Merrill Creek Reservoir
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Merrill Creek Reservoir Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Summer
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Shad
Today my buddy and I fished the lake for around 8 hours. We were each able to catch 3 bass a piece, a mixtures of smallmouth and largemouth. Most fish being between 13-16 inches but once largemouth was 18.5". All the fish were caught in a depth of 15-25 foot of water. They were caught on multiple different structures. Rocks, grass, and trees. We used out fish finders to scan for any abnormal bottom compositions that had fish on it. I caught one on a dropshot using a flat worm, a jig, and a Alabama rig. This lake can be very tough in the summer so I am happy with our results from the day.
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Minnows
Late May the Smallies will go on bed and you will be able to catch a ton of big smallmouth bass. They will spawn anywhere from 1 foot to 10 foot. The lake being ultra clear makes it easy to see the beds especially in sunny calm days. Throwing a ned rig on the bed of the smallmouth will agitate the smallmouth into biting. Usually there is a "hotspot" on the bed. It may take awhile to catch each fish but each fish is different. A drop shot is another great way to catch them on beds too. Bed fishing is a great time to catch big fish, take a picture, and release them. They will go right back to their bed like nothing happened.
Zach Brodeur
Bronze Ambassador
7/6/24
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Summer
Technique
Damiki Rig
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
79°
Took 7th in the Topwater Basser’s Annual Open Buddy on July 6th. Found success throwing the FF Sonar Minnow for smallmouth chasing baitfish in 30ft of water. Also caught a few largemouth throwing the FF minnow over grass with a quick retrieve.
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Winter
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Points
Forage
Crawfish
Went out late morning/early afternoon for about 5 hrs. Fished fast tapering point in water from 4 ft to 20 ft. Fish seemed to be in that range. Used finesse football jigs and small chunk. Dragging the jig from deeper to shallow produced the most fish. All in all a great day for late fall.
Zach Brodeur
Bronze Ambassador
7/5/24
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Summer
Technique
Shakey Heads
Structure
Laydowns
Water Temperature
78°
Had the most success pitching a shakey head in less than 5ft of water around lay downs for largemouth. Was also able to target largemouth in 15ft of water suspending over grass using LiveScope. A lighter presentation got more bites - 1/16 oz jighead worked best. Picked up a few more bites dragging a worm offshore around brush piles. The bite was hot in the morning and slowed down as it heated up.
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Summer
Technique
Shakey Heads
Structure
Brush Piles
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
84°
Caught a 5 lber and a 3 lber on a shakey head today in about 10 feet.