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Posted
11 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

It is a bladed jig so I would.Its a topwater bait though.

 

Chatterbaits are top water? How? Smallest I've seen are 3/8 ounce. That's definitely going to sink unless you're really cranking on it.

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Posted
3 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

I've done a lot of experimenting this year with different baits as I've tried to learn more about freshwater fishing. I'd see a new bait or hear about one and then go buy one to try it out. Quite a few of them have been duds. For example, I picked up some jigs thinking they'd work great, but I haven't caught a single fish on a jig yet.

 

In an attempt to avoid spending a bunch of money on stuff I don't need, I'd like to get some opinions from you guys regarding the baits you fish in soft bottomed lakes/ponds that have a lot of grass in them. There's relatively little cover that I can access (fishing from the bank and the trail around the lake is 7 miles long) so it's mostly open water stuff with an odd log or laydown here and there. 

 

So, if you guys could pick 3 baits to use in the situation I described above, what would they be and why? Thanks!

Discribed your tackle so we can make lures choices that work with what you fish with.

Tom

Posted
19 minutes ago, WRB said:

Discribed your tackle so we can make lures choices that work with what you fish with.

Tom

 

Beetle spins (small ones I use for perch in saltwater, 1/8 ounce)

2 Booyah Boo jigs (green pumpkin and black/blue)

2 crankbaits (both shallow, one bluegill pattern and the other red craw pattern)

3 jerkbaits (one bass pattern, one bluegill, one random white/pink I found at the lake)

1 Buzzbait (fire tiger color pattern, small pond magic one from Booyah)

Various plastics (senkos, lizards, flukes, baby brush hogs)

Various hooks (1/0 offset worm hooks, 3/0 EWG, octopus hooks, weighted wacky rig hooks)

Bullet style weights (1/8 and 3/8 tungsten, 1/4 lead)

2 frogs (walking style, white/black and yellow/green)

1 super spook junior (mullet pattern, use for saltwater as well)

2 yo zuri minnows (crystal minnow and mullet pattern, use for saltwater as well - these are pretty big baits for freshwater imo, both are 6")

2 lipless crankbaits w/ rattles (one bluegill pattern, one red/green craw pattern)

 

I've got one spinning set up (7ft ML w/ 2000 size reel, spooled with 15lb green braid) and one baitcasting set up (6' 9" MH, reel spooled with 50lb green braid). May have another baitcaster after Christmas. If so, it'll be either a 6' 6" or 7" M and I was planning on spooling the reel with either 30lb green braid and/or 12lb mono. 

 

 

 

Posted
4 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

So, if you guys could pick 3 baits to use in the situation I described above, what would they be and why? Thanks!

The situation you described is what I primarily fish.  There are many many baits that have worked for me, but here are my top 3:

1.  Senko or similar: T-rigged.  

2.  Craw: T-rigged.

3.  Paddletail swimbait on a jighead.

4.  Ned rig.

 

5.  Also, I love to crank and wind and cover water where there are no obvious targets, and as @Yeajray231 says, its hard to beat the versatile original Rapala (and also the jointed and shallow shad rap).  Worth considering that these float and you can control the depth by stopping and preventing snags.  

 

The Senko is much-loved by others and the links provided by RW are great - over time I've gone back to read them again and again and thanks to them I'm getting better with the stickbaits, but honestly still not my top producer.  For me, Senkos T-rigged weightless are great for chucking at those targets you identified, great for tossing as a follow-up bait on a second rod.  I tossed them into active bluegills late summer this year and after the splash that sends the 'gills running, there comes the familliar tick-tick of a bass picking up the bait.  Great for weedy ponds because they don't accumulate many weeds.

 

I personally have had luck with a T-rigged craw on a 3/0 to 5/0 EWG an none on a jig - but that might just be me.  (I'm fairly new to bass).  The craw is so versatile because it can fall and flutter in front of a target, can be hopped and swam to flutter its craws, and dragged slowly on the bottom.  I love to fish them with a light weight or none at all and reeled across surface fast to churn and then stopped to flutter down a bit.  I like Yum's mighty bug and Christie Craw but the Rage craws are probably great too.

