Catching Nice Bass, And Many Of Them

[Fishing Rhino]

I've never fished this late into the season, so I entered uncharted waters (figuratively speaking) for me when I went to my nearby honey hole. It did not disappoint. I had to change my technique, and when I did, I began catching fish in numbers and larger average size that were comparable to mid-season fishing.

The pond I fish is shallow, with an extremely rocky shoreline. There is emergent vegetation (mostly purple loosestrife, a vinelike plant) around nearly all the pond. The water at the edge of the vegetation line is a foot and a half to two feet deep between the rocks.

The bass are holding in the shallow water, close to the vegetation. Most of the fish are caught tight to the plant line. Ideally, I try to place my casts withing a three foot zone against the plants. I've gotten zero hits trying further away from shore in three to five feet of water. And I've made a concerted effort each time I've been out to work the "deeper" water away from the shore. Don't laugh at me describing 3 - 5 feet as deeper water. This pond is only 6 - 7 feet deep in the center.

I'm fishing a Flick It, 1/16th ounce football jig head and hook with a wire weed/brush guard. Color doesn't matter. Wacky rigged Senkos, 3, 4, or 5 inch, watermelon with black/red flake is my bait of choice.

Cast the rig and let it sit for five to ten seconds. Then lift the rod tip high, and pull the bait toward you in tiny increments. It is very similar to jig fishing. You should feel it ticking along the rocks. If I don't get bit on the first ten feet of the retrieve, I crank it in and cast again.

Don't be afraid to let the bait lie on the bottom without moving it, even during the retrieve. Pause and let it sit.

The fish are very sluggish, and it seems you have to run the bait by their nose in order to trigger a strike.

Their metabolism has definitely slowed down, and they make sluggish runs or head shakes. While they do not fight as vigorously as in the summer, the upside is that I am still catching fish, and a Senko is good for several fish.

Water temps on my honey hole were 45 - 47 degrees last week. Yesterday with the warm weather we've had, they were up to 54 - 55 degrees. The bite was the same, though they did seem to have a bit more vigor yesterday.

Trust me, the wacky rig on that jighead rarely gets hung in the rocks, and you cannot get a rockier shore than that on this small pond. When farmers cleared the land around the pond, the rocks that didn't go into building walls, got dumped along the shore. It's nearly impossible to put a paddle down and not feel rocks.

I've tried curly tail grubs and sluggos on 1/16th ounce jig heads, and they get hung on every cast. I suspect it's because the wacky rig tends to bridge the narrow gaps and keeps the jig head suspended. Whatever the reason, it goes where other rigs cannot.

So, to those of you hardy souls who are still venturing onto the water, and the fishing is slow, give it a try. The past three trips I averaged over four bass per hour, plus the occasional pickerel, crappie, and white or yellow perch.

[Glenn]

Hmmm....I might have to try that in the Northwest waters.

[AFISHN]

If you hardy souls are still bass fishing and are in shallow water using this technique,I have another great alternative using senkos.

Put out a cigar shaped float with about 2 ft of line under it and try a senko whack worm or straight.

best color green with red flake and any thing brown with red flake

try it;it works

[Fishing Rhino]

If you hardy souls are still bass fishing and are in shallow water using this technique,I have another great alternative using senkos.

Put out a cigar shaped float with about 2 ft of line under it and try a senko whack worm or straight.

best color green with red flake and any thing brown with red flake

try it;it works

That might work, but I'd try it a little shorter. The water is 18 to 24 inches deep where I am casting. That's to the bottom. Many of the rocks come to within a few inches of the surface. But, it would allow me to let the bait hang in the pockets between the rocks. Would work nice with surface ripples to impart a little action to the suspended bait.

Nice. I can fish two rods at once. One with the bobber, and the other the way I've been fishing. If the bobber technique works, it will be easy enough to add a bobber to the line on the second rod.

Excuse me. I'm off to buy a couple of bobbers.