One. (And do you have one?)

[AlabamaSpothunter]

In my waters, un pegged this time of year.   Heck Milliken is even preaching using them on Free Rigs.....he's a big believer in freedom of movement on these baits.   C-Rig, Free Rig, un pegged T-Rig, swing head, etc.      

 

I only peg them in the Spring.   

[Bluebasser86]

19 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

As I posted in the Latest Catch thread, I only caught one bass in my latest visit. I know that there are big bass in this bog. I've never seen anyone else fish it, so the fish aren't seeing many lures. I fished a frog. I topwater fished the open stretches. I fished big lures and little lures. I fished throughout the water column. I fished slow, fast, and with pauses.

 

I know the bass were seeing my lures. They just weren't hitting them. 

 

What I didn't do was paddle through the lily pads to the two feeder creeks. I wish I'd done that. 

 

What would you have tried that I didn't?

Have you tried a swim jig? Sounds like prime conditions for one.

[Pat Brown]

The pond I caught my PB and many many 8 lb class fish out of is what you are describing to a T.

 

It's basically impossible to catch fish out of but when you get a nibble it's bound to be a doozy.

[Swamp Girl]

@Bluebasser86, does a paddletail count as a swimjig? If not, what are you suggesting?

 

I went and ordered just about everything you guys suggested. That bog haunts me! 

[Pat Brown]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

@Bluebasser86, does a paddletail count as a swimjig? If not, what are you suggesting?

 

I went and ordered just about everything you guys suggested. That bog haunts me! 

 

 

Try a Siebert Shot caller in 1/4 oz, 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz in your favorite white/green/black and blue variations and pair them with some sort of 3.5-4" paddle tail swim bait trailer and fish em up in the water column past and through the nasty stuff.

 

Don't be afraid to hop and drag a swim jig real slow in an area you know they're eating.  Sometimes the little pop pop bait fish feeding hop gets the biggest bites.

 

Sometimes the bulkier profile and secondary action of the skirt get bigger bites than just a paddle tail swim bait on a hook will.  In fact...often times in my experience.

[thediscochef]

Honestly probably Lake Whitney...it will be a day of 20+ stripers every once in a while but I skunk or only catch a couple dinks most of the time. But those northern Brazos lakes are just so absolutely beautiful. I've really gotten away from pond hopping over the last year or so, learning my spots at Roberts better. It has paid off this year as you all have seen. I guess you could say I'm tied to one place for better or worse despite having a slew of great bass fishing around Texas

[Grtful4]

On 7/6/2023 at 4:30 PM, Drawdown said:

I feel this way about bank fishing Carter’s Lake and also Allatoona in N. Georgia. Very clear, deep lakes that get too much pleasure boater traffic. Army Corps of Engineers severely limits bank access to non-campers (and I get it; they don’t want anyone and everyone able to rummage through camper sites at will).

@Drawdown I feel your pain on this... especially Allatoona. Now that it's summer, most of the bass are down in the deep cooler channels, so often not near the banks by the time the sun comes up. The water is just so warm they don't stick around the shallows. There are a few points with ledges that you can reach from the shore, though, but as you point out, sometimes access to those is impossible. Most of the fish I've caught in the past few weeks (Spots mostly) have been on deep-diving crankbaits or, more reliably, on jigging spoons once I locate a bait ball and can see the fish suspended on my sonar. Not the easiest fishing in the world and not really my favorite but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 7/9/2023 at 8:41 AM, ol'crickety said:

@Bluebasser86, does a paddletail count as a swimjig? If not, what are you suggesting?

 

I went and ordered just about everything you guys suggested. That bog haunts me! 

Pretty soon you're gonna need to tow a tackle barge behind that stealthy, scuffed canoe!?

I know, I pull a muscle everytime I lift my tackle box, even though I only use 2% of what's in there.

[Swamp Girl]

@Blue Raider Bob, I will be towing a barge, but in my defense, I've admitted that this bog haunts me and defeats me, again and again and again. Its bass are bloated by overeating, which tells me that it's a healthy ecosystem. And I've never seen anyone else fish it, so it's water where the bass have seen every lure. 

[Drawdown]

1 hour ago, Grtful4 said:

@Drawdown I feel your pain on this... especially Allatoona. Now that it's summer, most of the bass are down in the deep cooler channels, so often not near the banks by the time the sun comes up. The water is just so warm they don't stick around the shallows. There are a few points with ledges that you can reach from the shore, though, but as you point out, sometimes access to those is impossible. Most of the fish I've caught in the past few weeks (Spots mostly) have been on deep-diving crankbaits or, more reliably, on jigging spoons once I locate a bait ball and can see the fish suspended on my sonar. Not the easiest fishing in the world and not really my favorite but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Yeah, I suspect that it’s imperative to “call them in” when fishing from the bank, visually or by making a racket. Seems I’m either catching them on topwater or something that suspends, like a drop shot or free rig.

 

But to that end, you’ve got to be near deeper water.

[Blue Raider Bob]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

@Blue Raider Bob, I will be towing a barge, but in my defense, I've admitted that this bog haunts me and defeats me, again and again and again. Its bass are bloated by overeating, which tells me that it's a healthy ecosystem. And I've never seen anyone else fish it, so it's water where the bass have seen every lure. 

Actually Katie, your bog is haunting me too! All of us here on BR cheer for each other in such as way as to become emotionally involved. I await with an abnormal state of anxiety for news of your success on this particular bog.

[Swamp Girl]

52 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Actually Katie, your bog is haunting me too! All of us here on BR cheer for each other in such as way as to become emotionally involved. I await with an abnormal state of anxiety for news of your success on this particular bog.

 

Bob, if I can catch FIVE bass in a single outing and one of them is at least four pounds, I'll feel like I've cracked the code...for that day, but I think this pond is like scattering 100 big, bars of gold in the Sahara. Sure, they're BIG bars, but it's the Sahara. 

 

Quote

All of us here on BR cheer for each other in such as way as to become emotionally involved.

 

I know, I know. Over in the Latest Catch thread, I'm trying to keep TheDiscoChef in bed because I want him fishing still in five, ten, and fifty years. 

[Functional]

I'll 2nd or 3rd the swim jig. Just caught this thread today but that was my immediate gut along with a beaver style bait with 1/8oz. I've had success in similar ponds/bogs working the near weightless beaver bait in the upper portion of the weeds coming up. 

[PourMyOwn]

There's a lot of these kinds of "ponds" near me in NH. By this point in the year there are pretty choked off with pads and grass- I would start off with a black super fluke worked near the surface. 

 

What makes these places so difficult is that so much of the pond is good looking water that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. I would focus on edges between grass and pads, and look for slightly deeper water. Sometimes the difference between 4' and 7' is a big deal. 

[Swamp Girl]

Thanks, @Functional and @PourMyOwn. When I placed my most recent order, I bought some swim jigs and super flukes and both are tied onto my rods and in my tackle box. Fingers crossed!