 

Paddletails can be rigged Texas too and straight retrieved, with or without a sinker.  I like  and have caught on the Keitech Fat Impact or Zoom paddletail fluke.  They can make a good crankbait replacement, but are weedless and even when rigged on a swimbait or boxer jighead, they can be "weed resistant."  They are more versatile than cranks in a way, because they can be stopped and let flutter down, or hopped on the bottom, or churned on the surface over shallow cover to create a wake and bascially work as a weedless topwater.  I can't tell you how many times I've had them picked up off the botom by bass when I've "deadsticked" them and let them just sit and twitch on the bottom.

 

Hope these suggestions help...

 

There are many, many baits that I'd also fish in this situation.  In the later spring and summertime, I love to fish topwaters and haven't met many I can't catch fish on - moving baits: buzzbaits, walking baits (KVD sexy dawg and Rapala Skitterwalk), and whopper ploppers stand out for me.  

 

The ned rig has been incredible for me in local shallow ponds - follow the directions on Glenn's video to a "T" and you will be surprised.  My best morning this summer on one pond was 10 fish in 4 hours, at one point, 4 bass in 5 minutes!  Not snag proof, so that's a consideration.

 

 

  • Like 1
Posted
41 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

Chatterbaits are top water? How? Smallest I've seen are 3/8 ounce. That's definitely going to sink unless you're really cranking on it.

Chatterbait run below the surface in the top of the water column."Topwater"  not all topwater lures float.

  • Like 1
Posted
Just now, MassBassin508 said:

Chatterbait run below the surface in the top of the water column."Topwater"  not all topwater lures float.

 

I had no idea. Thanks!

11 minutes ago, snake95 said:

The situation you described is what I primarily fish.  There are many many baits that have worked for me, but here are my top 3:

1.  Senko or similar: T-rigged.  

2.  Craw T-rigged.

3.Paddletail swimbait on a jighead.

3.  

 

Thanks! I've had my most success with the soft plastics. Looking to expand my repertoire. Definitely going to try the jig head/swim bait combo.

  • Like 1
Posted
24 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

Beetle spins (small ones I use for perch in saltwater, 1/8 ounce)

2 Booyah Boo jigs (green pumpkin and black/blue)

2 crankbaits (both shallow, one bluegill pattern and the other red craw pattern)

3 jerkbaits (one bass pattern, one bluegill, one random white/pink I found at the lake)

1 Buzzbait (fire tiger color pattern, small pond magic one from Booyah)

Various plastics (senkos, lizards, flukes, baby brush hogs)

Various hooks (1/0 offset worm hooks, 3/0 EWG, octopus hooks, weighted wacky rig hooks)

Bullet style weights (1/8 and 3/8 tungsten, 1/4 lead)

2 frogs (walking style, white/black and yellow/green)

1 super spook junior (mullet pattern, use for saltwater as well)

2 yo zuri minnows (crystal minnow and mullet pattern, use for saltwater as well - these are pretty big baits for freshwater imo, both are 6")

2 lipless crankbaits w/ rattles (one bluegill pattern, one red/green craw pattern)

 

I've got one spinning set up (7ft ML w/ 2000 size reel, spooled with 15lb green braid) and one baitcasting set up (6' 9" MH, reel spooled with 50lb green braid). May have another baitcaster after Christmas. If so, it'll be either a 6' 6" or 7" M and I was planning on spooling the reel with either 30lb green braid and/or 12lb mono. 

 

 

 

What's the baitcasting reel?

Posted
6 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

I've got a Black Max I bought as a combo.

Silver max combo was my 1st BC combo.I took the reel apart and wrecked it.Only reason its not still being used.What's the gear ratio on the black max?

Posted
3 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

Silver max combo was my 1st BC combo.I took the reel apart and wrecked it.Only reason its not still being used.What's the gear ratio on the black max?

 

It's a 6 something, can't remember exactly.

Posted
10 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

I've got a Black Max I bought as a combo.

