How deep is deep when bass go to outer weed lines?

[davebar]

Im fishing on prior in the south metro this weekend and trying to figure out the proper structure to fish.i have a family contest and i dont want to lose so i think im going to try some outer edge weed lines to try for some bigger fish but not all weed lines are created equal and im not us to fishing like that so does any one have any helpful advice for deep weed lines or any advice on how to get 1 or 2 big girls in the boat.thanks

[Deitz Dittrich]

I have not fished Prior in years. So I may not be the best to be givning advice. Like you stated not all weedlines are created equal. The fish have not pulled inot thier full summer patterns as of yet. There may be a few early fish sitting on the tips of points. However, I would check deeper inside turns and such. Also, realize, many of the big fish caught on Prior are caught out past the weedline in midsummer. Do your best to find some deep rock.

[st.crioxfishin]

Davebar,

I haven't been out on prior this year, but have fished this lake quite a bit in the past. Prior can be a tough one to crack at times. Alot of times you will see bags come in with four 12 inchers and one big fish during the summer tournaments. However, there are people out there who know where to find them. The MN record for an 8 fish limit was set on Prior lake, they fished deep with jigs on hard bottom areas. Dietz is right on about trying to find rocks. You can fish jigs, cranks, dropshots, any typical deepwater lures around these deep areas with rock. Deep meaning anywhere from 10-20ft. A majority of the points in this lake hold rock, you just have to find the right spot on these points that produce fish.

If I was fishing this tournament I would start out shallow to see if I couldn't get a limit early. Then I would work my way out from there if I wasn't getting anything shallow. Don't forget about the docks either. On the upper (southern) lake you can usually pull some off of those docks, and you may even run into a big one. While prefishing for a jr. tournament there a couple years ago, I was finding endless 12 inchers hanging around the docks, nothing else, no inbetweeners that were 14-16inches, then I nailed a 6lber. You never know with this lake.

Good Luck out there, and I wish you the best!

[MVBASSER]

For deep weeds fish the lower (Bigger Portion) of the lake. The water is much more clear and i believe there are more fish in that part. The deeper weeds will be between 12-17 feet of water. Try to find the greenest Coontail or Milfoil you can. Fish it slow with a drop-shot or a 5-7 inch worm. I have had lots of success doing that especially on a lake like Prior. There is a small point on the north side of the bigger end of prior where some cows come down to the lake each day. Fish off of that point. Its one of my favorite spots on prior.

[rippinlips]

I have found that if you find nice patches of coontail on prior (north end) and work it slow there always tends to be some nice fish in them from 3 to 4lb range. mvbasser is right those nice pathes of coontail tend to be in the 10'-15' range. I'm not saying that you cannot find a few shallow but that lake gets so much pressure the bigger fish tend to school in the deeper water with adgaute cover.