Catching bass in super clear water

[Sander313]

My pond is about 6 acres and its super clear right now. I can see tons of those 8-12" bass just cruising the bank but they haven't bit anything ive tried. What are some baits I could try to catch these smaller bass in clear water on a calm day?

[b.Lee]

Live bait? 

[Raul]

I can see

You see them they see you.

Fishing super clear water has more to do with how you approach the place tha with what you try to fish it. It 's greatly about concealing your presence and blending with the background. Many baits work well, you want catch those 8 - 12 inchers, 3" senkos are lethal for fish that size, also 3 & 4" soft jerkbaits ( baby assassin & super fluke Jr ) catch you a mess of fish that size, small cranks like the subwart, bugeye bait, minnow type jerkbaits size 7, tail less grubs, smallie beavers n 'such, as long as they can 't see you.

[tbird]

Also try a small 2"-3" grub on a 1/8oz jig head,use small diameter line preferably fluorocarbon.

                      T

[aceman387]

The best lure i have found in that type of water is a 4"watermelon colored senko worm.i always wacky rig it with an o ring.for a faster moving lure i use a 3" watermelon colored grub rigged on an 1/8 oz jig head.

[RyneB]

I was having the same problem as you were. I tried lizards,worms, and all the above. They would just look at it. I tied on a 7 inch Stik O and they just attacked it. You could use a smaller Stik O but these fish were 5-8 pounds and I wanted to use a 5/0 EWG Monster Gamakatsu hook with 50lb Power Pro, to keep from losing any trophies.

[garland7]

All the tips are great! Key in on the fish not seeing you ( long casts ) and definitely smaller line

[florida strain]

although i prefer to fish in stained water, my best results in clear water have came from small natural shad color crankbaits. bandit 1,2,300 size cranks, brand and wobble may vary . also small white spinnerbaits worked well for me. either with floro, mono. line .

[Beastie Bass]

I've had good results with a 5 inch fluke, a very fast retrieve and sharp snaps with the rod instead of twitches.

Also, a small natural colored pointer, x-rap or husky jerk with a erratic retrieve pays off in super clear water. Senko if all else fails.

[Blade-Runner]

Tube or light bass jig with a long cast.

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

if your fishing from the bank dont go right up on the bank stay about 10 or 15 feet from the bank, also wearing a camo shirt doesnt hurt either

[stealthcaster]

if your fishing from the bank dont go right up on the bank stay about 10 or 15 feet from the bank, also wearing a camo shirt doesnt hurt either

In my experience this helps a lot.  Also, for very clear water I seem to do better on slightly cloudy days and just enough wind to ripple the surface.  Is this true for any of you as well?

[Raul]

Yup, a slight ripple on the surface water reduces their visibility and thus not being able to see you by a lot.

[NBR]

What Raul said + go to lighter line or fluorocarbon, make long casts. I often take a 5" Senko and cut an inch or more off. I say cut because I find that pinching off the end makes a fragile lure even more fragile.

[Sander313]

I ended up wacking them last weekend. Caught about 30. Took a while to find something they would hit. I could see every fish I caught and watched them bite. I took a 2" super fluke and rigged it on a drop shot hook and just tried to keep it in front of them barley moving it. They took it every time. I caught 10 on one set of fish attractors.

[shutupnfish]

One of my favorite spots is gin clear.  Hard to catch 'em if there ain't a ripple on the water.  I've had some success using a 1/4 ounce swim jig in bluegill color.  Good luck.

Steve

[hookset on 3]

if your fishing from the bank dont go right up on the bank stay about 10 or 15 feet from the bank, also wearing a camo shirt doesnt hurt either

Yup. those two tips exactly!

Taylor-profile says your sixteen, right?

By the time I was 16, I was addicted to bass fishing too.

I've been sneaking up on pond bass, while wearing ONLY green shirts or jackets for 35 years.

Sander313, just act like one of those snipers in the x-box games

hookset on 3

[K_Mac]

A lot of good tips. I would try a white or chartreuse marabou roadrunner jig in 1/8 oz. on 4 or 6# line. I've caught many small bass and a few big ones on this way. Good luck.

[SkeetyCCTX]

Well there are several good tactics and ways to fish really clear water lakes.  I love fishing clear water lakes, it is one of my strengths.  Being from south TX, we dont get alot of clear water days, but I take several trips to clear water lakes each year to practice my skills for tournys and for fun!  My tourny partner is always impressed how much I know about clear water fishing and it did us well at Amistad the past 2 events!

Here are some good ideas of things to try for clear water fishing:

• Go to natural colors!  Green pumpkins, watermelons, browns, etc.  Chromes will also work especially if there are lots of little shinny baitfishes!
  
  • Utilize Finesse Approaches such as the "Drop Shot" and "Shakey Head!"  Drop shotting is awesome for clear water because a tiny natural bait is presented to the fish right in the strike zone with no other terminal tackle in the way other than a small hook. Shakey heading works great too, especially if fish are tight to the bottom.
    
    • Learn to use a senko!
      
    • Learn to fish "Wacky" worms!
      
      • When worming of any sort, use the lightest flourocarbon that you can get away with!  If the fish are small and the cover is sparse, I would throw no more than 8 lb test and use spinning gear.  If cover is heavy and the fish are big, use a flourocarbon coated co-polymer.  I have been very pleased with 20 lb flouroclear by P-Line for my heavy wormin on Falcon and Amistad!  15 lb Seagar Red Label Flouro. is also very good and much stronger than its rating!
        
        • If possible, make long cast to avoid spooking fish.  Try fishing some lures with some weight that can be tossed out a long way.  Examples, C-Rigged worms, cranking baits, topwaters!
          There are some tips that should help.  Good luck!
          

[Catt]

Night 

[Hinkle2891]

i'd do a carolina rig with very light weight and a really long leader. cast it out far. i would use a baby brush hawg or a small zoom lizard and work it back to u SLOWLY.

[pinesangleroff178th]

I use to have a lot of luck with Clear color Baby Torpedo.