Your favorite/most reliable baits for pressured lakes.

[Sharkicane]

Hey BR, 

 

Over the past week I have noticed on this little lake I fish, again super clear water, but also it gets a lot more activity than I originally thought. Several kayaks and canoes in the water, several bank fisherman throughout the day. So the fish get a lot of stuff thrown at them. I do not see a lot of people catching anything but just a lot of activity. I keep managing to catch them on green pumpkin baby brush hogs but they are always small guys. I am looking to try some different techniques and baits as I am still learning. What do you guys go to or rely on when fishing pressured fish?

[NYWayfarer]

Pressured or not it's hard to beat a wacky rigged stick bait. If there is a lot of vegetation then use a weedless wacky hook.

 

This presentation works well due to the freefalling bait through the water column. When the bite is on I get hit as soon as the bait enters the water. When the bite is slow it might have to fall closer to the bottom before a strike. It even works deadsticking it. The bite comes when you twitch the bait on the bottom after a few seconds at rest.

 

 

[Catt]

You'll hear Wacky Rigged stick baits & I agree in part.

 

I would give em something they aint seen... Wacky Rigged Trick Worms!

[Gundog]

Texas rigged senko or a drop shotted Jackall Clone Fry. Something about the Clone Fry that bass love. 

[KYBassin']

Dropshot rigged with a warning shot. 

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Sharkicane said:

Hey BR, 

 

Over the past week I have noticed on this little lake I fish, again super clear water, but also it gets a lot more activity than I originally thought. Several kayaks and canoes in the water, several bank fisherman throughout the day. So the fish get a lot of stuff thrown at them. I do not see a lot of people catching anything but just a lot of activity. I keep managing to catch them on green pumpkin baby brush hogs but they are always small guys. I am looking to try some different techniques and baits as I am still learning. What do you guys go to or rely on when fishing pressured fish?

 If you can swing it - fish baits you have the most confidence in but do it after dark . . . 

A-Jay

 

[All about da bass]

Quote

 

 

[Choporoz]

2 hours ago, Sharkicane said:

 What do you guys go to ....

a different lake....I mean...sorry, but small water with lots of people, few fish caught, no big ones....sounds less than fun

[Sharkicane]

7 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

a different lake....I mean...sorry, but small water with lots of people, few fish caught, no big ones....sounds less than fun

I am exploring that option as well, a lot of these subdivision ponds and stuff are private and/or for residents only. So my challenge is finding non overly crowded places that are not really far away. 

[Log Catcher]

I like to throw either a centipede or a grub when the bite is tough.

[keagbassr]

Most people are probably throwing rinky dink baits or senkos. I would go bigger and / or faster.

[Dorado]

Master finesse fishing. Fish at night for the larger fish. For highly pressured ponds, I have the utmost confidence in: 2.5”-3” tubes, Ned rig, trick worms, grubs, 4” senkos, and 7.5” ribbontails for the summer time. 

 

Clear water- Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin, baitfish colors

 

 

[Sharkicane]

Awesome. Unfortunately I can’t fish it at night, but I’ll order some wacky rig stuff. As well as some Fat Ikas and more worms.

[the reel ess]

5 hours ago, Catt said:

You'll hear Wacky Rigged stick baits & I agree in part.

 

I would give em something they aint seen... Wacky Rigged Trick Worms!

Amen. I rarely wacky rig stick baits anymore since I tried a Trick Worm. I always have one tied on in some fashion anyway so it's easy to get to. So a T rigged weightless Trick Worm is my answer. Just toss it to every piece of cover I can find, especially wood. 

[WRB]

19 minutes ago, Sharkicane said:

Awesome. Unfortunately I can’t fish it at night, but I’ll order some wacky rig stuff. As well as some Fat Ikas and more worms.

Be there when it opens and when it closes. Traffic will be lower and the bass more active. Does this small lake have an areation system? 

Bass get used to recreational traffic, being hooked is totally different.

Finesse C-rig or slip shot rig keeps the soft plastic off the bottom if you use mono line, lighter wire hooks and soft plastics that tend to float like Roboworms. Weightless rigged wacky style works if you can effectively cast it where the bigger bass are located, but smaller aggressive bass will always be a issue in this type of lake.

Tom

[Sharkicane]

6 minutes ago, WRB said:

Be there when it opens and when it closes. Traffic will be lower and the bass more active. Does this small lake have an areation system? 

Bass get used to recreational traffic, being hooked is totally different.

Finesse C-rig or slip shot rig keeps the soft plastic off the bottom if you use mono line, lighter wire hooks and soft plastics that tend to float like Roboworms. Weightless rigged wacky style works if you can effectively cast it where the bigger bass are located, but smaller aggressive bass will always be a issue in this type of lake.

Tom

Not that I know of. It used to be a big sand or gravel pit until they hit a natural spring and it filled up on them. So they made it into a little park. 

[blckshirt98]

I'd use a 3.5" plastic on a dropshot and fish it deadstick slow.

[ib_of_the_damned]

5 hours ago, KYBassin' said:

Dropshot rigged with a warning shot. 

X2

 

That's what I have been catching them on lately... I bring my drop shot rod and a pocket sized plano full of Warning Shots in Green Pumpkin and Morning Dawn and a second casting rod to toss different baits to change it up, but always end up going back to the drop shot. 

[Sharkicane]

13 minutes ago, ib_of_the_damned said:

X2

 

That's what I have been catching them on lately... I bring my drop shot rod and a pocket sized plano full of Warning Shots in Green Pumpkin and Morning Dawn and a second casting rod to toss different baits to change it up, but always end up going back to the drop shot. 

How exactly is a drop shot fished from the bank? I thought that was a boat technique . ? 

[ib_of_the_damned]

1 minute ago, Sharkicane said:

How exactly is a drop shot fished from the bank? I thought that was a boat technique . ? 

Same way as from a boat. I have only bass fished off a boat once. I hit up local city park lakes...

 

But as for drop shotting from the bank, I typically go 6-12" between the hook and weight, cast out, drag/twitch/hop all the way back to me. I only use shorter leader length when I drop shot small creatures/craws, typically 2-4" between hook and weight. 

[Bankbeater]

Jig and craw at the lakes I fish. 

[WRB]

Surprised a quarry lake is opened to public use as the banks are usually very steep dropping off vertically. So you have clear deep water close to shore with little cover.

Quarry lake bass are often close the deep break edges and near where the road bed used by equipment working the pit.

I am not a fan of casting a drop shot rig and dragging it, slip shot rig is more effective for me. Just any finesse presentation will work using 5 lb to 8 lb line. Nail head worm wacky rigged would be good, Ned rig, slip shot, drop shot, darter jig, T-rig, Stick worms etc.

Tom

[Yakalong]

fluke has served me well ?

[Sharkicane]

7 minutes ago, Yakalong said:

fluke has served me well ?

I have had a little luck with a fluke but frankly I dont really know how to fish one and its with my spinning rod I cant really tell what the bait is doing when I twitch it so its hard to tell if its doing what it suppose to. Plus, I cant get it that far out there and I think @WRB is right about them being out there deep. Which would explain why I don't see or hear of anyone catch big ones just small stuff. 

[Catt]