Im not catching anything well something ..

[Andres Rodriguez]

Im really new to freshwater fishing, I usually do saltwater, but I'm not catching anything at this lake, maybe about a week ago i caught this little largemouth maybe a 3 or 4 pounder, other than that i tried at night to fish for em i caught a catfish maybe 7-10 pound catfish and a weird lookin bullhead catfish lookin fish I dont know what them are called, first off, there are alot of lilypads and I have 2 options theres a dock or a little pier goes out ... 15-20 feet out into the water, but its only in 1 foot or 2 foot deep water, and you can cast right out into the deeper part of the lake if you cast straight forward of the dock(A WHOLE LOT of lilypads, so i cant cast that far) Then option 2 I can fish off the bank and on the bank maybe 5 or 6 feet out the water gets pretty deep and 2 or 3 feet in theres some lilypads maybe 20 of them, this off the bank at night i caught the catfish, There is one other option theres a tunnel that comes out into the water from another street like wastewater or somethin, goes 6 or 7 feet deep and you can stand right on top of it off the edge of the top of the tunnel, i casted my http://www.walmart.com/ip/Berkley-1307478-PowerBait-Power-Worm-7-inch-Black-Chartreuse/34873355, into the tunnel and just moved around side to side and caught that little 3 - 4 pound bass(first one i've ever caught). other then that ive been trying for almost 2 weeks now, My baits that i have tried are Horny Toads, the http://www.walmart.com/ip/Berkley-1307478-PowerBait-Power-Worm-7-inch-Black-Chartreuse/34873355, and http://www.walmart.com/ip/Strike-King-Shim-E-Stick-Watermelon-Black-Flake/17248194 but with a yellow tail and dark red body, also I've tried live bluegill and shiners. My setup is braided 30 pd line and normal red J-bend hooks, I dont know if I should use a boat or just fish on the shore, a boat would be too much because I would have to ask my neighbor, However if its recommended tell me what I should do onshore fishing and on the boat fishing, the pond is probally 200-350 feet long and 300 feet wide. (This is in Tampa, Florida area).

The oldman that lives on the edge where i fish off of says hes caught 4 gators there and the biggest one was a 8 foot female in the same tunnel where i caught my first bass at, he says a guy used to live in the house next door and he used to work for the florida state fair and they used to drop the championship bass or something like that in the lake, be reminded that i do see tail flappin in the middle of the lake like 5 or 6 times in 30 minutes at all time of the day but Its too far in the middle for me to cast there. ( He said the bass thrown in there from the fair we're like 8-12 pound bass).

[riverbasser]

Bass fishing can be tough from the bank. But on a pond there's still a good chance of catching good fish. You asked a lot of questions and I think the best advice I can give you is to read the articles on this site. You will learn everything you need to know. Good luck and don't give up

[BassB8Caster]

You are doing fine. A 3 to 4 lb is a good fish. Use the lilies to your advantage. It's a perfect ambush spot for largemouth. Especially if deeper water is close by. Throw frogs on the pads. Texas rignore a swimbait over the pads. Punch holes with jigs. They should be around that pipe as well. Just keep fishing. Don't over complicate it. Some days the fish just don't bite. Mornings and evenings I would be all over the shore / pads area

[Nitrofreak]

I agree with others that you are doing well and that bank fishing is tough.

You mentioned how shallow the water is and how long your casts had to be to get to where you want to be, also made mention of possible top of the food chain type preditors that also inhabit that area.

The suggestion that there is a possibility of gators in the area could mean that the fish are on high alert, launching a bait as far as you can (if that is what you are doing) may startle them if there is a big splash or put them on an even higher alert to what's going on around them.

If by chance this is the case, I would suggest soaking your baits for an extended period of time before moving them, when you do move them, move them slowly, the water in the photos look to be pretty clear so line choice could also be a factor for your bottom baits, suggestion would be a 15 or 17lb. Test flourocarbon line for those.

 

[Andres Rodriguez]

6 hours ago, BassB8Caster said:

You are doing fine. A 3 to 4 lb is a good fish. Use the lilies to your advantage. It's a perfect ambush spot for largemouth. Especially if deeper water is close by. Throw frogs on the pads. Texas rignore a swimbait over the pads. Punch holes with jigs. They should be around that pipe as well. Just keep fishing. Don't over complicate it. Some days the fish just don't bite. Mornings and evenings I would be all over the shore / pads area

Do the bass jump at the frogs when they are on top of the pads and also, how do i get them through the lilypads I get stuck and usually lose my lure and bait.

