Anyone know how I can find out a City Park Lake depth?

[iLLest]

Whats up guys,

As we all know winter fishing for Bass can get quite slow. Incredibly slow. They simply become lethargic and don feel like moving much to chase baitfish during this time. Yet, I'm a firm believer that regardless of how slow the bite is, the fish still have to eat. It's all about being patient and changing up the technique to better suit the Bass' needs.

I have been doing some intense research on fresh water ecosystems, fishing techniques (colors, rigs, lures, scents), water temps, etc... pretty much anything that an give me a upper hand in trying to land a nice bass during the worst time of the year. One essential piece of the puzzle that I cannot seem to find any info on is the depth of a lake. I believe its pretty vital and would be something that I would love to add to the "arsenal" of information that I have gathered.

By depth, I dont mean close to the bank. Here you can find the depth by using a weight and bobber. In case you don know: Simply attach a weight to the end of your line (preferably a 1oz), then measure lets say 4ft of line and then attach a bobber. Cast it out, if the bobber sinks, that section is deeper than 4ft. If it doesnt, that means the depth is 4ft. Pretty straight forward. Keep adjusting the bobber to find out any depth you would like.

I tried this method and successfully casted out to 9ft, after that it gets pretty hard to cast such a long section of line.

Can anyone be a lifesaver and assist me in finding out how I can find out the depth of a lake?
I tried topography websites and a few others, but none give me depth numbers.

Thanks in advance guys

[etucker1959]

Whats up guys,

As we all know winter fishing for Bass can get quite slow. Incredibly slow. They simply become lethargic and don feel like moving much to chase baitfish during this time. Yet, I'm a firm believer that regardless of how slow the bite is, the fish still have to eat. It's all about being patient and changing up the technique to better suit the Bass' needs.

I have been doing some intense research on fresh water ecosystems, fishing techniques (colors, rigs, lures, scents), water temps, etc... pretty much anything that an give me a upper hand in trying to land a nice bass during the worst time of the year. One essential piece of the puzzle that I cannot seem to find any info on is the depth of a lake. I believe its pretty vital and would be something that I would love to add to the "arsenal" of information that I have gathered.

By depth, I dont mean close to the bank. Here you can find the depth by using a weight and bobber. In case you don know: Simply attach a weight to the end of your line (preferably a 1oz), then measure lets say 4ft of line and then attach a bobber. Cast it out, if the bobber sinks, that section is deeper than 4ft. If it doesnt, that means the depth is 4ft. Pretty straight forward. Keep adjusting the bobber to find out any depth you would like.

I tried this method and successfully casted out to 9ft, after that it gets pretty hard to cast such a long section of line.

Can anyone be a lifesaver and assist me in finding out how I can find out the depth of a lake?
I tried topography websites and a few others, but none give me depth numbers.

Thanks in advance guys

I years ago bought one of those Hummingbird depth finders, the ones where you cast out the transducer on a fishing pole. It had pretty crummy performance, but I ad least figured out the depth of my local park ponds. You're probably better off just asking people if they know the depths of a particular body of water. Which lakes do you want to find out the depth on?

[dpaulus9]

cast out a heavy jig and find what the rate of fall is. you can cast out as far as you want,ir can, and see what dept it approx. is.probably wont be as accurate, but can give you an idea

[Theos]

cast out a heavy jig and find what the rate of fall is. you can cast out as far as you want,ir can, and see what dept it approx. is.probably wont be as accurate, but can give you an idea

Exactly excellent post !!!!!!!!

[fishmounter]

I appreciate your nice research work, and I have done the same in the past, but… since I do a lot of fishing at SoCal parks, mostly for bass, I can tell you almost every park is quite shallow. I would say no more than 8 feet deep. In the wintertime I have found fish in almost every depth except the shallow 1 to 2 foot depths. Because these small lakes (ponds actually) are so shallow, the bass cannot go deep like they do in larger lakes. The water temperature is pretty much the same at all depths. If you have several days that are warm, the fish can be found closer to shore, but usually the fish will be scatted all over. The more important thing about the wintertime bite is that the bass will be more sluggish and more dormant because of the cooler water. They are not aggressive and will not move fast or far to grab their prey. You have to get your bait real close to them for a bite. I make lots of casts to cover all areas from shore and work my baits slowly. You 'gotta have lots of patience and just enjoy your day outdoors. The fish will come, but not as readily like they do in the Spring and Summer..

[TUNAVIC]

I agree with fishmounters post,also as you mentioned the fish still have to eat, that's true but much less frequently than spring time ect,although if it's right in front of their face your odds increase.

Cya Tuna Vic

[BALLERONBUDGET]

Hansen dam off 210 fwy is 15ft max dead center.

[carpanglerdude]

I just received this guy: http://www.fishhunter.com/home/




Will be trying it out and post a review soon! Basically, little sonar device that syncs with your smartphone

[iLLest]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I've had those castable sonars in mind for a while now, I might have to pull the trigger on one to get exact readings.
As far as throwing out a jig and trying to calculate a depth, yeah that seems pretty straight forward, but I wanted more of an exact reading. I'm really interested in knowing how deep these lakes are.
If anyone is curious, the two lakes I'm more interested in knowing about is Legg Lake and El Dorado

Thanks for the input guys!

[Jered]

Put your 1 ounce weight on your line like a sliding rig. Now tie your bobber on to the end of your line. Cast out, and when the sinker hits the bottom, reel in until you feel the bobber butt up against the weight. Loosen your drag and start pulling line off the reel one foot at a time, counting each foot. When your bobber breaks the surface you know your depth.
You will be hard pressed to find a county park lake deeper than 8 feet and its surprising how many are 5-6 ft at there deepest.
Humminbird's Smartcast sonar has become very affordable and with the DIY upgrade your range and depth reading is tripled. But for only reading depths no upgrade is needed.