First time at Bullard's Bar

erickennsdy73 · Post by **erickennsdy73** » Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:56 pm

I've never fished Bullard's Bar before. Only thing comparable would be Lake Shasta. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for this time of the year? I'm guessing I'll still be fishing deep with finesse stuff like Shakey heads, dropshots, darterheads, etc. Any help or guidance is appreciated.

Larry Hemphill · Post by **Larry Hemphill** » Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:02 pm

The lake may look like Shasta, but it is much, much smaller. It is a beautiful lake however, at the 2000 ft elevation. When you read about all the monster spotted bass caught there in recent years - including the current world record spotted bass, most are caught in the cold water months - December thru April. A few big ones will be caught during the other months, Someone caught a 7 3/4 pounder a few weeks ago and I caught a 7 pounder in August about 3 years ago. The lake is full of sub-12 inch bass which are very active in the warmer months. If you are out there for the first time by yourself, make sure you have GPS or a very good sense of where you are. The shoreline basically looks the same everywhere and it is easy to lose your way until you are more familiar with the lake. The lake formally had largemouth and smallmouth, but when the spotted bass were introduced in the 80's, they have taken over and are really the only bass species these days. Good luck!

Post by **WB Staff** » Wed Oct 03, 2018 10:34 pm

Couple reports from Sept in the reports section, if you haven't see those yet.

https://www.westernbass.com/lake/bullards-bar

erickennsdy73 · Post by **erickennsdy73** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 6:26 am

Larry Hemphill wrote:The lake may look like Shasta, but it is much, much smaller. It is a beautiful lake however, at the 2000 ft elevation. When you read about all the monster spotted bass caught there in recent years - including the current world record spotted bass, most are caught in the cold water months - December thru April. A few big ones will be caught during the other months, Someone caught a 7 3/4 pounder a few weeks ago and I caught a 7 pounder in August about 3 years ago. The lake is full of sub-12 inch bass which are very active in the warmer months. If you are out there for the first time by yourself, make sure you have GPS or a very good sense of where you are. The shoreline basically looks the same everywhere and it is easy to lose your way until you are more familiar with the lake. The lake formally had largemouth and smallmouth, but when the spotted bass were introduced in the 80's, they have taken over and are really the only bass species these days. Good luck!

Larry, thanks for the input! I'm definitely framiliar with my GPS so I can find my way around. I'm not specifically hunting for giants, just wanting to go out on a new lake and hopefully catch numbers! This time of the year, should I still be sticking to main lake points or should I be moving up a little shallower <25ft? Thanks again

ash · Post by **ash** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:03 am

I have been on Bullards a hand full of times and havent crossed paths with a giant. I have had my swimbait come back with the tails chewed when throwing through Kokanee schools but never connected. With the rains we had I would look for running water in the back of the creeks (like most of our spot lakes this time of year). The old ugly tube is a great bait up there as well on the deeper channel creeks and rocks. It's fall I would look for bait, including kokanee and fish around the bait pods - but again I'm no Wes, Paul, or Tim

Larry Hemphill · Post by **Larry Hemphill** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:08 am

They usually will move up some as the water cools, but still at 20-40 feet. They will follow their "food" fish - Kokanee!

Csuhchris · Post by **Csuhchris** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 1:52 pm

Cody Meyer’s YouTube videos on this fishery give a great insight on how to attack this lake! In addition, I would tie on a bunch of spotted bass baits: tubes, nail weighted Senko, drop shot robo worm, shakey heads, and spook for early am!
Fishing points and often throwing into deep water may assist in finding that big one! There are tons of dinks right off the bank, but the water gets deep fast! Enjoy! The scenery is amazing! (Canyon walls, Osprey, and bald eagles)

erickennsdy73 · Post by **erickennsdy73** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 4:11 pm

ash wrote:I have been on Bullards a hand full of times and havent crossed paths with a giant. I have had my swimbait come back with the tails chewed when throwing through Kokanee schools but never connected. With the rains we had I would look for running water in the back of the creeks (like most of our spot lakes this time of year). The old ugly tube is a great bait up there as well on the deeper channel creeks and rocks. It's fall I would look for bait, including kokanee and fish around the bait pods - but again I'm no Wes, Paul, or Tim

Really appreciate the insight! I'm hoping to catch a lot of fish and not necessarily go after giants, but hopefully hook up on some larger than 2lbs (my pb spot)!