shoreline bass help

[hardysf]

There are a couple ponds i fish that have surface growth from shore to about 20 yards out al the way around. There is no way to get a boat in to this pond, even a small rowboat, however there are monster fish in here, i caught a 5.5 pounder a couple of days ago. I have mostly been tossing a scum frog and just working it with pops.

The problem is, some days it seems like the bass dont want a scum frog. I dont dare throw a buzz bait out there.

What other kind of weedless lures would you guys use to catch these fish?

Thanks for the help

[Chucker]

Let see here....

Weedless spoons (weedwing, silver minnow)
Soft jerks (slug-go, power slug, phish stick)
Mann's soft baits, like the Ghost, Goblin, Popper, or Rat
Texas-rigged worm of choice


Can you get out farther in a belly boat or chest waders?

[TroutFishingBear]

does the cover start right from shore or is there like 5 ft. of nothing before the cover? At my favorite bass reservoir I am restricted to shore fishing (no  body contact allowed) and the weed beds are extreme, but they don't start until like 5 feet from the bank. (they end like 100 ft. out there give or take). I like to cast a senko or fluke trigged parallel to the weededge and fish it back to me. Fish are on both sides of the weed edge remember. Good luck and I hope it works out for you!

[Pasquatch]

Speed worming! Texas rigged worm, a big black one, with a light sinker. Cast it out there, and retrieve is back steadily above the weeds, very good strategy!

[Mackdaddy21]

I would suggest zoom super flukes fished with an EWG 3/0 hook, rigged weedless.
Another good lure for weedless fishing is a texag rigged worm or grub with a split shot up above.
There is also a lure called the sputterbuzz, which is a weedless, floating buzzbait.

[devil-man]

I gotta go with a Texas-rigged Senko. You can work it on top and then drop it in any pockets there may be. There is a pond exactly like that close to my abode, and this tactic is (almost) the only thing that works after the weeds hit the surface.
Experiment with different colors and you will know when you find the right one!
It is a lot of fun.

Good luck!

[gillmaniac]

I recomend a Z-nail or senko fished weightless. Tie you line directly to the hook then skin hook the worm. This rig is deadly in most weedy lakes.  Hope this helps.

gill

[PERCH INC.]

How about a tube float?? Get you self on  the outside of weeds!!

[minnow]

Hey great post!

I am heading to a lakethis summer that I heard has some of the same conditions, I will try some of these suggestions!

Wish I was fishin
Minnow

[Fat Boy]

One of my favorite techniques, "Slop-n-drop", absolutely deadly.  Basically, you fish a plastic of some sort and while it's on top of the slop, you work it toward the pockets and  let it fall.  But, the difference is you cast way back into the slop and rapidly twitch your rod tip to make the tip (head) of your plastic worm (or Senko, spider jig, or whatever) bounce on the weed mat.  This creates noise/vibrations and causes a bit of a commotion, and will cause bass to follow the disturbance.  With Senkos I don't use a bullet weight, but with the other plastics I do, but no more than 1/32 oz. because you don't want it to hang in the weeds, just bounce off it.  This bullet sinker does also bounce off the mat aiding in the fish finding the lure.  The object is to make your lure twitch/crawl across the surface like an animal struggling across the weed mat.  Don't do it too fast, make it seem like struggling.  In other words, don't reel in the line too fast but keep that rod tip dancin'!  Sometimes they can't wait to attack and come up through the weeds.  They miss a lot, and I mean a lot, so don't set the hook until you "feel" the fish on your lure or else you will jerk the bait away from them.  Instead, keep working it because they will keep trying to hit it until they get it in their mouth.  If the bait makes it to a pocket, just work it to the pocket and then let it fall.  You are pretty much guaranteed a hit/hook up then.  After you set the hook, be prepared to bring some salad back to the bank with your fish!  By the way, I use Fireline for this technique even in clear water because the fish can't see the line through the weed mat and the line is strong enough that you can muscle the fish out of the weeds or drag them both in.

Man, it's fun when they hit through the mat too, because often they launch your lure up into the air and the hits are explosive (to say the least).

Good luck "Sloppin'-n-droppin'"!!!

[Fat Boy]

Oh yeah, there are other techniques too.   You can also use heavy tackle (flippin' stick for example) with heavier bullet sinkers on Texas Rigged worms that allow your bait to get through the slop and down to the fish.  It ain't easy, but it does work.  I personally prefer the top water approach in my last post simply because it's sooooo fun! 

[TroutFishingBear]

I guess I "slop and drop" a lot too kevin. I don't think I could've explained it that well though. Good post.

[Fish-trap]

"Slop-n-drop" works great around here for those green carp. All the lakes have dropped about 5 or 6 ft. over the past 2 summers so weed growth has skyrocketed.  I like to use black and sliver yamamotto spider grubs. Scum frogs work good too, but sometimes I prefer a bait that'll drop into the open pockets. Hope this might help.

[bassjunky]

I have to strongly agree with Fatboy. There is nothing like a hit in the slop.  We use the Florida Rig cones that screw onto the tips of your plastics. These are perfect for dragging across the top to find that hole, or for pitching high enuff to pierce a new hole. Once you've dropped thru the mat of slop I like to just give the rod a twitch to make the worm tail dance, then  do a gradual  lift to bring the worm slowly back up to the hole and release it back down, then repeat the twitch. works magic.