Muddy/High Waters & Hot Sunny Weather

[BassFishingMachine]

After getting all that rain over here in NJ yesterday, the pond I fished today had a high water level and was a chocolate milk color. Previously before all the rain, the water level was low, and the weeds were all over the place, after the rain, alot of the weeds washed away, and I truly thought the higher water levels would make the fishing pick up, but I guess its not that simple.

First I tryed flipping/pitching a black/blue jig w/paca chunk to lillys and stickpiles, not even a bite. Then I seen a few baitfish jumping here and there, so I tryed a storm chugbug in black/gold, no luck. Then I tryed a spinnerbait in firetiger pattern w/painted blades, and I managed a dink..so all in all I didn't get skunked.. but definetly not what I expected which was a great day.

I did see two other fisherman doing "OK". One caught about a 2lber on a black powerbait bungee worm, and the other caught two about 1/2-1lbs on a purple Original Creme worm. Both fishermen were fishing the worm weightless. I don't own too many soft plastic worms in purple, but I do have a big zoom trick worm in pink which I plan to try weightless (any advice on that?). And I do have black bungee worms so I was also thinking about bringing them along. Was thinkin about fishing a tequila sunrise 7 1/2inch powerworm weightless, but it doesn't seem to me like a worm that would work to well weightless.

Anybody have any advice on things worth trying in these listed conditions? Just a few more things to say to get you to know what cover Im dealing with, theres small lillypad patches all around, with some small duckweed patches around them, theres also a few stick piles which have weeds growing around them, and theres also a waterfall with quick moving water rushing down it (only do to the rain). There are also feeder creeks in the back of the lake, but I fished them before the rain hit, and it was pretty dead back there. So all in all, what tactics/baits would you try if you were in my shoes fishing this lake.

Btw, this is a small local pond, and I am fishing it from the bank.

[BassFishingMachine]

No advice?  :'(

[Brad_Coovert]

I've not fished conditions like that from shore, so I can only offer up info based on fishing from a boat.

A few years ago, a huge storm blew through my area along with a tornado that blew across Morse revervoir where I fish now and then.  

All the rain raised the lake about 12" overnight and the color of the water went from stained to darn near solid mud.  Still, I decided to fish it.

I caught a few fish, but they were all super shallow and they were tight on the cover.  My bait had to hit the cover and had to nearly hit the fish to get bit.  I was using a black jig with a black trailer.

In similar conditions, I have caught fish the same way and the key I have found is that the fish will nose right up onto a piece of cover in shallow water and you have to get the bait right on them or they will not bite.

Make multiple casts to the same place as well.

Good luck!

Brad

[flipinstick88]

What kind of blades did your spinner bait have? Try a gold Colorado/Indiana combo. Those round blades will give off a lot of "thump" and if its sunny out the gold will throw off a lot of flash. Also try throwing tight to cover.

[Bankbeater]

See if you can find a tree or bush that is on the bank with branches or leaves hanging into the water and try pitchin right under the overhang.

[jb_adams]

I have fished similar conditions recently on a farm pond.  The key problem for you is new water in the pond.  It's stirred up silt, it's dropped the water temp (I assume), and that big of a change is going to make the bite slow down a lot and make a very particular bite.a worm bite is most likely your best bet.

I learned that small worms in just the right color spectrum will do the trick and it's a delicate bite so I hope you have a sensitive rod and you can feel delicate bites.  I tried jigs, tried small crankbaits, rattletraps, larger worms in Powerbait Tequilla Sunrise, Zoom's Red Shad Ole Monster, a blueberry colored finesse worm (the blueberry did produce a savage strike from a dink), and several other colors with no luck (except for the blueberry).  With dark or muddy water, black and green is my new best friend.  I tried a junebug colored Zoom Centipede just the other day in stained water after dark and it produced a really nice bass and a strike that shocked me.  I wasn't paying attention and next thing you know my drag is engaged.  That bass knocked that bait so hard it scared me.

Trust me, try a small finesse worm in a split shot rig, a weightless senko, or a simple t-rigged worm in a variety of Junebug colors and you'll have some luck.  Don't question the power of the Junebug! (hahaha)  If bass are not biting topwater baits, they are not in the mood for eating and they are lethargic and inactive.  An easy meal like a finesse worm is like a snack pack to a kid.  They can't resist it even if they don't want it.

It's definitely a worm bite for you right now.  The next biggest key factor is finding fish from the bank.  Once you have a good bait arsenal to try, Try to pattern the bass and locate some type of pattern on where they are and what they are doing.  Are they shallow, deep, midrange, etc.  

I personally think the pad stalks are not the best place given the conditions.  They may be on a flat but I would imagine they will be tight to underwater structure and points, cuts in the bank, etc.

