Lizards

[frogfisher]

What are some ways to fish fake lizards? I know you can Carolina Rig them and fish them on the bottom but I hear they are good on top of lily pads too. Whoever fishes with fake lizards what is the best technique?

[Fishnngolfn]

Best technique?

It depends. I find myself puting a 3/0 or 4/0 hook on my line and Trigg my plastics. It is much easier to change out the lures when I see that one is not working.

I go back and forth between lizards, worms, and flukes. I will fish a lizard across lilly pads if there is a lot of cover. I will make it twitch and bump it on top of the lilly pad and then once I get across to the other side, I just let it slowly sink. And then slowly pull it up onto the next pad twitching it. I usually get my hits when it is slowly sinking between pads.

I also make them "swim" in shallow water (4' or less). I cast them parallel with the bank and swim them no more than 3 feet from the edge of the bank. I will pause every now and then but generally keep them at a steady medium retrieve while twitching the line. If the steady retrieve with intermittent pauses is not working, I try to pitch them into specific areas and twitch them as they drop.

I mostly use a Zoom cotton candy lizard. It is fairly light. If you want you can use a weighted hook but I would not suggest doing that in lilly pad cover.

[frogfisher]

Thanks for the advice

[Fishnngolfn]

No problem. We are all here to help each other. Others who have been around longer will likely have some more advice as well. Just be confident in whatever you are using. If you think "This will never work and why I am I even bothering", then don't bother because you won't catch fish consistently with that attitude. Not saying you do that but always stay positive.

[Jim80]

t-rig it and fish it slow just like F&G said every now and again let it come up of the bottom and float back down just like the frog a natural presentation is a must

[MississippiBoy]

On the Guntersville trip, what worked for Bo and I late in the day was T-rigging it and sllllooooowwwwwwly draggin it on the bottom. That just happened to be what they wanted at the time. Let them tell you the best way.

[Jigger]

Coincidentally, we won our last tournament on June Bug colored 6" lizards Texas rigged. We fished them just like you would a worm. We were pitching them to targets (stick ups, lay downs, brush piles, bushes, cattails, rocks etc in 3 to 10 ft of water and if the fish didn't hit on the fall, let it set a bit then hop it a time or two or drag it a little and go again. We were covering a lot of water until we got a bite or caught a fish then slow down and fish thouroughly. Lizards are traditional Spring time baits but they'll work in the Summer and Fall too. In my opinion, they're the predecessor to the modern "creature" baits and still serve the same purpose. They're a very good bait on a Carolina rig too. Ocassionally I'll swim one without a weight early in the morning in weed beds or pads.

[bamabassman]

msboy is dead on. sometimes you have to just about CRAWL it back in. sometmes they like it with a little more speed. and sometimes i hop mine a little, let it sit, drag it, set, hop it again. just try everywhich way till you get a strike. but you have to put it where you think the bass is at. grass and lilypads are great as well as trees, stumps and such. and jigger is right also.

[pignjig]

Ditto all the guys, especially Miss'ippi and Jigger. The lizard is a very adaptable bait that can be used in a lot of different presentations. For me, like Jigger mentioned, I have the best luck with them as a Carolina rig bait. Green pumpkin/watermelon/Carolina pumpkin type colors in warmer water and smoke/salt-n-pepper in colder water. But, try a lot of different colors and presentations...the lizard will work. Good luck, man!

-Pig

[mariner]

i really dont fish them that much, i just stick to senkos and ribbontails mostly, but when i do fish them i do it just like a worm. nice and steady with the occasional twitch.

[frogfisher]

thanks.. now all of these techniques can still work from the shore right because I don't have a boat but I rent one every so often

[bamabassman]

YES!!! throw it about 3-4 feet off shore. and just try all the above methods. you'll get one. also throw it in a semi circle from the same spot too. like a fanning method.

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by frogfisher

thanks.. now all of these techniques can still work from the shore right because I don't have a boat but I rent one every so often

When you say shore, you mean bank right? If so, then the answer is yes. I do all my fishing from the bank (right now). Just make sure that you don't walk right up to the spot you are fishing. I try to fish up the bank. After I am done with that spot, walk forward towards the area that you just fished and cast further up the bank. This tends to get the bass along the grass bank. Make sure you hit any spot that you know bass are hiding at (i.e. dead tree trunks, stumps, cover, etc.)

