Burt Lake Trip

A few of my "boys" hanging out at the Burt Lake Cabin

Just got Back from my annual Burt Lake trip with my buddies and thought I'd share a little info on the fishing. I've been going here for about six years and usually eight of us head up the weekend following Memorial Day and spend a few days fishing and drinking cold beers. One of my buddies has a family cabin across the street from the lake so it works out perfectly. We usually have a small four boat tournament and it takes anywhere from 18-22 pounds to win. This year was no different, it took about 21 lbs to take home the trophy but the fishing was not the same as in years past.

Typically this is a bed fishing bonanza and you can go ripping down the bank throwing jerkbaits and spinnerbaits and catch lots of fish. Beds are usually plentiful in 4-8 foot of water and lots of threes and fours are bedding. There are a good number of deep bedders too but with the fishing so good shallow, who needs to do that? Well the last few years that has not been the case. My team personally only weighed in three fish for out tourney as did one other team. I know the winners did catch 21 pounds but the overall fishing for this time of year was disappointingly bad. Many club members remember a few years back when we fished a SCMBC event there and many big limits came in. Well I am hear to tell you that this lake has fished very differently since that tournament four years ago.

The friend that caught 21 pounds and many of the top finishers in the BFL event held on Burt Saturday ( the winner had 27 pounds) all caught their fish on very deep beds. Some reported catching fish as deep as 15 feet. I know smallies will bed this deep at times but I got to thinking about this and wondered if the fishing pressure the past few years has made more of the fish spawn deeper? There were some beds shallow but most were empty and in past years these same shallows contained two to three times the beds. Maybe most fish have spawned already but wouldn't I have seen more empty beds?

Bass adapt to their surroundings and just like getting conditioned to not bite a certain hot lure, wouldn't the increased pressure do the same thing to the spawning habits? Maybe I'm reading too much into this trip and we were just a little late and next year there will be shallow beds everywhere but I am a little concerned. I can go out and catch those deep fish but I want to catch lots of big fish throwing topwaters and flukes and fishing for deep bedders seems like a lot of work. We did catch our share of fish eventually over the weekend and had a great time as always but I'll be interested how the fishing shakes down next year.

Speaking of the BFL event, these guys had no trouble and it took 19 lbs to get a check but I know most were out deep because I saw them practicing on Friday. I did notice that several guys were using underwater viewing devices to help locate the deep beds. This device basically emulates someone looking into the water with a scuba mask on only it is three feet long and you don't have to get your face wet. It is called a "flogger" and has become very popular for bed fishing. Basically it eliminates all the surface glare and ripples and you can tell if that dark spot is a log or rock and if there is a bed present next to it.

One thing I learned this year for sure is that I will learn to look for deeper beds next time and I will own a "flogger" even if it is only to win a four boat tournament. Either that or I'll have a mask on and my partner will be holding me by my ankles. I think I'll probably spend the money.