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Article 2 - The Dam #13516819 04/14/20 02:44 AM
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Donald Harper Online Happy OP
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Fishing The Dam:

The corners of the Dam is the second article in a series of 35 different criteria that can be used to help you find more fish. I am in hopes that those sitting at home will have time to pull a few pieces of knowledge and techniques that will help you catch these fish. The first article was about studying and researching the lake.

Somewhere near the ends of the Dam the rip rap will end. This is where the dirt meets the rock. It is a good feature to help you learn the difference of what rock turning to dirt looks like on your depth finder. On most lakes rock is the number one piece of structure that will hold fish. You need the depth finder visuals to help you locate those small sections in other areas of the lake. The Rip Rap not only ends as you are leaving the Dam, it extends out in the water off the Dam and provides a great straight line of rock. Bass love this straight line if the contours are right to bring them in toward those rocks. The depth of water where the dirt meets the rock is an excellent depth. It is that Corner that we are looking for. Big Bass will use these corners to spawn. My bait of choice on the corners is a 5/8 oz Jig when looking for spawning fish and fishing extremely slow.

You can study your Nav. Apps. Contour Maps at home to determine if the Contour lines are irregular providing the route to bring fish into the rocks on the Dam. If these contours are irregular then there will be more fish in the area from shallow to deep water. If not the local Bass will use the rip rap during your top water bite on most Dams; especially the last 100 yards on both ends. Look for any irregular protrusions sticking out off the Dam. Look for any gouges in the contour. Fish these irregular features thoroughly.

There are several techniques and baits you can use to fish parallel to the Dam and along this underwater edge where the dirt meets the rocks. I personally like to drift down the Dam dragging a 1/8 oz Crig along this edge. The lighter the rig the less it will hang in the rocks. Keep it moving along this edge nice and slow with just the light weight ticking the rocks. The Baby Brush Hog is my favorite plastic for this application. I will use a Senko and Fluke for casting out in front of the boat. There will also be times that nothing will beat a Crank Bait along this edge in 10 to 12 ft of water. This is where two fisherman will come into play. The man in the back can drag the light Crig and the man up front can fan cast the rocks from the rip rap out to where the dirt meets the rocks. I only fish parallel with the rip rap when the deep water contours are irregular. Other wise I am only going to top water the rip rap and fish the corners of the rip rap out to where it meets the dirt on just each end of the Dam.

Large Protrusions off the Dam that extend out into the lake are the best contours for holding fish. They move up from deep water onto the protrusions to feed on a daily basis. You just need to be there at the right time. Fish the areas over a period of time at different times of the day and keep a log book. Try working the area at 8-10-12-2-and 4. This gives the area 5 opportunities on different days to show what and when it will produce. Protrusions with Gouges gives the irregular feature that the Bass will stack up on. Sometime they will be in the deepest part of the gouge and others on the sides or on the corners of the gouge. Very narrow and deep gouges form excellent Funnel Points on both corners which larger Bass will relate to much better than a gradual slope to deep water. When you find these protrusions and gouges off the dam, try to keep the boat in 20 ft of water as not to disturb the fish that are staging to feed. Move into the gouges to fish the Hot Spots that are shallower if needed to reach them.

Man up front is taking care of these long cast with his search baits that can be thrown long distances to the best irregular features along the route out and around the protrusion; then turning into the gouges. The man in the back is dragging the 20 ft contour in search of that one big bite or staging fish. As the boat turns in and out following the contour on the protrusion, the Crig will climb the slopes and corners of the gouges. This varies the dept of dragging and does a great job in helping to locate staging fish that are beginning to feed.

If you missed reading the first article on Knowing Your Lake, feel free to send a PM or Emai to: fishnteacher@gmail.com

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Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516822 04/14/20 02:48 AM
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J.P. Greeson Online Content
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Let's try this again. Not sure what was up with all the negativity yesterday, but let's not do that again. If you don't like the info, move on to another thread.


The solution to any problem - work, love, money, whatever - is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be. --John Gierach

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Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516847 04/14/20 03:19 AM
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Thanks for the info thumb

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516853 04/14/20 03:26 AM
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JackMason Online Happy
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Great job J.P.!!!

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516858 04/14/20 03:37 AM
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Donald Harper Online Happy OP
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Appreciated Mr. Greeson.


Each person you work with holds some promise to your future success.
Websiite Sponsors:
www.eletewater.com - Staying Hydrated
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20 Hot Spot Mapping - GPS Contour Chips - Custom Spinner Baits - Jigs -Spooks
Pure Extracts - Minnow-Night Crawler-Crayfish-Craylic


Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516896 04/14/20 04:29 AM
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thumb

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13516940 04/14/20 10:48 AM
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haleywp Offline
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Thanks J. P. Green for re-posting the article. Great reading for the novice and experienced fisherman.

Pat Haley

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517120 04/14/20 01:23 PM
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Good stuff Donald.


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Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517233 04/14/20 02:26 PM
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Well done, I'm looking forward to the next installments.

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517488 04/14/20 04:59 PM
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Thank you for reposting.

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517504 04/14/20 05:12 PM
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Thanks for the great info Don. Look forward to reading the next one.

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517536 04/14/20 05:30 PM
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Really good stuff as usual Don. Thanks for posting and to JP for the repost.


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Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517537 04/14/20 05:30 PM
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Chris G Offline
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I actually have always enjoyed reading these posts. Have never paid for the service but love reading them. It always gives me ideas on some new things to look at on a given lake. Not sure why so many attack him. Heck the other day, just about everyone was being attacked for some reason or another.


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Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517592 04/14/20 06:13 PM
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I'm glad this was re-posted. Don gives a lot of insight into what his experience has been and it's very useful for someone who is trying to learn like me. Don's articles and posts are what got me interested in this site and join it to begin with. Thank you J.P. and Don.

Re: Article 2 - The Dam [Re: Donald Harper] #13517814 04/14/20 08:08 PM
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These articles really help us that are new to fishing. Everyone has the way they think it should be done, and you have to consider what works for you. I use Don's maps and his write ups and insight to places on a lake really have helped me to understand what to look at when at different lakes. I am still learning but his maps have helped me understand what to look for. I just wish I had more time to get out and search more and try things. Don's knowledge and understanding of how fish move where they eat, are very evident in the articles as well as his maps. I always like reading his articles. Keep it up Don... Thanks.


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