[Fish the Mitt]

1 hour ago, Andres Rodriguez said:

Do the bass jump at the frogs when they are on top of the pads and also, how do i get them through the lilypads I get stuck and usually lose my lure and bait.

If you're constantly losing lures, something needs adjusted (knot, line, technique, etc..). There are anglers here that fish pads everyday and have figured it out. Exposed hooks are problems in heavy pad areas. Keep that in mind. So it all depends on how you're rigging these worms - if done right, there shouldn't be much snagging going on.

So with that said, what I've gathered is this:

1. This is a heavily padded area
2. You have access (if done right) to shallow AND deeper water
3. You're using straight braid (with no leader).
4. There are gators around.

NOTE: I am unsure of bottom composition.

Taking all of this into account, I would suggest learning all you can about rigging soft plastics (Texas Rig, Carolina Rig, Ned-Rig, wacky rig, etc) in a weedless fashion as well as learning as much as you can about topwater and jigging/punching. Those are my options for the setup in question. As well as possibly using a Fluoro leader (unless you only night fish). Again, exposed hooks; for the majority of the water, is off limits due to the heavy pads so you have to stick with presentations that get to where the fish are and won't snag on the pad stems or pads themselves. 

 

My two cents anyways.

 

[Andres Rodriguez]

20 minutes ago, SemperBass said:

If you're constantly losing lures, something needs adjusted (knot, line, technique, etc..). There are anglers here that fish pads everyday and have figured it out. Exposed hooks are problems in heavy pad areas. Keep that in mind. So it all depends on how you're rigging these worms - if done right, there shouldn't be much snagging going on.

So with that said, what I've gathered is this:

1. This is a heavily padded area
2. You have access (if done right) to shallow AND deeper water
3. You're using straight braid (with no leader).
4. There are gators around.

NOTE: I am unsure of bottom composition.

Taking all of this into account, I would suggest learning all you can about rigging soft plastics (Texas Rig, Carolina Rig, Ned-Rig, wacky rig, etc) in a weedless fashion as well as learning as much as you can about topwater and jigging/punching. Those are my options for the setup in question. As well as possibly using a Fluoro leader (unless you only night fish). Again, exposed hooks; for the majority of the water, is off limits due to the heavy pads so you have to stick with presentations that get to where the fish are and won't snag on the pad stems or pads themselves. 

 

My two cents anyways.

 

Thank you, I just now caught a 8 pd bass off the bank, seen big ripples in the water, casted over it and reeled in to be infront of him, he chomped it and I finally figured it out, Use the lilypads to my advantage, I was reeling too fast through the lilypads before, i was reeling slow this time and got a trophy on the end of my line.

[Fish the Mitt]

12 minutes ago, Andres Rodriguez said:

Thank you, I just now caught a 8 pd bass off the bank, seen big ripples in the water, casted over it and reeled in to be infront of him, he chomped it and I finally figured it out, Use the lilypads to my advantage, I was reeling too fast through the lilypads before, i was reeling slow this time and got a trophy on the end of my line.

See, you just have to put in the time. With that time, you will figure out what they want and how they want it. Also, slow is key with pads. You don't want your lure barrel rolling over or through the pads/stems which might cause it to snag or get caught up.

BTW: 8lber, nice!! Take any pics?

[Andres Rodriguez]

2 minutes ago, SemperBass said:

See, you just have to put in the time. With that time, you will figure out what they want and how they want it. Also, slow is key with pads. You don't want your lure barrel rolling over or through the pads/stems which might cause it to snag or get caught up.

BTW: 8lber, nice!! Take any pics?

Yeah im uploading them to my drive now prob gonna be my profile pic lol

[Fish the Mitt]

Just now, Andres Rodriguez said:

Yeah im uploading them to my drive now prob gonna be my profile pic lol

Well, share with the class! Coming from MI, we don't have the bass you guys do down in FL. I mean, we have 8lbers+ on occasion but as you can tell by my PB, I ain't ever landed one. 

