How do you bank fish ponds/lakes with heavy vegetation?

[dsw1204]

I am a bank fisherman currently in his second season of fishing and still learning the ropes.  One of my favorite ponds to fish has tons of vegetation.  All the time I throw out a diving lure it either comes back with tons of muck on it or it does not come back at all.  So, I tried Texas-rigging soft plastics.  But, almost always they come back with a bunch of that muck on the lure.

 

Other than topwater, do I have any alternatives to fish this pond?  I love topwater (who does NOT love topwater), but if I want to go deep, what do I do and how do I do it?

[JediAmoeba]

How big and how deep is the water?  Do you have access to a canoe or kayak?  Do you have chest waders?  

 

Is it a round bowl or is there a dam at one end and it's more shallow at the other?  

[scaleface]

Also , can you identify the vegetation ? If not , get a picture of it . 

[jimmyjoe]

   I tried this a few years ago. I caught fish, but it wasn't anything spectacular.

   Rig a worm neko-style or a senko wacky-style under a slip bobber. Use a much bigger bobber than you need. You'll have to try several depths to get just-at-or-above the weeds. Then start twitching the rod, which makes the worm or senko wobble.

   It is a modification of the float-n-fly type rig, but much heavier. Hope this helps.     j

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dsw1204]

29 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Also , can you identify the vegetation ? If not , get a picture of it . 

I have no idea as to the type of vegetation.  I will have to ask a friend who fishes there, occasionally.  Right now, a pic will not help.  The pond is looking pretty clear, right now.  But, in the summer, the muck gets very heavy.

35 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

How big and how deep is the water?  Do you have access to a canoe or kayak?  Do you have chest waders?  

 

Is it a round bowl or is their a dam at one end and it's shallow at the other?  

The pond is a pretty small pond, but I cannot give specifications.  It is, also, a pretty shallow pond, for the most part.  The pond an oddly shaped one and does not have a dam.

34 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   I tried this a few years ago. I caught fish, but it wasn't anything spectacular.

   Rig a worm neko-style or a senko wacky-style under a slip bobber. Use a much bigger bobber than you need. You'll have to try several depths to get just-at-or-above the weeds. Then start twitching the rod, which makes the worm or senko wobble.

   It is a modification of the float-n-fly type rig, but much heavier. Hope this helps.     j

 

That's an interesting recommendation.  I have never considered fishing with a bobber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JediAmoeba]

It would really help to find out the depths.  Also, a lot of times on these older stilted in ponds the best majority of gunk comes from the 10 feet or so from the shoreline out.  

 

In small shallow ponds that are silted in, your best bet is small spinnerbaits, tex-posed worms (4-6") without any weight and top water stuff.  It really depends on what kind of vegetation.  I have always found in smallish water every cast matters and you are making a cast for a small target window.  Miss that cast, and you wait 30 minutes or so to come back around and hit that spot again.  

[nascar2428]

Swin jig, paddle tail swimbait, weightless senko, Tokyo rig.

[Catt]

13 hours ago, dsw1204 said:

So, I tried Texas-rigging soft plastics.  But, almost always they come back with a bunch of that muck on the lure.

 

Go with lighter weights or weightless ?

[Bass Rutten]

2 hours ago, nascar2428 said:

Swin jig, paddle tail swimbait, weightless senko, Tokyo rig.

I second these and will add shallow squarebills, wakebaits, and jika rigging your plastics, very similar to Tokyo rig, keep weights light 1/8 or 3/16oz and use plastics with no or few appendages like beavers, senkos, or tubes, good luck!

[Mobasser]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Go with lighter weights or weightless ?

I agree with Catt on this one. 1/8 or less bullet sinker or no weight. The heavier weights sink into the thick weeds and stay hung up too much. Weightless may be the best option. 

[scaleface]

1 minute ago, Mobasser said:

I agree with Catt on this one. 1/8 or less bullet sinker or no weight. The heavier weights sink into the thick weeds and stay hung up too much. Weightless may be the best option. 

I like to use Weightless Yum Dingers because they have enough weight to cast with 17 lb test mono and baitcasting gear . A person might have to reel in a six lb bass enveloped in several lbs of weed depending on the "type " of vegetation . So a heavy hook is necessary too .

[plawren53202]

I have one pond I fish from time to time that is nearly 100% full of weeds that grow to within a few inches of the surface of the water for the entirety of the warmer months. My go-to on that pond has been a weightless fluke. I'm not in love with a fluke but it certainly serves its purposes in this setting.

 

Couple of tips for using it in these circumstances, I do want it to sink a little and not have to wait forever for it to sink, so I use a bigger hook (like a 4/0 or 5/0) and try to find one that's a little thicker to give it some weight. Also I've found that when texas rigging it, when I first stick the hook into the nose of the bait, I bring the point out a little further down than I might normally. I want the bait to be able to push up over the eye of the hook and the knot, covering them. This doesn't entirely prevent catching vegetation but it seems to help a little.

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, scaleface said:

I like to use Weightless Yum Dingers because they have enough weight to cast with 17 lb test mono and baitcasting gear . A person might have to reel in a six lb bass enveloped in several lbs of weed depending on the "type " of vegetation . So a heavy hook is necessary too .

Agree. One of my smaller lakes has become choked out with milfoil the last few years. A plastic that cast good with no weight is the best type. Also need a rod with some backbone. Like you said, your usually bringing in a mess of weeds with every fish.

It seems like with thicker milfoil, your mostly fishing over or under it, and in open pockets that you can see.

[JediAmoeba]

If this is anything like I imagine with a nice sludge on the bottom a Tokyo rig is going to be an awful choice.  Just go weightless tex-posed.

[Catt]

When I'm wanting additional weight added to a weightless presentation I will not only use a heavier weight hook but I will add a bobber stop.

[boostr]

Try a punch rig

[Bankbeater]

I like a weightless senko or a weightless fluke.  If the vegetation isn't too thick I like a 1/8 oz jig and craw.  The 1/8 ounce size is small enough so you can pop it out of the weeds if it gets stuck without picking up too much.

[Teal]

When you say muck, are you referring to a submergent vegetation, or is it algae