Bass fishing in heavy cover

[LDismyidol]

Larry

There is a small lake that I regularly fish that consistently produced 2-5lbs large mouth. There are no boats allowed on this lake and it's catch and release only. The fishing pressure is moderate to high but still usually produces. The last two years the county has lowered the water level approximately 2 feet (via dam) which has caused the water to get choked by weeds very early into the season. I am looking for some techniques for fishing heavy cover from shore.

Thanks

JI

[tkreger838]

get you a 7' heavy rod or flipping stick. with a 1oz weight. texas rig your worm of choice. flip it high and let fall hard and fast into the weed bed. the weight will make it go through like a ton of bricks. fish with braided line. it will get through the grass alot easier.

[adambomb54]

I agree with tkreger, I too fish many ponds with a lot of heavy cover and this is probably the best method. One that has always produced for me, and big fish at that, is the Spro bronzeye frog, too. Get the regular size not the junior. It's completely weedless and you can throw it quite a ways. Just remember to let the fish swallow the frog as the hooks are tight to the body. One trip I was flippin with a tube and caught a 6.5 pound largemouth, the very next cast my friend threw out the frog in a different spot and caught a 6 pounder. Can't go wrong with either of those baits.

Adam

[YakMan]

depending on the time of year top waters can also work - i fish a private pond that is hitting huge on chug bugs right now - its really thick with weeds and the above mentioned tactics work great there also

[young_gun]

i agree with both first and third replies. throw a frog or two while ur at it

[dahlberg]

In many ways, it's an advantage to wade the shallow dense cover rather than use a boat. You will have intimate knowlege of bottom content which often provides good clues as to a locational pattern.
Usually I look for the deepest overhead cover that has living space under it. If that's lacking, alleys and holes adjacent to the think junk walls would be my next option. Any wood is usually golden.
The lures described in the above posts should be all you need. Choose jigs with pointed "penetrator" type heads.
Sometimes ungodly slow, drive yourself nuts, presentation is killer; both for surface and subsurface lures.
best
L

[fishfanatic24]

what i do is look for an opening in the weeds that comes all the back to shore or find submerged logs or reeds that are just off shore and throw a chatter frog (a chatter bait that lloks like a frog with frog legs) and reel medium fast. just this past weekend i caught a 6 pounder casting the chatter frog near submerged logs and reeds

fishfanatic24

[fishfinatic83]

If the weeds are protruding up above the surface I would concentrate on any little openings in the weeds. Try pitching a senko style worm rigged weedless and weightless. I like to let it slowly fall vertically into the weed openings by feeding off line from my reel after the cast. Just give it a little twitch every now and then and let the lure do the work. All the above mentioned methods work well too, but when the bite gets tough and the fishing pressure is heavy, a little finesse is tried and true. Good luck!