[Andres Rodriguez]

Just now, SemperBass said:

Well, share with the class! Coming from MI, we don't have the bass you guys do down in FL. I mean, we have 8lbers+ on occasion but as you can tell by my PB, I ain't ever landed one. 

I couldnt get the pic to fit, said it needs to be 0.15mb or smaller, so I just uploaded this to gyazo

https://gyazo.com/339778faa9cb52371e527cf13ac9adae

[Frise]

Just letting you know, the catfish is a walking catfish 

[Fish the Mitt]

5 hours ago, Andres Rodriguez said:

I couldnt get the pic to fit, said it needs to be 0.15mb or smaller, so I just uploaded this to gyazo

https://gyazo.com/339778faa9cb52371e527cf13ac9adae

What did you use to weigh that? 8lbs seems like a stretch IMHO

[BassB8Caster]

Good work! Sounds like you are learning fast. You definitely want to rig weedless. When fishing the frog, work it slowly over the pads, pausing periodically at holes and edges. Holding the rod tip up helps keep the frog on top and from going under pads. On a windy day it may be tough where the wind can mess with the line, blowing it under pads causing the bait the get under the pads and caught up. Rig weed less baits that day. I agree, that's a nice fish but not sure on the 8lbs.

[Tritonbasser]

8LB NICE!!!!I'm in Michigan also don't see many of them.The pads are the ticket.Throw a hollow body frog(KVD sexy frog) and work it slow let it set on the open areas for a moment than work it some more.Get yourself some Gamakatsu finesse W.G weedless 4/0 hooks and some finesse worms watermelon red flake rig it wacky style  (hooked right throw the middle) with a 4' fluorocarbon leader tied to braided main line (I use 10lb test for leader and main line, liter the better)and a sensitive rod with an extra fast tip ( I like St.Croix  myself) flip her out there and let her fall on slack line.I like the braid for the sensitivity.But the leader so they don't see the line.Bass are very good at seeing your line. You can usually get it to enter the water without a big splash.For the deeper part use the some worm but rig it on a drop shot wacky riged throw her out give her a couple pops.Don't make it to difficult with color selection on the worm but try to match what's in your lake.Watermelon is a good place to start.Don't be scared to throw that wacky rig into the pads also. Use briad on anything above surface and fluorocarbon on anything below.Hope this helps. With that being said, it don't sound like your doing to bad with a 8 pounder!

  GOOD LUCK!!!!

[Zayne Royal]

if their are many lilies then I would use a frog everywhere where lilies are, bass love the vegetation and flippin a frog causes reaction bites.

[Quesenek]

On 6/16/2016 at 7:13 AM, BassB8Caster said:

You are doing fine. A 3 to 4 lb is a good fish. Use the lilies to your advantage. It's a perfect ambush spot for largemouth. Especially if deeper water is close by. Throw frogs on the pads. Texas rignore a swimbait over the pads. Punch holes with jigs. They should be around that pipe as well. Just keep fishing. Don't over complicate it. Some days the fish just don't bite. Mornings and evenings I would be all over the shore / pads area

This is pretty much what I was going to recommend, as much as I can remember most of my pond fish have been when I was pulling baits through the weeds/pads.

OP: you have braid so don't be afraid to cast right into the weeds with a weedless setup like a texas rig or a weedless jig. Also something that may help that is something I struggle with and have been trying to learn is to slow down your retrieve, if the bass are being sluggish and don't feel like chasing the bait then slowing down the bait will give the bass more time to think about taking it.

[BassB8Caster]

This weekend I fished a small pond for the first time this year. I fished it 7 or so times last summer. This year the water level was up probably 3 to 4 feet. Last summer there were a lot of lilies. This year (at least right now) there are not many lilies but 10 to 20 feet of reeds at the shore line. They are very thick and tough to get a bait through effectively. If I sat still and watched the reeds I could see a fish moving through. You could see the reeds move as the fish went through. I used this to my advantage.  I rigged a tube weed less and tossed it ahead of the moving reeds. Moving the tube just a little to get its attention. I landed one this way (3.48 lbs) and lost another that looked to be the same size. There were not a lot of fish in them, but obviously were decent fish. 

Every time I hit a new body of water I'm hoping to find a bunch of lily pads. I love fishing them. And I do need some work on my hook ups with the frog. I get too excited on a blow up.