deep, clear water bass fishing

Question
mark,

pretty odd situation here.  i'm in south georgia, so i am very comfortable fishing 12foot deep water or less (as most of the ponds/lakes are not much deeper than that).

 anyway, my wife and i just moved into a home that is on a 30 acre lake sink hole lake.  the lake is almost completely circular, the bottom is very funnel like.  i was surprised at the depth of this lake, figured it "might" have some 20 foot water, but as i used my depth finder... as you move away from the shore line, the depth begins to drop pretty uniformly... with the center depth being about 50 feet deep.  the lake is surrounded by homes, docks (most high off the water not down low), there is some grass/weeds/aquatic plant growth, but for the most part very little cover.  the water is very, very, very clear (or to me it is)... i was looking at beds (bass/panfish?) in 10ft.-12ft water... i could see clearly all the way to them.

this is not a heavily fished lake... not that i have noticed over the last year.  there are lots of panfish, minnows (shads, shiners?) every bass i have caught has come not too far off the shore line... and literally is a mirror image of each other... healthy looking bass but only 12-14 inches max.  

i have caught them primarily with a black/red fleck worm.  and also a trick worm.  as clear as it is i really thought it would be a great lake for night fishing, but i have yet to have a fish hit a top water plug.

i'm hoping you can give me some thoughts on a few things...

1.  is it possible to have lots of smaller bass and pan fish, minnows and not have any larger bass 5, 8, 10 pounders ?

2.  deep clear water... what techniques ?  i typically prefer to use a baitcaster reel.. but your thoughts on lures, retrieve, worms, etc.

3. i realize i've asked a lot, if it is easier for you to refer me to a site that might have these answers that would be good too.

4.  and with these clear lakes... i guess at some point the sun doesn't penetrate into the bottom depths, right ?  

thanks for your help... and just send suggestions that guarantee me to catch bass ! ha! ha!

i just fish for fun, catch'em and throw them back.

thanks again.  

Answer
Hello there Dave! Thanks for the great questions!....happy to break it down for you so you can have some fun. First off:
1. is it possible to have lots of smaller bass and pan fish, minnows and not have any larger bass 5, 8, 10 pounders ???
Yes, but not likely. It is possible that the sinkhole filled not so long ago and was stocked...again, not too likely. Without knowing for certain and investigating the waters for myself, I will guess that the population of bass is quite healthy from the numbers of fish you seem to be catching. You have already observed the forage and the dominant cover. As for the location of the larger fish? Well, bass love to school up and typically tend to school with fish of like size. As the larger fish age, they still exhibit the schooling behavior but not in the larger numbers. You'll probably spot 3-5 big fish marauding together sometime and your eyes will just pop out as they seem to see you (and probably do)and just laugh at any offerings you toss them. With the clear water, I assure you: if you see them, they see you and will be shy. So keying on low light times will likely be the most productive times to produce more and hopefully larger fish. Also, trust your observations.
  Remember the bass have established daily migration routes from their deep water haunts (sanctuary) to the feeding areas. If weed beds are the only structure you notice, focus on more subtle things like the water column itself such as temperature breaks/thermoclines and very subtle differences in the bottom composition.ie: small broken rock vs larger or mud vs sand. If oxygen saturation is strong in the column (perhaps a well oxygenated spring feeds the sink), the fish may be found anywhere from the surface to the deepest areas. ( Try this...it may sound odd, but I used to love getting out my snorkel, mask and fins and take a swim in my favorite ponds and lakes just to see first hand all that I could...it may surprise you).

2. deep clear water... what techniques ? i typically prefer to use a baitcaster reel.. but your thoughts on lures, retrieve, worms, etc.
 Smaller baits in lighter colors, lighter lines, ( I love 6lb. test in the gin clear waters here in So. CA.)...and longer casts will all add up to more strikes. I would tend to use the "finesse" baits (more a style of fishing now than just a downsized approach) which for me are 3 to 4 inch plastics in a variety of good , clear water colors: try salt-n-pepper( a clear worm with black and silver flake), fire grape( purple with red flake) or punkin-pepper Christmas (and amber colored worm with black, red and green flake). Other colors to consider in plastics: Pumpkin pepper with chartreuse tipped tails, smoke n pepper with silver flake.  Use 4" to 6" worms fished either split-shotted or on a light carolina rig. (drop shotting may also be very productive and allow you to find some of the deeper fish very easily)...keep you weights very light... I would likely fish 1/16 to 1/8oz bullet weights while splitshotting...(if your not familiar with the technique, just slide a bullet weight up the line, tie on your hook and texas rigged worm of choice, then place a tiny splitshot under the bullet weight from 12 to 24" up from the worm)...fish the system by slowly raising the rod tip various heights, lowering it at about the same speed and let the bait fall enticingly to the bottom. If you feel a tap or just a mushy, resistance, set the hook immediately. (if the fish are schooling, you'll usually get aggressive to down right viscious strikes while they compete for your bait...single fish may strike with an infinite number of differences.If you decide to give the night fishing a go, (a good chance to find those bigger fish) don't hesitate to try larger worms in darker colors. Try to stay with the lightest line you feel comfortable with and if you haven't already, give the fluorocarbon lines a try. "Vanish" is great although a little stiff and I have definitely increased the number of strikes here in my home waters with it.
 Another great technique for the clear, deeper water, is an old one called doodlin'. Rig a 4" straight or paddletail worm in your favorite color texas style but place one or two glass beads under the bullet weight ( a brass weight will allow you to eliminate 1 bead....just allow all of them to rest against the rigged worm. Make a cast over some of the deeper structure or breaks that you locate (say 15-30ft down) allow the bait to settle, then shake the rod tip while leaving the worm in or near the same place on the bottom. Shake it in 6-8" sweeps rather quickly allowing the lead and glass or brass and glass to click...try allowing the rig to sit for a few seconds intermittently as well...shy fish will move in on the sound and most often you will coax numerous strikes.( just be careful not to fish over 30' deep...you'll injure the bass bringing them up from those depths as their air bladders expand).
 In addition, don't forget stick baits like classic floating Rapalas fished injured minnow style early and late and at night...it may prove deadly. Smaller crankbaits fished on light line will also produce...try size 5 Shadraps in natural, lighter colors or old favorites like Bagley Honey B's or Killer B 1's in baby bass, parrot or tennessee shad.
 Overall, just enjoy trying to figure out your sink hole! It sounds fun! And I'd love to be doing it with you. Stay with the finesse techniques, downsize the lures and stay with lighter, low visibility lines. Approach your targets with a bit of stealth...no noise in the boat or tread lightly on the shoreline...throw longer casts and remember the fish see you when you see them...you'll probably nail that 8 lb fish when you least expect it and you'll never see it coming....just that big explosion on the surface as he trys to throw your bait!
  Have fun...Hope this helps!!! Keep me posted-
  Mark Rimmer- AllExperts.com