Muck Bottom

[bassheel]

I know many people say use a jig n pig i cool/cold water but what is the next choice if you have a muck bottom? My ponds have dead leaves mud and just plain old muck. Swim the the jig or hop it? Any suggestions would welcomed.

[Catt]

Weightless Texas Rig

[bigbill]

Crankbaits, inline spinners, spinnerbaits. Stay off the bottom. I fish a swamp like that.

[Senko lover]

Weightless wacky rig does the trick for me; I love a trick worm or Senko.

[Avalonjohn44]

In my neck of the woods everyplace is a mucky mess at the bottom. Weightless is the way I go. Can't fish a jig without bringing up a pound of slime and muck.

[00 mod]

Drop shot.  Keeps the weight on the bottom and the bait off.  Also good for cold water as you can keep it very still for long periods of time!

 

Jeff

[68camaro]

I have really mucky bottom as well with weeds to boot. I use most of what others have said, include t-rig worms, swimming jigs, jerks, chatter baits, cranks, toppers of all sorts. Because my ponds are shallow when I use trebles hooks I find I need to keep rod tip high to keep hooks from getting snagged, as bait gets closer to me I drop tip a bit with it. Treble hooks are frustrating though because amount od debris they snag.

 

0-2" floating jerk baits, spinnerbaits and topwater baits are my most productive right now.  Last Tuesday late afternoon had great outing, today stunk....go figure.

[BaitMonkey1984]

Ned rig or shakey head may be light enough to stay on top of the muck and give a similar presentation as a jig. 

[bunkerbstr]

Agree with Jeff - Muck bottom calls for dropshot.  

 

Fishing a jig in muck is tough.  Nothing worse than having your bait hit the bottom and as soon as you turn the handle it's bogged down, covered with goop (wind in and repeat, cast wasted).  Also, I feel like any bait you pin to the bottom with a weight (tx rig worm, jig etc) could hide the bait in the mud cloud and as a result fish may bite but likely miss the bait.

 

Last thing, try slow rolling a spinnerbait and let the depth you're fishing determine the weight/style - tandem, willow, double colorado, etc.  

 

Good luck

[Bluebasser86]

I encounter that same problem often and a suspending jerkbait is a great way to combat it.