Silver max combo was my 1st BC combo.I took the reel apart and wrecked it.Only reason its not still being used.At 6.4:1 Thats a good all around.28 IPT. Keep in mind that when buying a BC the IPT is more important than the gear ratio.

Posted
59 minutes ago, snake95 said:

@Yeajray231

 

The ned rig has been incredible for me in local shallow ponds - follow the directions on Glenn's video to a "T" and you will be surprised.  My best morning this summer on one pond was 10 fish in 4 hours, at one point, 4 bass in 5 minutes!  Not snag proof, so that's a consideration.

 

 

 

The Ned rig is another set up I'd like to try. Just need to get my hands on some of the mushroom jig heads. I tried with some saltwater jig heads I had but they were waaaaay too heavy. Every cast I pulled back an entire yard's worth of grass.

  • Like 1
Posted
42 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

Thanks! I've had my most success with the soft plastics. Looking to expand my repertoire.

OK that's good to hear.  I didn't fish soft plastics much until this year, and just following this board has had a huge effect on my success.

I love crankbaits, rattlebaits -- really all types of hard baits, but I find that learning to fish soft plastics has really been key to success in the kind of water you are describing, because they don't get hung up in all that grass. 

The flukes you have can take the place of the hard jerkbaits -- in fact they can be even more versatile because they will still attract strikes as they flutter down when you park them.  I have had luck jerking them close to surface and when the bass are active and hitting baitfish near surface, skittering them on surface and letting them flutter down can be effective.   You may need some larger EWG or straight-shank hooks for them than you have on your list, though, 3/0 will be OK but 4/0 and 5/0 can also work.  I find the hook itself can provide a good weight balance for a fluke.  On that note, you might have luck with those yo-zuris - not as many hits as with smaller baits, but bass as small as the lures will hit them for sure.

Regarding the 30 lb braid on a baitcaster - you'll get the full range of opinions on that here, and from guys far more experienced than I am, but as a rookie I find 30 lb braid to be too light for a baitcaster.  Again, that's a function of experience and opinion - but I know others on the board would also go heavier.

 

2 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

The Ned rig is another set up I'd like to try. Just need to get my hands on some of the mushroom jig heads

Ned rig has been a miracle worker in soft-bottom ponds for me.  I don't believe in wonder lures, but this is the closest I've seen to that.  

A surprise for me has been that lighter is usually better - I mean really small and light - 1/16 or even smaller.  They offer ones with weedguards and you can get creative and rig sort of Texas-style - but I usually just bear with it in terms of the weeds.  There have been some good threads on this subject that you can find.  I'll try to link.

  • Like 2
Posted
4 minutes ago, snake95 said:

OK that's good to hear.  I didn't fish soft plastics much until this year, and just following this board has had a huge effect on my success.

I love crankbaits, rattlebaits -- really all types of hard baits, but I find that learning to fish soft plastics has really been key to success in the kind of water you are describing, because they don't get hung up in all that grass. 

The flukes you have can take the place of the hard jerkbaits -- in fact they can be even more versatile because they will still attract strikes as they flutter down when you park them.  I have had luck jerking them close to surface and when the bass are active and hitting baitfish near surface, skittering them on surface and letting them flutter down can be effective.   You may need some larger EWG or straight-shank hooks for them than you have on your list, though, 3/0 will be OK but 4/0 and 5/0 can also work.  I find the hook itself can provide a good weight balance for a fluke.  On that note, you might have luck with those yo-zuris - not as many hits as with smaller baits, but bass as small as the lures will hit them for sure.

Regarding the 30 lb braid on a baitcaster - you'll get the full range of opinions on that here, and from guys far more experienced than I am, but as a rookie I find 30 lb braid to be too light for a baitcaster.  Again, that's a function of experience and opinion - but I know others on the board would also go heavier.

 

 

Thanks! I'm still trying to decide what to do about the line. I had mono on my baitcaster before I spooled it with the 50lb braid, but I get tired of tying on leaders all the time. Won't have that issue if I go straight mono.

