruples as it does on flood control lakes, I usually fish somewhere not as effected. Look to lakes that fluctuate less. Many lakes are set up where there is less variance in water levels. Dardenelle Lake levels change little but can muddy. Some AGFC lakes rise but not near the extent these flood control lakes do. Some small water supply lakes have dams that allow all excess water to overflow so they return to normal levels quickly.

I dont know about your high water but we cant even find our boat ramps its so high.

went to carter cove at nimrod today to look at the high water , camp site number 7 that I stay at was under water , dang its high