Using Low Water Tables to Your Advantage

Contributed by: Murf

Let me start by disclosing my preferred conditions for the very best of fishing days: I like full lakes. I like high tide on the Delta. I like as much cover available to bass to be submerged, because I know that’s when they’ll be the most aggressive and easiest to target.

That being said, I also value summers on Santa Clara Valley lakes like this one will be. We just went through what water supply professionals categorize as a poor water year, a year in which we didn’t receive enough rainfall in the past winter and spring to fully recharge ground-water supplies to levels that will keep our reservoirs and percolation ponds full throughout the summer.

Some anglers like the low water conditions we will see on our water bodies this summer, because it provides for conditions in which lots of fish will congregate to the few deep water locations hospitable for over-summering bass. The fish will be there, and if you can figure out how to pattern them, you could conceivably hook a number of quality fish from one point regularly. Unfortunately, most fish turn completely indifferent to our various offerings under these conditions, which makes catching them difficult despite the fact that we know exactly where they are holding.

With water levels low, there is one thing you can do to greatly increase your hook-up to cast ratio – not for this season, but for next spring – Lace up your hiking boots and go on an exploration to study the exposed bottom of your favorite lake.

An almost-empty lake is an educational opportunity for a bass angler. Take a notebook and pencil, or a digital camera if that’s more your style. Look for and record exposed terrain and structures that are under water in most years. Notice any obvious drop-offs, rock outcroppings, brush piles, sunken boats, or fallen trees. Look for historic creek channels that may harbor cold water refuges for fish in summers when the reservoir is full. The prime spawning bed that you stumble upon on dry land in August will likely hold a trophy female next May once the reservoir is holding more water and the fish are bedding.

Look for upward-elevation landmarks to describe the locations of the prime cover and beds you discover during your low-lake hikes, and draw yourself a map, noting normal and periodic high water levels of the reservoir. Highlight shallow water cover and spawning areas that have close access to deeper water. Return to those spots and hit them relentlessly when the lake levels rise again, and you’ll be targeting the best spots for big bass on your favorite lake.