 

I also think that the 50lb braid is a bit of overkill considering the heaviest I use on my saltwater set ups is 30lb and the fish I'm targeting are significantly larger than any bass I'm going to come across. However, it does seem to be easier to manage than the mono was, and I have the other half of the spool left, so maybe I'll just put 50lb on the new baitcaster as well.

 

Think I'll wait until I have the new set up in hand to make that decision though.

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Posted

OK, you have both a ML spinning and a MH baitcasting outfits with braid line and good detailed explanation of your tackle. You are setup to bass fish nearly any standard lures and rigs. It comes down to where to fish and what lure presentations will be effective where and how you fish.

Grass and laydowns to me me are both cover elements, the lake terrain, bottom, dam, points, dock pilings etc., being structure elements. For simplicity let's look at bass location as being the spawn cycle and balance of the year. Bass spawn in wind protected areas with shallow water 1' to 6' deep as a general rule in small lakes. During the spawn most of the bass population will be near this type of areas. Before and after the spawn most bass will be located near the points close to the spawning areas or in deeper water near the dam. I always like to start fishing near dams and points except during the spawn. Start there.

Select lures and use presentations that allow the lure to work properly where you fish.

You can't use crankbaits in weeds effectively, use weedless lures. Fishing from shore limits how and where you can fish, you are fishing uphill so select lures and presentation that work well uphill.

Surface lures are good choices and deep diving lures are not a good choice where and how you fish. Lures that tend to snag on the bottom easily are not good choices.

ML spinning tackle; 

Rapalas floating/diving F13 original minnow in silver black back.

Split/slip shot or mojo rig using 1/8 oz cyclinder or bullet weight and Carolina keeper with 1/0 hook. 5" to 6" inch soft plastic worms that float and use 8 lb mono ( 3' to 6' long) with 14" to 20" leader length from weight to hook. Rig the worms weedless.

Weighless 5" Senko with 2/0 weedless wacky hook, use 8 lb mono leader, 3' to 6'.

Attach leader to braid with Uni-Uni knot. 

MH baitcasting tackle;

Spinnerbaits, buzz baits, super spook, for open water and nail weighted Flukes and hollow body frogs for grass areas.

Carolina rig using 1/4 to 3/8 oz bullet weighs with Carolina keeper and 12 to 15 lb 6' mono leader, Uni-Uni know and 3/0 hook. 6" to 8" worms and baby brush hogs, eight 14" to 20"* above hook.

This should keep you busy next year and catching bass day and night.

Good luck.

Tom

* longer leader lengths are OK if you can effectively cast from shore.

 

  • Like 5
Posted
59 minutes ago, WRB said:

OK, you have both a ML spinning and a MH baitcasting outfits with braid line and good detailed explanation of your tackle. You are setup to bass fish nearly any standard lures and rigs. It comes down to where to fish and what lure presentations will be effective where and how you fish.

Grass and laydowns to me me are both cover elements, the lake terrain, bottom, dam, points, dock pilings etc., being structure elements. For simplicity let's look at bass location as being the spawn cycle and balance of the year. Bass spawn in wind protected areas with shallow water 1' to 6' deep as a general rule in small lakes. During the spawn most of the bass population will be near this type of areas. Before and after the spawn most bass will be located near the points close to the spawning areas or in deeper water near the dam. I always like to start fishing near dams and points except during the spawn. Start there.

Select lures and use presentations that allow the lure to work properly where you fish.

You can't use crankbaits in weeds effectively, use weedless lures. Fishing from shore limits how and where you can fish, you are fishing uphill so select lures and presentation that work well uphill.

Surface lures are good choices and deep diving lures are not a good choice where and how you fish. Lures that tend to snag on the bottom easily are not good choices.

ML spinning tackle; 

Rapalas floating/diving F13 original minnow in silver black back.

Split/slip shot or mojo rig using 1/8 oz cyclinder or bullet weight and Carolina keeper with 1/0 hook. 5" to 6" inch soft plastic worms that float and use 8 lb mono ( 3' to 6' long) with 14" to 20" leader length from weight to hook. Rig the worms weedless.

