# Crystal Clear Water Bass Fishing?!



## Bass Assasin Slaton

Hi everyone I recently discovered a lake here in japan (Lake Ashinoko) near my permanent duty station and the water in the lake is CRYSTAL CLEAR!!! atleast 15-20ft vis!!..the lake has huge trout (rainbows and brown) and also largemouth bass!!!! but it is extremely hard to catch the bass. Im from southwest ohio so I rarely came across such prestine waters so its a new territory for me. The bass here that i have seen because you can literally see them everywhere you look are all very nice sizes (4-7lbs) from the looks of them. The layout is very nice with big rocks laying on the bottom of the lake and some heavy weed patches growing on the bottom as well at around 8-10feet depth..its so awesome being able to see EVERYTHING on the bottom and the structures I just couldnt get a bite using my swimbaits and little crank baits.

I really wanna catch some japan largemouth bass!!! anyone have any solid tips for me to use on my next trip?


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## Mr. A

Drop shot seems like a good starting point. Go as natural as possible with your lure colors. Floating worms in shallower areas, on Flouro line too. May want to try night fishing too. Keep us updated, abounds like a heck of a place to fish! Tight lines.

Mr. A


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## polebender

Senko's work really well in clear water, rigged Texas style or wacky. To me, this is the number one clear water bait! Also a lipless rattle trap type bait over the weed beds should produce. Definitely topwater minnow baits, floating and suspending. Keep them moving pretty fast and at a steady pace. You'll get more reaction strikes that way. And also a white spinnerbait. You should have better luck if you go on cloudy days or days with some wind. Good luck!


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## Marshall

I would try to fish that clear water during low light conditions. A cloudy day, morning or evening. Most of all i like it to be windy while fishing clear water. When its real windy they will eat fast moving baits. Also topwater like zara spook can be real good. Good luck.


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## Fishingisfun

Second the night fishing idea. Fished a clear water lake and could not git bit during daylight hours. Went at night best bite was on cloudy no moon nights. If a storm was on the way in it was even better. Black jitter bug, black spinnerbait or big rubber creatures fished slow then. Good luck.


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## Bass Assasin Slaton

Thanks for the advice!!! and the real awesome thing about this place is the size and the lack of Fishermen. There are no big boats trolling..only little fishing skids for local fishermen and i seen maybe 5 little boats tugging across the lake..so to me its not very pressured at all..im gonna drop down to a 6lb mono or flouro line i think 4lb is just to light..6lb should be fine for a larger bass and the big trout they have.


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## Mr. A

Bass Assasin Slaton said:


> Thanks for the advice!!! and the real awesome thing about this place is the size and the lack of Fishermen. There are no big boats trolling..only little fishing skids for local fishermen and i seen maybe 5 little boats tugging across the lake..so to me its not very pressured at all..im gonna drop down to a 6lb mono or flouro line i think 4lb is just to light..6lb should be fine for a larger bass and the big trout they have.


Just a thought, and you may already be doing this, but if you drop down to 6lb test you might consider using a net to land the fish. I believe you can catch a 12+# fish quite easily on 6# test, I've done it, anyone that fishes with an ultra light has done something similar. However, I would worry about break offs at the bank when getting the fish out of the water. I wouldn't crane a 8# bass out of the water with 6# test and if you are going to kneel and thumb the bass while still in the water remember that if you miss it and it flops around you likely not in any position to "fight the flop," and could even damage the rod as well.

Hope this helps!

Mr. A


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## Bass Assasin Slaton

i am going to drop down to a 6lb line the good thing about this lake is that it has alot of accessible banks almost like rocky beaches..im probably gonna be wading most of the time because the water is so cooling and clear and i can see the bottom..after about 30ft from shore it drops to about 15-20ft water


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## Eliminator

Years ago fishing Ohio Power we had to wear camo and sneak along the banks on hands and knees, one sudden movement and the bass would scatter and may as well hike to another hole.
The locals told us if it wasn't rainy or windy forget it.


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## Snyd

Cloudy days and night fishing should do the trick. Growing up I fished several strip mine ponds that were crystal clear as well. It didn't take me to long to figure out fishing cloudy days and night fishing worked the best. Let us know how you do.


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## polebender

Haven't seen any posts lately from you Bass Assassin. Hope everything is going ok for you! It's been interesting hearing about the fishing in Japan!


