What bait(s) to throw?

[Eddie101]

Perhaps I had too many "options" in my tackle box, I don't know. We were at a popular lake called Little Seneca here in MD, and in about eight hours of fishing we only caught one fish. Condition was tough as the temperature was hovering around 50(!) in the morning which is about 20 degrees below norm. The lake still has full of grass on the bottom;after every cast you basically bring back a good chunk of Hydrilla. My Q is what lure(s) would you throw in that condition? The only bass we caught was on a Whopper Plopper, and I started off with; swimjig, crankbaits, creature baits, and some drop shotting. Nothing.

[Dens228]

A squarebill ticking the grass top, or an underspin ticking the grass top, or a swim jig, ticking the grass top.   I'd try them in that order. 

If there is good cloud cover or a nice breeze I'd throw a spinnerbait in the mix too. 

[Eddie101]

1 minute ago, Dens228 said:

A squarebill ticking the grass top, or an underspin ticking the grass top, or a swim jig, ticking the top.

Ah, I did not try those!! Dang it....

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, Dens228 said:

A squarebill ticking the grass top, or an underspin ticking the grass top, or a swim jig, ticking the grass top.   I'd try them in that order. 

If there is good cloud cover or a nice breeze I'd throw a spinnerbait in the mix too. 

Buzzbait might be a winner here, too.

[Dens228]

30 minutes ago, galyonj said:

Buzzbait might be a winner here, too.

For you yes!  For me I rarely do well with them except in VERY small spurts..lol

[txchaser]

For me, grass at least gets a shot at a chatterbait.

[Tatsu Dave]

Fish all the time in grass choked lakes and rivers that are shallow, T-Rigged stickbaits on a 3/0 EWG texposed hook kept just above weeds twitching and darting back. First cast will show you how far to let it sink, fish will come up to it in 10ft or so depending on clarity. A large 4-5" grub rigged weedless and weightless will also be noticed. Right at daylight a black buzzbait with a trailer (back flippers of a RI sweet beaver in blacklite) will either work or not, that been my experience with them. Grew up fishing Maryland Tight Lines!    Dave

[scaleface]

I never fished Hydrilla . I thought it was a hardy plant that lures could be ripped free of . I fish chara a lot and that stuff  will wad up on a lure . I fish it with spinnerbaits around the edges . toads on top .

[Talio]

I've got similar conditions on my favorite lake out here.  The shallows get socked in with thick hydrilla and at this point in the year a good 25% of the lake is fully matted on top.  For grass that's high enough to stick out of the water, I like to dance a 6" Zoom trick worm in pink over the top.  For submerged, I like to throw a Caffeine Shad on a superline hook.  It sinks like a senko and generally stays at whatever level you let it sink to once you start to retrieve it.  I'll either twitch it and let it die into the grass or I'll just do a straight, slow wind.  Caffeine Shads have an awesome, subtle movement in the tail when you do a straight retrieve that just seems to work.

 

I was watching GMAN give a talk about jigs and he says that a jig with a vertical line tie doesn't pick up as much junk as a horizontal, but I haven't tried it yet.

[Eddie101]

3 hours ago, Tatsu Dave said:

Fish all the time in grass choked lakes and rivers that are shallow, T-Rigged stickbaits on a 3/0 EWG texposed hook kept just above weeds twitching and darting back. First cast will show you how far to let it sink, fish will come up to it in 10ft or so depending on clarity. A large 4-5" grub rigged weedless and weightless will also be noticed. Right at daylight a black buzzbait with a trailer (back flippers of a RI sweet beaver in blacklite) will either work or not, that been my experience with them. Grew up fishing Maryland Tight Lines!    Dave

Is it weightless stickbaits or w/weights? Where in MD did you grow up?

[Tatsu Dave]

9 minutes ago, Eddie101 said:

Is it weightless stickbaits or w/weights? Where in MD did you grow up?

Weightless on a swimbait hook with an owner screw-loc to secure stickbait. I grew up where the Dundee flows out into the upper bay, near Joppatown. Didn't care for the clear drinking water lakes that required electric motors only (liberty lochraven prettyboy) launch at the dundee and you could fish nice size tidal largemouth and pick up stripers during the late summer. Found memories but where I live now is many times better for bass with lots of smallmouth thrown into the mix  Been up here over two decades now and love it! Heres a pic of how I rig......

[Eddie101]

8 minutes ago, Tatsu Dave said:

Weightless on a swimbait hook with an owner screw-loc to secure stickbait. I grew up where the Dundee flows out into the upper bay, near Joppatown. Didn't care for the clear drinking water lakes that required electric motors only (liberty lochraven prettyboy) launch at the dundee and you could fish nice size tidal largemouth and pick up stripers during the late summer. Found memories but where I live now is many times better for bass with lots of smallmouth thrown into the mix  Been up here over two decades now and love it! Heres a pic of how I rig......

I guess you lived near Baltimore county but I suppose Maine is a better place to be especially for fishing anyway.  I just don't care for Maine winter, but that's just me. I

 

I'm planning on hitting those reservoirs next year since I just got myself a new boat. Appreciate the pic and that's how I rig sometimes. I'm usually on the fence about whether to use a weight or not, however. I will definitely use my Senko copies next time I'm on Seneca Lake. Truly appreciate your input!