Weighless 5" Senko with 2/0 weedless wacky hook, use 8 lb mono leader, 3' to 6'.

Attach leader to braid with Uni-Uni knot. 

MH baitcasting tackle;

Spinnerbaits, buzz baits, super spook, for open water and nail weighted Flukes and hollow body frogs for grass areas.

Carolina rig using 1/4 to 3/8 oz bullet weighs with Carolina keeper and 12 to 15 lb 6' mono leader, Uni-Uni know and 3/0 hook. 6" to 8" worms and baby brush hogs, eight 14" to 20"* above hook.

This should keep you busy next year and catching bass day and night.

Good luck.

Tom

* longer leader lengths are OK if you can effectively cast from shore.

 

 

Hey, you ever tried the FG knot? I use that as my leader knots. Learned it for saltwater and just continued using it when I went to fresh.

Posted

Weightless Zoom Trick Worms and Super Flukes with a twitch and pause retrieve around the grass. If there is any mats, throw a small frog such as a Pad Crasher Jr. 

Posted

Nobody mentioned a drop shot.. With a long enough leader, it will keep your bait above the muck and dead grass

  • Like 3
Posted

I really cut my teeth fishing some densely covered lakes - tons of grass & lily pads. Finally found the best baits and set up were as follows:

 

7ft MH rod with fairly stiff tip, but not too stiff. 

30 lb braid line, I prefer power pro.

5" senko type stick baits

5" soft plastic jerk baits, I prefer Zoom super flukes.

Buzz frogs, I prefer Stanley Ribbit & Zoom Horny Toads. 

Couple packs of 5/0 EWG Gamakatzu hooks.

 

The great thing about these baits, they'll all work on that 5/0 EWG hook and you can change baits quickly on the fly. If the bass won't hit the topwater frog buzzed around the vegetation, then you can easily switch to the fluke or the senko. Some of my best days were when I'd twitch a fluke or senko into gaps in the grass or lilies, then dead stick the bait & let it flutter down. 

  • Like 1
Posted
17 minutes ago, wdp said:

I really cut my teeth fishing some densely covered lakes - tons of grass & lily pads. Finally found the best baits and set up were as follows:

 

7ft MH rod with fairly stiff tip, but not too stiff. 

30 lb braid line, I prefer power pro.

5" senko type stick baits

5" soft plastic jerk baits, I prefer Zoom super flukes.

Buzz frogs, I prefer Stanley Ribbit & Zoom Horny Toads. 

Couple packs of 5/0 EWG Gamakatzu hooks.

 

The great thing about these baits, they'll all work on that 5/0 EWG hook and you can change baits quickly on the fly. If the bass won't hit the topwater frog buzzed around the vegetation, then you can easily switch to the fluke or the senko. Some of my best days were when I'd twitch a fluke or senko into gaps in the grass or lilies, then dead stick the bait & let it flutter down. 

If your going to give me the tip give me the tip.Do t keep it a secret.Mod.mod Fast,fast or xfast?

Posted
37 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

If your going to give me the tip give me the tip.Do t keep it a secret.Mod.mod Fast,fast or xfast?

As others on here have stated, the problem with giving rod tip actions is that they really can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I prob like a little bit stiffer rod tip for flukes, senkos, etc. than most people do. To me, it gives me a little bit better hook set. But my point was you prob want a little bit flex in rod tip to work the bait, but not too much. Personally, I go to diff sporting good stores & pick up a bunch of diff rods until I find one I think will work good for whatever presentation I want to fish with the rod. 

 

Big thing is, you can get couple packs of all the baits I mentioned plus couple packs of the EWG hooks and they'll all work on that same hook, rigged weightless and texposed. Plus, you can use the same rod/reel set up. So in the end, not an overly huge investment. 

  • Like 1
Posted
10 hours ago, wdp said:

I really cut my teeth fishing some densely covered lakes - tons of grass & lily pads. Finally found the best baits and set up were as follows:

 

7ft MH rod with fairly stiff tip, but not too stiff. 

