How would you fish a stepped ledge?

[The Baron]

I’ve been fishing a new lake, with good sized largemouth and smallmouth.  There’s a rock bluff that goes down near vertically into 40ft. of water, with at least 2-3 narrow ledges on the way down with heavy weed growth.  The water if fairly clear and I believe the primary forage are 2-4” shiner minnows.    How would you guys fish something like that?  Hop a T-rig worm down the ledges?  Or a jig? Or…?

[looking45]

Are the weeds in the ledges or just on the bottom? There are similar areas on the lake I fish but there are no weeds and some areas can drop to 80-90 feet or more. I use a shad colored tube and drag  it down the ledges, hesitating for 30-40 seconds on each ledge. Drag it off the ledges, hopping it will pull it too far off the ledge , I want the tube to hit each ledge

[The Baron]

Thanks @looking45.  There are heavy weeds on the ledges. 

[looking45]

If it isn’t windy, I would try a weightless senko, twitch it often enough to keep it out of the weeds

[Columbia Craw]

Shakey Head and finesse worm. Stupid tube could be another good option.

[Deleted account]

15 hours ago, The Baron said:

How would you fish a stepped ledge?

By motoring passed it until it met up to something less sheer.

[casts_by_fly]

Big topwaters- walking baits and pencils- assuming the water is reasonably clear.  You'll pull smallmouth up 20'.

[Drawdown]

I shouldn’t even give advice, but I’d try a ball head swimbait at various depths and retrieves parallel to the ledges/weeds to see if something ambushes it.

 

Then, if that’s not working, I’d swap the swimbait out for a trick worm on the same ball head (probably 1/8oz with a #1 or #2 hook). Try swimming by, then try actually landing on the ledges without getting hung up—I usually can finesse even an exposed hook through thick pond weeds, by alternating giving slack and applying gentle pulses of pressure.

 

Then I’d try a skirted jig + pit boss just because I’m stubborn. If they don’t want any of that, I’m not sure they want anything.

[Bankbeater]

I would start with jig or a t-rigged craw.  I'd start at the top and drag it over of each of the drop offs making sure I gave it enough line so that the bait didn't swing out as it dropped.

If that didn't work I would try and get as close to the bluff as possible and then cast the bait parallel to the bluff letting the bait either fall or drag it along the ledges.

[Darth-Baiter]

walk a finesse jig down the steps?   I have a similar location and the smallies pick up the jig as it drops down a terrace level.  takes mental fortitude sometimes to recognize the bait has been picked up.

[fishballer06]

I'd throw both and let the fish tell me what they want. 

 

I'd also put a little 3" Keitech swimbait on a 1/2oz head and let it sink to the bottom and then slowly retrieve (or hop it) back to the boat. 

[Bankc]

If the drop is longer than my rod, where I'm going to have to disengage the reel to let a bunch of line out as it comes over the edge so it can continue its fall straight down and not pendulum towards me, I'll get over it and cast parallel with it.  I'm not saying it's the best method.  But it's about the only way I can detect a bite when messing with stuff like that.

[PaulVE64]

Drop shot a fluke