Smith1 wrote:
I would like to fish Lake Pleasant by kayak this month. Any tips on bait or lures or section of the Lake which is best to fish. Thanks
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FISHING LAKE PLEASANT WITH JOHN MURRAY;
John Murray is probably one of the best-known pro bass fishermen in Arizona still, even though he moved back east a while back to focus on his fishing career. He used to teach fishing courses at Glendale Community College and has been fishing professionally for decades. John has won more boats and more money than you would believe, and Lake Pleasant was always one of his favorite lakes, in spite of the fact that it can be great one day and incredibly tough the next. The constant fluctuations in water levels at Pleasant make it even more difficult than most lakes — it goes up and down up to 100 feet every year!. It seems like you are at a different lake every time you go there. Regardless of conditions, Murray always seemed to be able to bring a limit of bass to the scales, and years ago he shared some of his Pleasant tips with us.
First of all, John says, don’t discount any part of the lake — fish all over, no matter what time of year or time of day it is. Narrow your fishing down to your strengths. If you are good at throwing spinnerbaits, do it. If you prefer crankbaits, throw a plug. “Lake Pleasant fish are not the fish they wrote the book about,” Murray declares. “Look for how deep the shad are,” he advises, “wherever the shad are, that’s where the bass will be.” If you have a depth-finder, this is fairly easy–you just look for balls of fish on the screen. If you don’t have a depth-finder, ask another fisherman how deep the shad are. Fishermen are usually very willing to share such information.
When it comes to Lake Pleasant, John Murray says you just have to remember that the fish are there. You just have to keep trying until you find them. When the fish are shallow, he recommends using just a couple of different baits, like a crankbait and a spinnerbait, and to keep on casting, moving along and covering lots of water. When he is pre-fishing for a tournament, Murray does just that, and he doesn’t even care if he catches a fish or not–he’s just looking for bites so he knows where to start fishing during the tournament.
Spinnerbaits are one of his favorite lures for finding fish. They cover lots of water quickly, and can be fished slowly or fast, depending on the mood the fish are in. The key to spinnerbaits, says Murray, is the retrieve, not how they look. He favors a lure with two willow-leaf blades, and adds a ribbon tail worm as a trailer. Cast the lure right to shore, he says. At Pleasant, you wouldn’t believe how shallow some of the fish are. Work it through the bushes, then let it drop, barely moving it. He usually tries to keep the lure within one or two feet of the bottom, and feels that when it comes to speed, the slower the better.
Experiment with the retrieve, says Murray. If you aren’t catching fish, don’t speed up, slow down. You need to keep a positive outlook, too. If you believe you will catch fish, and you are where the fish are, that’s 70% of the battle.
The angler in the back of the boat is often hard-pressed to find an opening. The guy in the front may cast to all the good spots and leave the poor non-boater with nowhere to throw. Dragging a worm or a split-shot rig is a good strategy for the non-boater. A Carolina-rigged lizard (watermelon green) has been a real producer at Pleasant for years. This is a great rig for the non-boater. Slip a glass bead on your line, then a 3/4- to 1-ounce egg sinker. Then tie on a swivel. On the other end of the swivel, attach a leader from two to four feet long. Tie a worm hook onto the leader, rig a lizard on it, and drag it around the bottom. This has been killer at Pleasant all year long almost since the new dam was built.
In early spring, the Carolina rig and the split shot rig are great at Pleasant. A split-shot rig is like a Carolina rig, but smaller. You don’t usually use a leader and swivel, you just pinch a split-shot onto the line about 18 inches up from the hook. This is good when the bite is really tough and the fish want something small and slow. Later in the spring, watch for surface action and use a top-water lure like a Suave (ask for them at the tackle shop) or a Pop-R. The Suave is a Lobina Lure, a company Murray helped to found. It is fished on the surface with a “walk the dog” motion, and spits and darts all over. It’s the favorite top-water lure of many of Arizona’s best pro fishermen. The Pop-R has a concave face that blurp's and spits when you tug it across the surface. Buzzbaits start being very effective as soon as the water warms up enough to tempt the fish up shallow. A white buzzbait with a touch of blue has been the “secret bait” at Pleasant for the past couple of springs.
If the fish won’t come all the way to the top, try a jerk bait. These skinny minnow-shaped lures are worked in a jerking motion–pull, stop, pull, stop–that makes them dart and rest in the water. Some of the baits suspend, staying right where they are when they stop. Some start to float slowly upward when they stop. Try both and see what the fish want. The best colors at Pleasant seem to be black and chrome or blue and chrome. The Rogue (Smithwick) is the perennial favorite, with the T.D. Minnow (Team Diawa) gaining every year. Throw jerk baits in the backs of coves and all along brushy shorelines. They come in models that run at different depths, so you can choose one that will stay within a couple feet of the surface, or tie on a big one that will probe depths of up to fifteen feet. The deeper they run, the faster you get tired.
A rule of thumb is: the warmer the water, the shallower the fish. At Pleasant, the fish haven’t read the rules. You can usually find shallow fish all year long. So try a spinnerbait, a crankbait, a jerk bait, or a lizard. It’s fun trying to outsmart Pleasant bass!
Please click on link for additional information, Thank You.
https://outdoorazfun.com/john-murrays-tips-for-fishing-lake-pleasant/.....🎣🐠🐸🦞USA....."Gone Fishing!!-----~~~<*))}}}}>><{{ 🎣🐠🐸🦞USA.....
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Ron620DVS