A tale of two lakes

[BassProAddict]

So I'm in Asia in this country with a few bass lakes (seeded artificially decades back). Two lakes out of the 4 locations that have bass are back to back with each other (about 5 minutes apart).

Both lakes are reservoirs. The bigger one powers a small hydroelectric plant while the smaller one supplies fresher water to the big lake.

There is an odd thing going on with these two lakes. Quite peculiar, frankly. One of the lakes is very seasonal.You only get bites and catches about 4-6 months in a year. The other lake, the smaller one is year-round lake. In terms of lure preferences, these two lakes are behaving differently as well. The big one is a jerkbait lake while the small one is a softplastic lake. Cranks work well in both, however.

I just find it so odd that two adjacent lakes can behave so differently. In a tropical country such as this one, actual seasons don't really apply. What they do have here are summer and rainy season.

What's your take on this guys?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Water clarity similar? Water temps similar? Is one much Deeper than the other?

My guess is each lake has a different vegetation and thus a different forage(food).

[Ray Esboldt]

BPA,

What country? That doesn't matter with regards to you question, but I work with people in Asia all the time. I'm just curious where bass live (other than Japan) in case I end up there.

Do people have fishing boats like we have here?

[bronzeback]

I'd say temperature and vegetation have a lot to do with the bite diffrence. The lake with the hydro electric power plant may have water that is a few degrees warmer, due to the processes at the plant, I fished a lake in Texas that was like that. It's possible too that current plays a factor, maybe these baits are only working well in certain areas on these lakes because you aren't fishing the spots on the lake where those baits will really come in handy (not criticizing, just theorizing).

Either way though, sounds like a fun mystery to solve.

[BassProAddict]

Hiya Deitz, Ray and Bronze...

The two lakes are both mountain reservoirs. Big lake is and "L" shaped lake with LOTS of coves and "riverish" interconnections. The longer part of the "L" is mostly open water with the fringes having the coves along them. Water fluctuations here are BIG. When the spillway releases water, bites really slow down as the fish are just nowhere to be found. Vegetation and cover in this lake include grass (super slimy grass), lots of lillies, occasional submerged timber. There is no sand, no rocky bottom and no gravel either. It's mostly soil/mud. Banks rarely slope gradually and most are undercut. When the weather gets cooler (November to January) the big mommas come out and hit jerkbaits with ferocity. The depth on average is I'd say 10-12 feet with some deeper 40 foot areas. Water clarity varies as much as the dam releases water or the pipes BRING UP water from South East Asia's 2nd largest lake which muddies up the water greatly.

Smaller Lake is a round reservoir that supplies water to Big Lake.It has coves but not as "elaborate" as those in the Big one. Water here is far clearer and cleaner. Run offs are just about the only place you'd find stained water. Weeds and sticky grass abound here. Depth is just about the same as Big Lake but a little bit deeper I'd say. Less human activity here. Fish prefer softplastics and they are brand conscious (Zoom) Haha! This is a year round lake but has smaller bass.

@Ray: The country is the Philippines. It has 3 or 4 bass locations with one having trophy bass sizes. Lots of Bass Boats here mostly owned by rich enthusiasts. LOTS of visiting Japanese bass anglers who sometimes bring their own boats!

At Bronzeback:Water temp mostly the same as this is a hydroelectric plant that doesn't heat water. It only moves it.

[Deitz Dittrich]

great explanation.. I am going with water clarity then for the change in the bite.

[BassProAddict]

The lure selection part I could probably attribute to the water clarity yes but the seasonality is quite odd.