30 lb braid line, I prefer power pro.

5" senko type stick baits

5" soft plastic jerk baits, I prefer Zoom super flukes.

Buzz frogs, I prefer Stanley Ribbit & Zoom Horny Toads. 

Couple packs of 5/0 EWG Gamakatzu hooks.

 

The great thing about these baits, they'll all work on that 5/0 EWG hook and you can change baits quickly on the fly. If the bass won't hit the topwater frog buzzed around the vegetation, then you can easily switch to the fluke or the senko. Some of my best days were when I'd twitch a fluke or senko into gaps in the grass or lilies, then dead stick the bait & let it flutter down. 

 

So, plastic, plastic, and plastics? :)

11 hours ago, JRammit said:

Nobody mentioned a drop shot.. With a long enough leader, it will keep your bait above the muck and dead grass

 

I do throw a drop shot, but I guess I categorize that as a plastics presentation in my mind. I tend to lump Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and drop shots together because they've all got a soft plastic.

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

Soft jerkbaits, chatterbaits, shallow shallow crankbaits.

 

And jigs work in grassy soft bottom areas when you throw them into laydowns and work them above the gunk through the branches

Posted
1 hour ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

So, plastic, plastic, and plastics? :)

 

I do throw a drop shot, but I guess I categorize that as a plastics presentation in my mind. I tend to lump Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and drop shots together because they've all got a soft plastic.

 

I wouldnt... Those are three completely different presentations, even if you use the same lure on each.... Weightless plastics are plastics too, but you wouldnt fish them in the same situations as the 3 techniques you listed

 

Speaking of weightless, here's something you can try.. One of my favorite techniques that I don't think anyone else uses.... A tandem hooked weightless worm.... I make my own worms specifically for this, but any strait tail worm will work (Roboworm or Zoom trick worm both do the job).... Hook size depends on the sink rate you want, I use #6 or #4 bait holder hooks..... The worm is nose hooked with the first hook and skin hooked with the second... The smaller hooks give the worm full range of motion, you can make it swim with a jiggle of the rod, or dart eratticly with gentle jerks.... Either way, the worm really comes alive, and the sink rate is so slow on a pause it's almost suspending..... Great for shallow water or bank fishing, and killer over the top of submerged weed beds!

 

 

  • Like 1
Posted
18 hours ago, WRB said:

Select lures and use presentations that allow the lure to work properly where you fish.

You can't use crankbaits in weeds effectively, use weedless lures. Fishing from shore limits how and where you can fish, you are fishing uphill so select lures and presentation that work well uphill.

I'd say WRB's full response on this thread is a piece of Bassresource gold.  I find that great stuff like this you can come back to again and again.

 

3 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

So, plastic, plastic, and plastics

The common thread to the responses is plastics because as WRB said, you can rig them weedless. If you follow his posts, you'll know Tom is a veteran hawg hunter.  I'm coming at your questions as a rookie bankbeater that approached this same question only about two years ago, and the short answer for me has been to follow Tom's advice - plastics presentations where you can bury the hook so it is weedless, or use a weedless hook (e.g. weedless wacky).  There is a reason why half the lures in a tackle shop in bass country are plastics. I'd say the answers you are getting are more about dealing with weeds than about being plastic.  A T-rigged craw is a different  animal than a mojo-rigged (but weedless) worm. If you aren't fishing weedless, you need to be fishing close to the surface with a topwater or shallow runner, because snags are always a problem fishing from the bank.

 

Plastics are a diverse lot.  In some areas, you might have sufficiently sparse weed cover that you can fish something that is not strictly weedless with confidence, and that's where I've found baits with a single hook and narrow profile like jigheads with paddletails can come through with limited weed accumulation.   A crankbait or anything with trebles that gets into the weeds will be gunked up in no time.

 

I assume you have some relatively open water in places in the pond - I do in my soft-bottom ponds. Those are the pond areas I'm inclined to chance a Ned Rig or something that isn't weedless.  

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