Pressured Fish Lures

[Smallieslayer2234]

What's yalls advice as far as what plastics to you for a fairly deep clear 45 acre lake....with TONS of fishing pressure...I am also open to hard baits

[Felix77]

Drop shot with a roboworm wacky.

[smalljaw67]

Hair jigs, they are really natural and I'll bet very few, if anyone, is throwing them. Ypu can buy them from a store or you can tie them yourself or find someone to tie them for you but a good 3/16oz to 3/8oz hair jig will work anywhere when the bite is tough. I also say to use a pure hair jig, the hair and silicone version are good but they are normally too bulky for clear water or pressured situations.

[Jigfishn10]

I'll go old school and DS or C-rig a 4" french fry.

[J Francho]

Pressure? I do what I do, and continue to look for the big bites: deeper, slower, and with bigger baits. That doesn't necessarily mean gigantic swimbaits. A 6" worm on a flick shake jig actually represents something fairly large. But if you have to have a specific bait, that always catches fish, a T-rigged 7" or 10" worm, with a sliding weight is a classic presentation that never gets old. A jig with a craw trailer is another. I personally prefer the action of Ragetail baits, so I recommend the Anaconda and Rage Chunks and Craws for that.

[mrmacwvu1]

Spoons

Hardly anyone throws them anymore.

[ColdSVT]

I usually go with weightless creature baits. I reacriin innovation sweet beaver to be exact

however I also like a go small with a jig or large with a worm depending on the lake

[Snakehead Whisperer]

First off I'd recommend fishing slow and offering smaller baits. Finesse fishing would be the first thing I'd try.  

 

Find out what everybody else is using, and throw something different. All I can say is throw everything you have at them until you find something that works. Just remember that there's a science to junk-fishing... you have to throw a bait for a while before you know if it works or not (e.g. more than just a few casts.) And if there's no bass in the area where you're fishing, then it doesn't matter what bait you're using. Hard to go wrong with the bucktail, ds, c-rig or a spoon. I am partial to a Slider jig with a 4" senko. 

 

http://sliderfishing.com/Spider-Classic-Pro-Head-SPCH-U-4-per-pack-SPCH-U-4-per-pack.htm

[Jigfishn10]

First off I'd recommend fishing slow and offering smaller baits. Finesse fishing would be the first thing I'd try.  

 

Find out what everybody else is using, and throw something different. All I can say is throw everything you have at them until you find something that works. Just remember that there's a science to junk-fishing... you have to throw a bait for a while before you know if it works or not (e.g. more than just a few casts.) And if there's no bass in the area where you're fishing, then it doesn't matter what bait you're using. Hard to go wrong with the bucktail, ds, c-rig or a spoon. I am partial to a Slider jig with a 4" senko. 

 

http://sliderfishing.com/Spider-Classic-Pro-Head-SPCH-U-4-per-pack-SPCH-U-4-per-pack.htm

Man, I forgot all about the slider head...thanks for posting!

[jhoffman]

Do you know what depth the thermocline sets in?

 

If I am looking for a heavy pressure bite I go to smaller profile jigs, a drop shot, a shakey head, an inline spinner or a tube

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Man, I forgot all about the slider head...thanks for posting!

One of my favorite baits of all time.

[Jay Ell Gee]

Without a doubt the first thing I would throw is a split shot rig. Small curly tail roboworm, finesse worm, fluke, zoom dead ringer, or even a roboworm zipper grub drug 12-18 inches behind a #4/6 split shot will catch just about anything that swims. It would be my go-to. Drag it along, slowly reeling in typical split shot fashion.

 

Once I located fish, I would hit them with a shaky head before I left that spot.

[Bankbeater]

First thing I would do is take a quick look around and see how the others are fishing.  After I did that I would start to throw a jig in black/blue or watermelon color.

[A-Jay]

You've received several fantastic suggestions so far.

 

All of them proven winners by anglers presented with conditions similar to yours.

 

 A small, clear, deep and highly pressured lake is one of the most challenging bass angling situation out there.

The increased water clarity combined with the constant human invasion often pushes the fish deep and out of reach of common tactics, especially during times when most of the anglers are on the water. The pressure will also affect the basses food/prey too.  This might mean that the fish could routinely feed most when there is less activity on the water to disturb the environment or if and when they do feed, this time might be very brief so anchoring on a good spot and waiting them out might be an option. When an angler moves from spot to spot, along with contributing to the fishing pressure, the chances of hitting it just right are reduced.

Very early or late in the day might be the ticket; Night fishing is a proven way to even the odds, if that's an option.

Positioning your boat differently than the masses to make your presentation could help.  Approach your favorite spot quietly, even using the wind to help you drift in and then anchoring works well instead of going on/off the trolling motor.  One of my favorite and most productive moves is to approach your spot / the bass from the shallows.  This may mean fishing and positioning your boat right off the bank and casting out to the fish; the important part here is you're not sitting on the fish and most of the pressure the bass are subjected to comes from the other direction.  Often this single tactic of fishing "up-hill" is worth a couple of bites. 

 As others have mentioned, lighter line and smaller more natural presentations are effective here.

But I look at it like this, just because the bass live in a smaller, clear water environment does not mean they only eat small size prey.  If you fish at a time when the bass are active/feeding and not put off by anglers (and/or other PWC), and you're using an approach and a technique that does not alarm the fish to your presence, down sizing may not be needed. 

You just might fool a Big Girl with a full size offering.

Good Luck.

 

A-Jay

[Crestliner2008]

Good advice A-Jay! I truly believe that heavy boat/ski traffic annoys the fisherman more than the fish. I try to "make believe" that I am all alone on the lake (difficult to do, but do-able!). I locate good structures that hold bait fish and target my presentations accordingly. I am a firm believer that anchoring is a much overlooked aspect of boat control. Everyone today seems to want to "run & gun" with their trolling motor on high. May not be such a good tactic, especially on heavy trafficked waters. Besides the trolling motor, I also shut off my sonar when anchoring. Sometimes I'll just sit there and have a sandwich before starting to fish. Let my boat "assimilate" into the environment. I've had some pretty decent catches doing this in many past seasons. 

[ColdSVT]

something that worked great for me last year was a t-rigged tube. i know i know lol. i put 1/4 oz tungsten bullet on a green pumpkin tube with a 2/0 EWG and worked heavy structure with it. i friggin slayed!

 

my partner gave me a wierd look until i put a limit in the boat. now he always has one rigged lol

 

we fish the same lake every tuesday in a club tourny, tons of pressure and tons of pleasure boaters. my little tube trick has paid off well for me. i use it many lakes around north central PA with good results