i have an abandoned lime rock pit close to me, but i'm new to bass fishing ..i have tried several different lures in it ,but havent had a hit ..the water is clear , and deep..i have tried spinner baits,
[ blue,black,red,green and white ]..i have also tried several topwaters,rat'l'traps,and
such,with no luck..theres no way to get a boat in here , and limited access on the edge...if you have a technique or suggestions i would sure appreciate them!!
thanks !! tigman_1@hotmail.com

Hi Tigman...

Welcome to the Boards. In order to answer your question effectively, I would need some more detail:

- Do you have any information about the clay pit? (i.e. Has anyone said there are fish in it?)
- What part of the country are you fishing?
- How deep is deep? (50+ Feet?)
- Have you seen any surface activity while observing the body of water from shore?
- What has the air temp been in your area over the past few weeks? (Average)

If they are in their, we'll help you catch them...

Hope to hear back from you soon.

BC

BC Is right.

Most of the time when a quarry or sand pit is filled with water it usually means that they hit a clay lens or dug too deep below the water table, and it became too costly to mine. So in turn what happens is that they abandon it, and it fills up. Usually fish do not get into most of them unless a resident decides to do some stocking of his own. That is the reason why Crappie are in Swan Pond and Hither Hills (side note).

The funny thing is most of the time when a mining company hits the water table they sell the developing rights in the area and ta-da water front property in the middle of no where. The houses usually turn a nice profit. Some lakes on the Island are actually abandoned quarrys and mines.

If it is heavy limestone quarry then the water may be too basic for fish to live in. One of they best ways to test is to do exactly what brendon says. Also I would check to see the local wildlife around there. For example, are there birds feeding near the shore? Whatever you find out please keep us posted.
Lunker Dave

Fellas- i checked his profile. He lives near Lake Panasofkee, Florida.

Why not get him to try a Senko dead-sticked on light (6 lb.) line? If there are any bass-or any fish in that body of water, the Senko will have their number and area code. lol
JoeM
PS- Welcome to BassinUSA, Tigman.

hi guys ,
thanks for the welcome!! well lets see , our average temp has been about 77 degrees,the water is at least 30' deep,and i know there are fish in there because i've seen them .. i saw one bass that had to be pushing 10 lbs(of course i didnt have my pole with me at the time either, lol).. we have caught several big bream on live worms , but i havent a clue how to catch the bass..
what is a senko ? since im new to bass fishing ,i might not know what your talking about , sorry..
well thanks for the input so far , please keep helping me !!

I have a little experience with Florida Pits. Gin Clear Vertical Sides And Lots of sharp edges!! There are a few near JoMo's winter Home! First off if you can see any vegetation either growing in from the shore or up from the bottom , try it first as it will provide the only cover for baitfish. Plastic worms come in to their own here and I would be looking for a color that is as close to clear with a nuetral ,natural tint, like a light pumpkin. Try it on a mojo or split shot about 18" in front of the worm. I would throw a senko rigged wacky parallel to the shore and let it free fall to the bottom and let it sit there for a very long time before moving it. My most productive times in pits were fishing at night. Big Jitterbugs parallel to shore and big loud Crank Bait the same way. Good luck

Tigman- That is good advice from Ukey (a.k.a. Frank) He did spend a lot of time down there and if you follow his tips, success will be following along.
As to Senkos, they are a bait that looks like a straight worm. The Manufacturer sometimes says it was designed using a Bic Pen as the model. (They say they are jesting, but it sure looks like that) It is loaded with salt and doesn't need a sinker of any kind when fished at reasonable depths.
It has a natural action that draws strikes from bass especially when you give the bait no action ("deadsticking") They are fragile and cost about 60 cents apiece. (Come in a pkg of 10 usually at $5.98. Ouch!) They can be bought from some mail order houses, although the Manufacturer (Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits) sells them direct. You can go to his Website at:
www.yamamoto.baits.com
Click on the on-line store and you can see all the sizes, colors and prices.
More questions? Post up and we'll get an answer for you.
Good Luck and Good Fishing, JoeM

Try the Senko in green pumpkin black flack rigged wacky stlye with a #2 Eagle claw Nickle cad Khale hook with 6# Berkley "Vanish" line or use a 1/32 ounce slipsinker and the little split shot worms made by "Gary Y". Good Fishing Dan!!

Here is another trick I've learned from fishing some of the strip pits in Illinois. As everyone who has read my magazine column knows, I'm a big fan of tubes. Try fishing a Texas rigged tube. One of my favorites is the Mann's Jelly Tube, injected with some Kodiak Crawfish paste. The hook I use is a number 2/0 or 3/0 XPoint XGap. Since you can't fish from a boat make long casts parallel to the shore. Use as light of sinker as possible so that the bait will sink slowly. The advice about the vegetation is a perfect location to which to cast this rig. Once down to the bottom start a slow crawl, bottom bump or swimming retrieve.
Another lure I've found to work well is a white Gripper Hair Rubber jig with a white curl tail grub. Swim this lure with a slow pump.
Finesse worms in the 4-inch size, such as a Gambler Bacon Strip, or Mann's Jelly Worm is another choice. I fish these Texas rigged or with a small open hook lead head.
There are more that may come to mind, but these should get you in the right direction.

A trick I like in Minnesota where we have many very clear lakes is a french fry, in very deep ledge situtations, I usually use a split shot rig. Be sure to use a light hook, and stick with naturaul colors. Pumpkin, green pumpkin, sand are all clear water colors.
Good Luck!