I am still working on a check list of "what to do next" when locating fish. For the last couple of weeks I have been able to locate them on deep structure. Yesterday was the first day out since the recent rains. The water temp had dropped 6-8 degrees and all my deep water stuff looked like a ghost town. I could not find them, but it seems to warm to beat the shallows. What would be my next thing to look for when they are not bunched up like they were?

This cooler weather we are having may have them thinking its fall already so they could have moved half way up the points or further.

I noticed that when I saw baitfish, they were in 10-15' is that an indicator?

Cover lots of deep water spots. 5 mins a piece.

Find the bait find the bass..............

If Bait is moving shallow the fish will too, no matter what the water temps.

They usually won't move far this time of year if its good structure. Alot of it is timing, schools of shad will pull them off temporarily, but they'll be back soon. Way too early in the year for any major migrations. I'd do what Jersey Dan said. Maybe give them some different looks, different times, angles, etc...

How deep is deep that you are looking? If these are 15 to 25 ft. deep fish then they will move right up into that new water if the lake caught some rise. They love getting on that new ground and looking for the minnows and earth worms that may be there which is one of their favorite food sources when they can get it. That is why I use Minnow and Night Crawler scent on everything and in my soft plastics. Even my skirts are living rubber with the power form poured into the tabs.

Everytime the lakes that I have fished rise 2 to 3 feet going shallow is the ticket with the following:

- Spook throught the brush.
- Spinner bait throught brush, grass, and where no one else will go.
- Lizard in the bushes
- Jig on the deeper hardwoods

Thanks for the info. I am going again this evening, so I think my plan of action will be to keep checking spots, and maybe they'll show up.

If the lake rose 2-3 ft or more, get to the bank. Also go to places where there was a lot of runoff as that will congregate baitfish and bream. With a big change like that it will sometimes put the fish in a funk for about a week. They will be back but the shallow fish will be active in the new growth.

With a Big rise they will move Shallow. The First Place I would look in between the two is the old shoreline....... Then into the newly flooded vegetation. They can get there quick too.