Fishing Flooded Lakes

[Buggs247]

Local lake is expected to rise to 10 ft over normal pool and my experiences in the past have not been very good fishing at these levels, lake is flooded in places up to 100 yards past normal bankline. So whats your strategy when faced with these conditions, fish as much of the flooded cover as possible, fish the original bankline, find your steeper banks where you can still get to the waters edge, or scrap all the flooded mess and fish out deeper hoping to find fish off the bank, Im a firm believer that not all fish rush to the bushes and flooded timber just because the lake has come up 10 ft!!

[CatFan]

Fish shallow, especially this time of year. Fish will be either looking for spawning areas or feeding on stuff that used to be crawling on the bank.

[dabassking]

If it were me, I would decide based on the water temp. If the lake is coming up during a cold front and the water temp is dropping, I'd fish where the fish were before the lake came up. I don't think they'll move up shallower in colder water.

If the temps are rising or staying the same, I would follow the water into the flooded cover. Lots of fish have been caught off of flooded docks and picnic tables.

[BigBass94]

Fish the flooded stuff.

[brushsjigs]

Take the air boat next trip

[Jeff Hahn]

As others said, fish the flooded stuff. But, if the lake has risen very quickly, the fish may not have moved up yet, so check the depth where the original shoreline was. Finally, if the lake begins falling, fish the flooded areas along steeper banks. The fish there can still be shallow with a quick access to deeper water.

[Quillback]

Look for submerged picnic tables. Seriously, fish love them.

[Jaw62]

At Kerr it can be tough when it is that high, but the fish will follow the water level.

[d'Wayne]

See Table Rock.....currently 10+ and still rising, gonna get to practice high water fishing again like 2015, which was a good year.

[Quillback]

See Table Rock.....currently 10+ and still rising, gonna get to practice high water fishing again like 2015, which was a good year.

This is a bad one for TR, good for the fish and fishing, but bad in a lot of ways.

[TableRock55]

This is a bad one for TR, good for the fish and fishing, but bad in a lot of ways.

Bad for local economy. It will impact Memorial Day. When those folks lose Memorial Day, 4th, or Labor Day that is a BIG chunk of their annual income.
High water like this makes if tough to reach em because of the trees, but it can be done in right areas. They'll still school up in the summer thought. Spoon time.