Lilly Pads...

[rowyourboat]

went to a new lake and it is honestly covered with lilly pads!!! theyre everywhere along the bank!!!

so i know that throwing frogs would be a good idea. but what else would you guys try???

(water is clear and in the low/mid 80s

thanks!

[fishingkidPA]

is the hole lake covered? like you said throw frogs or try punching with some heavy gear and jigs.

[rowyourboat]

is the hole lake covered? like you said throw frogs or try punching with some heavy gear and jigs.

its only about a 300 acre lake. and the entire shore line is coved. some spots they come out as much as 30-40 yards!!!

[Bluebasser86]

Both topwater and plastic frogs are good bets. Paddletail or buzzworms unweighted or lightly weighted can be good. If there is any room between the pads weedless spoons and spinnerbaits can be good. Flipping plastics or jigs into openings in the pads can be really good, make sure to get out the heavy gear to do it though. One of the most important things to me in pad fishing is finding something different. If you have a huge pad field and you just start flipping every hole you come across it could take awhile to find the fish or you may never find them. If you find a slight drop in the bottom, a change in bottom composition, pads with deep water nearby, or pads mixed with wood or other weeds can all be great spots. Even if you don't have a boat you can sometimes see these spots by paying attention to the pads. If they get more sparse in an area or there is a bend or indention in the edge there is probably a reason. It might be rock or clay where they can't grow or maybe there is a sudden drop that is too deep for the pads to grow. Hope that helps!

[Marty]

so i know that throwing frogs would be a good idea. but what else would you guys try???

I'd certainly try soft plastics, dropping them into holes and at the edges.

[RoLo]

Several of our local waters have shorelines that are heavily bordered by lily pads (spatterdock).

In this situation, I like the Johnson Spoon dressed with a grub, because of its remarkable weedlessness.

We've found that pad density is more important than the lure because bass prefer to hunt where they can see & move.

Although bass can be found in the solid pad drifts, they will usually be more concentrated and more active

in areas with open density (50% foliage / 50% water). The other locational key is along the outer weed-line,

especially where pad growth is congested and unbroken.

Roger

[Bass_Fanatic]

I love to throw a LC Fat CB Mini through spots that the pads are scattered and not super thick or on the outside edge of the thich pads. You would be suprised at how well a shallow crank will come through the pads without getting hung. Also, not many people opt for a crank in pads, so its something that the fish more than likely havent seen.

[Bladesmith,]

Ever hear of a Johnson Silver Minnow? It's an old lure that has been around for years, but they still sell them. It is a weedless spoon that I fish with a pork frog as trailer. Killer in pads and heavy grass.

[CWB]

Rage Shad will kill in the pads. Like a buzzbait but weedless. Not many pad bass have seen buzzbaits. You can cover alot more water also and when you find a bunch, slow down. I've found alot has to do with what's mixed in with the pads. On my lake there is milfoil mixed in with the pads in about half the spots. The rest are fairly open within the pad field. You can use spinnerbaits, spoons, and I've had good luck swimming a 4.5" Shadalicious swimbait through the sparcer pads. A killer bait in the sparcer stuff is a Strike King Timber Spin, if you can find them. In the really thick stuff, a frog tends to work better for me. Let the conditions dictate what you use.

Then fine tune from there.

[Nitrofreak]

I do not know if you have ever tried "hopping" a buzzbait from pad to pad but it works pretty darn good for me.

I will hop it from pad to pad and buzz it across an opening and they will usually nail it in the opening.

[Crestliner2008]

Ever hear of a Johnson Silver Minnow? It's an old lure that has been around for years, but they still sell them. It is a weedless spoon that I fish with a pork frog as trailer. Killer in pads and heavy grass.

X2. Great option. Always look for something slightly different in the composition or shape of the pad groups. A slight indentation can mean a submerged tree trunk or some other form of preferred cover.

Then again, if you get a blow up, have a back up rod rigged with a 7" Senko. That'll seal the deal the next time around.