Large Mouth Bass on Bluff Wall

[Bass Turd]

How would you guys suggest fishing a bluff wall? It's anywhere from 25 to 50 feet deep. Very sheer so no shelves to bounce a jig down. It probably only comes out about 5 feet for all that depth. I found myself fishing a 1/4 ounce Rattle Trap with some success although I lost several fish when they threw the lure (replacing hooks tonight). I would let it free fall for different counts and slowly reel it back pausing occasionally. Sometimes I'd wait for a twenty count while it fell. The bite was coming from anywhere between 10 and 20 feet deep. What are some other ways of fishing this set up? Spinner bait? Swim jig? Vibrating jig? I would guess something that looked good on the fall but wouldn't sink like a rock. I've got both casting and spinning set ups. I didn't think to follow up the trap with something else until I got home. Thanks in advance.

[Raul]

42 minutes ago, Bass Turd said:

How would you guys suggest fishing a bluff wall? It's anywhere from 25 to 50 feet deep. Very sheer so no shelves to bounce a jig down. It probably only comes out about 5 feet for all that depth. I found myself fishing a 1/4 ounce Rattle Trap with some success although I lost several fish when they threw the lure (replacing hooks tonight). I would let it free fall for different counts and slowly reel it back pausing occasionally. Sometimes I'd wait for a twenty count while it fell. The bite was coming from anywhere between 10 and 20 feet deep. What are some other ways of fishing this set up? Spinner bait? Swim jig? Vibrating jig? I would guess something that looked good on the fall but wouldn't sink like a rock. I've got both casting and spinning set ups. I didn't think to follow up the trap with something else until I got home. Thanks in advance.

Something like this  ? :

When I see a wall like that my baits are crankbaits and spinnerbaits fished parallel to the wall, tubes rigged with an internal jighead allowed to sink right next to the wall on a slightly slack line

[Bass Turd]

I can't get it to orient properly but here's the spot.

[scaleface]

On sheer bluff walls I always parallel cast  various lures  . If I have trouble with bass staying hooked then I would make some changes . In your case maybe     switch from a Trap to a rattleless Red Eyed Shad ,   Bayou Boogie , swim bait ... You get the idea . . 

[tstraub]

I'm no expert but judging by your picture maybe you're loosing fish because you forgot to take the first fish off the lure before you caught the second one. 

[SDoolittle]

If you're catching two at a time, I'd say that you're already using the right bait! For what it's worth, my favorite way to fish a bluff wall is with dropshot. 

[eyedabassman]

When bass are using bluff walls i like to fish them with cranks,swimbaits but the one I like the most is the jig! Bluff walls have ledge's and I walk the jig or swim the jig.And I love to fish the bluff ends when they get ready to move into the cove's!

[.ghoti.]

It takes a lot of patience, but a Senko will do the job when nothing else will.

[flyingmonkie]

Just curious what your goal here is... THREE fish at once?!?

[Bass Turd]

Thanks everyone. The picture was taken two weeks ago. Those fish aren't very big... its the small size trap. I could see these fish on my sonar swimming back and forth along the bluff on sonar. I went back a week later and hooked into three keeper fish... much bigger but lost them all as they surfaced and threw the trap out of their mouths. These fish I didn't see on sonar so they must have been stationed along depressions in the wall (no shelves at this spot but probably small caves?) waiting to ambush. Once they have seen this bait a few times and stopped biting I wanted to throw a follow up lure and just didn't know what to try. I have decided on a tube and just let it fall on slack line as I watch the line closely. I have also put one size up Mustad hooks on the small trap. I will also throw the larger trap. Sometimes I get tunnel vision on the water and don't stop to think about another presentation that might work better. Thanks again everyone! Great tips.

[Raul]

5 minutes ago, Bass Turd said:

Thanks everyone. The picture was taken two weeks ago. Those fish aren't very big... its the small size trap. I could see these fish on my sonar swimming back and forth along the bluff on sonar. I went back a week later and hooked into three keeper fish... much bigger but lost them all as they surfaced and threw the trap out of their mouths. These fish I didn't see on sonar so they must have been stationed along depressions in the wall (no shelves at this spot but probably small caves?) waiting to ambush. Once they have seen this bait a few times and stopped biting I wanted to throw a follow up lure and just didn't know what to try. I have decided on a tube and just let it fall on slack line as I watch the line closely. I have also put one size up Mustad hooks on the small trap. I will also throw the larger trap. Sometimes I get tunnel vision on the water and don't stop to think about another presentation that might work better. Thanks again everyone! Great tips.

Wacky rigged stickbaits ( "senkos" & french fries ) also work very well. The problem is that normally we fish "on the bottom" ( horizontally ) in this case "the bottom" is not in horizontal position but in vertical position, the fish really "hang on" to whatever protrudes or caves in, personally, unless there is "something else" I just fish the first 3 or 4 yards of water right next to the wall ( where the fish hang around ) after that I reel as fast as I can to make a new cast because the fish seldomly chase the bait after those 3 or 4 yards.

[TJS209]

Lures I use on bluff walls with success include but are not limited to football jig, shakey head, swimbait, crankbait, jerkbait.  The one not mentioned so far in this thread would be a big flutter spoon. Good luck!

[WIGuide]

Something else I haven't seen mentioned, but I think would have a shot at working is an a-rig, or a single hollow belly swimbait if the rig isn't your style. 

[king fisher]

blade bait such as a silver buddy.  Cast parallel or jigged vertical

[strikefc34]

jerkbait or a spook

[bowhunter63]

Drop jigs along the face.