Look for active fish too.  That's another great bank locater.  If you see a few fish jumping (crappie, bass, whatever), more than likely the bass are within casting distance.

I used to be a crankbait & spinnerbait user.  It spoiled me for that matter.  I couldn't fish a worm anymore because I'd get bored.  Now that I have caught more recently using the worm, I've revived a basic weapon.  The worm is as basic as fish a live shad on a bobber.  It's successful for a reason.

Give it a cast and I bet you have a lot more luck.

[BassFishingMachine]

Thanks for the advice all, knew I could count on you guys  .

[jb_adams]

  Quote

Thanks for the advice all, knew I could count on you guys .

I've done the same thing.  Asked for ideas on what to try, went and stocked up on a few baitsthen hit the water.  None of which worked! (haha)

Your best chances are trust your instincts and figure out what will work vs. what any of us say or suggest.  Just remember, what works for some doesn't mean it will work for you.  I do feel the junebug finesse worms in a variety of types (curly tailed finesse, trick worm, centipede/french fry, etc) will be a good starting point for reference.

I've recently tried junebug colored craw trailers and t-rigged craw baits.  I've gotten bites on them when nothing else would work.

Remember, start off small and work your way up in bait sizes.  You'll catch small fish first but at least you're catching instead of being skunked.

Good luck, I hope you get it figured out and have fun.

[guitarkid]

  Quote

After getting all that rain over here in NJ yesterday, the pond I fished today had a high water level and was a chocolate milk color. Previously before all the rain, the water level was low, and the weeds were all over the place, after the rain, alot of the weeds washed away, and I truly thought the higher water levels would make the fishing pick up, but I guess its not that simple.

First I tryed flipping/pitching a black/blue jig w/paca chunk to lillys and stickpiles, not even a bite. Then I seen a few baitfish jumping here and there, so I tryed a storm chugbug in black/gold, no luck. Then I tryed a spinnerbait in firetiger pattern w/painted blades, and I managed a dink..so all in all I didn't get skunked.. but definetly not what I expected which was a great day.

I did see two other fisherman doing "OK". One caught about a 2lber on a black powerbait bungee worm, and the other caught two about 1/2-1lbs on a purple Original Creme worm. Both fishermen were fishing the worm weightless. I don't own too many soft plastic worms in purple, but I do have a big zoom trick worm in pink which I plan to try weightless (any advice on that?). And I do have black bungee worms so I was also thinking about bringing them along. Was thinkin about fishing a tequila sunrise 7 1/2inch powerworm weightless, but it doesn't seem to me like a worm that would work to well weightless.

Anybody have any advice on things worth trying in these listed conditions? Just a few more things to say to get you to know what cover Im dealing with, theres small lillypad patches all around, with some small duckweed patches around them, theres also a few stick piles which have weeds growing around them, and theres also a waterfall with quick moving water rushing down it (only do to the rain). There are also feeder creeks in the back of the lake, but I fished them before the rain hit, and it was pretty dead back there. So all in all, what tactics/baits would you try if you were in my shoes fishing this lake.

Btw, this is a small local pond, and I am fishing it from the bank.

About the trick worms, lift, drop twitch, twitch drop. Repeat as needed mixing up the amount of twitches.

               -tumnus  

[BassFishingMachine]

Ah.. success today.. The small junebug Zoom U-tail Worm did the trick. t-rigged it with a 1/0 and 1/8ounce free sliding bullet weight, and just kinda hopped/paused twitched and crawled it. Well I flipped it to the side of a cement wall and a nice bass about 3 - 3 1/2 picked it up. What an awesome fight let me tell you, this fish gave me a great thrill. No bs, she must have made about 7 big jumps where she came either completely or 75% out of the water. With every jump she made I thought for sure she would come unbuttoned but I tryed my hardest to keep tension on her while in the air. She tryed to take me into a pipe entrance, around a bush, along the side of the cement..all over the place, but finally got her close enough to get my thumb on her lips and it was over.

After that I was happy for the day ;D, and still am. Only other bass I caught today though was a dink, around some shallow lillys, but the fattie and the great fight made it all worth while.

So all in all Zoom U-tail Worms in Junebug are definetly a bait to reach for after a good amount of rainfall. Thanks for recommending this jb_adams.. it really did the trick 8-).

[jb_adams]

That's awesome!  Glad it worked for you.

I have a new found respect for the JUNEBUG.  It seems to be a great night time bait, dark water bait, muddy water bait, and in some cases, even a good clear water bait.  It's my new "green pumpkin"....haha

NO problem and glad it worked out for you.  Wish I could have gone, I had to mow the yard.  Maybe this weekend.  This the time of year that I like going fishing on the White River and I've got just the rig do to it with this year.