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## Detainer

Natural color lures! Every time I come across nice clear water I drop in this rapala bluegill lure and always do well


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## Swervage

Water like this is always tough to fish but there are a few things you can do to put the odds in your favor. Artificial baits are often tough in clear water and fish are simply unresponsive to them unless extremely aggressive. If the law permits, fish live bait, preferably shiners or chub, around 6-8 inches. Nothing like the real thing. Try fishing at night, when the bass are apt to be more reckless and water clarity may also be less of a factor. Topwater baits may work well in this situation. Clear water bass are always extrememly challenging and always rewarding as many other factors come into play .....


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## SMBHooker

Yep, live bait man, hook some gills if they are there, bass will hit with abandon in clear water on them.


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## got'm

Spybait might be the perfect solution!! Look into it and try it! I think it started in Japan because of the water clarity! Just a thought! I tried it in northeastern ohio and it really catches fish, duo realis makes the best spy baiting bait too btw!


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## dacrawdaddy

I live near one of the clearest lakes you will ever see and I catch most of my bass on small jerkbaits, hard and soft. Tube jigs also work great. A clear Zara Spook puppy is my favorite surface lure. It is best to downsize everything to generate strikes. I understand that Charlie Brewer Slider worms are very popular in Japan,they are the original shakey head worms.


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## NCbassattack

dacrawdaddy said:


> I live near one of the clearest lakes you will ever see and I catch most of my bass on small jerkbaits, hard and soft. Tube jigs also work great. A clear Zara Spook puppy is my favorite surface lure. It is best to downsize everything to generate strikes. I understand that Charlie Brewer Slider worms are very popular in Japan,they are the original shakey head worms.


We fished a very clear lake yesterday here in NC, Belews Lake. We down sized our line from 12 or 14 pound test to 8 and 10. Caught our fish mainly on Lucky Craft Pointer jerkbaits and shaky heads. The worm we used on them was Zoom's Swamp Crawler in green pumpkin.


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## Socom

I'm a big fan of weightless senkos in clear water. I usually go with watermelon


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## heron153

I fish a rock quarry with similar visibility - I have success with topwater - keep the majority of the line off the water, and don't give them too long to look at it - buzzbaits or walk the dog fast. 
The other technique that works is to take a size 6 or 8 octopus or circle hook and lip hook a live baitfish. Nothing else on the line, and use fluoro. Flip it out and let it swim free. Or hook it in the back. It will be just injured enough / away from a school and stand out. The minnow sometimes starts jumping while being chased!! Bait from the same body of water that you are fishing is tops. In fact, any bait rigged this way is sometimes best. A nightcrawler or craw the same way has worked well. If bluegill are present, git a big hook and hang one without weight below a bobber - give it room to swim.


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## heron153

btw if by permanent duty you mean military - THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!


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## Bass Assasin Slaton

Yes I am forward deployed to japan and will spend all 4 years of my service here! I'm having a good time and the fishing is amazing!.. I caught about 6 trout 2-3lbs each at the lake the last time I went using small worms I found near the shore because the lures I were using just didn't seem to do the trick.. I have another question im seeing HUGE bass but they just pass up all my lures anyone ever try using Big trout looking lures to fish for bass? i think that might be the trick!


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## polebender

I know the lakes in California are deep clear water lakes with huge bass! Their main forage is the rainbow trout. Most of the largest fish caught caught out these lakes have been on large rainbow trout swimbaits! You can find some videos on YouTube of them.


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## kapposgd

Those big swimbaits are a good idea. Also check out some of the Japanese lure manufacturers out there. So many of the techniques that have found their way over here like wacky rigging, dropshotting, Carolina crankbaiting and spybaits came about from fishing those clear highly pressured lakes. And out of curiosity how much are mega bass lures up there? If they're really cheap you should buy em up! You could make a fortune reselling them stateside


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## senoy

I landed a 43 inch musky on 6 lb fireline with a 4 foot 6 lb. mono leader in a moderate current. That's an estimated weight of around 21 or 22 lbs. No net either, but fairly light drag and really taking my time. It wasn't easy, but I was walleye fishing and he decided he liked my lure. I landed him in rip rap and actually had to lip him to guide him into a safe landing spot which was a bit nerve racking, but you do what you have to do. I've landed 15+ lb drum in a boat with no net and 6 lb. test as well. They don't have teeth though, so a bit easier.


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