Good luck. There is nothing like feeling that fish take the bait no matter what you are using. Stay confident.

[frogfisher]

bamabassman, what do you mean by the fanning method?

[pignjig]

I'm in the same boat you're in right now, Frogfisher- no boat... Bama and FNG are spot on about the bank being a great place for throwing lizards. Bama nailed it with the fan cast technique, too. It's a lot easier and more natural to drag a lizard toward the bank than away from it, generally. Bass are very opportunistic creatures and they'll scarf down anything that looks like a meal, but it sure is easier when you present them with something like a lizard in its natural habitat just a few yards from shore...although, they'll eat one just as fast in deep water, too.

[bamabassman]

ok, look at a fan (jap fan). you re at the bottom ok? start left then go to your right with each cast. (left to right) like a fan. stay in one spot. then walk to the nest spot and start over. but when going to the next spot, do not just walk along the bank edge. make a walk around to where you want to go. walking straight down will spook the fish in the next area. go slowly and quietly too. make as little noise as possible. got it? hope so cause i ain't good enough to draw ways on dis here putor thingy, lmao. maybe someone who can will.

[Jigger]

You guys that are bank fishing should consider a tube if you haven't already. Modern tubes that have inflatable seats that you set above water on are sooooo comfortable and easy to fish from, unlike the old round innertube type crotch crushers. A tube will open up a whole nuther world to you. My Fish Cat made by Outcast is so comfy I could sleep in it. Its as comfortable as my recliner. You can probably get in business for maybe $300 bucks which would include a top of the line tube, air pump, and fins. I wear gore tex waders to tube in Winter and Summer but they're optional in Summer.

[frogfisher]

I understand now bamabassman

[TravisRush]

In the most recent Bassin' magazine, there is a blurp about double rigging lizards. It explains that a trailer hook around the hook point of the lead hook should be used...it's actually a really innovative approach

[Mac2]

In weeds, you can fish a lizard weightless, if the weeds haven't formed a solid mat. Cast to an open pocket and let fall, when the lizard stops and the line no longer moves it's come to rest on a weed.....now, slowly and gently pull the lizard gently until you see the line tighten as it hits another weed....same thing, pause, then gently pull it off and let fall further down. If there are bass nearby, you will usually get one hitting near the bottom, sometimes sooner......just have to really watch the line. The same weightless lizard is great for fishing reeds, just have to really work it slowly. Neat thing about lizards in the weeds and reeds, the legs, especially the front ones, get hung a little on the vegetation and momentarily catches, making the body go off at an angle.

In pads, fish it kinda like the post from Fishnngolfn. I fish it a little differently, but with very small differences, both ways will work. I fish weightless with rod tip up, this makes the lizard crawl across the tops of the pads....when I hit an opening in the pads I let it fall and wait 15 or so seconds, then I pull very slowly until the lizard, head pops up on the edge of a pad...now, holding the lizard right there, I tremor the lizard. Your line has started to draw tight as he rests on the edge of the pad, holding the rod steady I grip the handle quickly.....this is done without trying to shake the rod tip more than an inch or so....just a sudden tightening of your grip on the rod handle.....it twitches the lizard...I then pause for 5 to 10 seconds and tremor the bait one more time before moving on....if nothing hits it after pausing after the second tremor, I climb the lizard out and continue slowly moving the bait. Slowly is a key word here. Often you catch some nice bass by trying to sneak your bait thorugh the pads as if you didn't want any fish to notice it. No flailing of the rod, no splashing or shooting across openings.

At other times the bass are very aggressive and seem to like a quicker presentation...makes it interesting.

If a different type weed starts to grow into the pads, fish the edges where the pads and new type of weed come together. Also, an area of pads with an irregular bottom will hold more fish than a patch with a flat bottom.....read that somewhere. Good Fishing, Mac

[flbassman]

My personal favorite way to fish them is weightless, if the wind allows it. It works real well if you're casting parallel along the shore. Lizards are great when the bass are bedding, bass HATE salamanders, because they eat their eggs, so if you just drop a lizard on the bed and wait, you'll generally get a hit.

[jcw1503]

I agree with Flbassman, the weightless is the best way i have been able to use them, i have had a little success with carolina rig, but weightless is the best way for me.....

[Fishnngolfn]

Weightless is great that is the way I fish them most of the time. If I need to get deeper, I use a split shot on the hook under the lizards belly. This gets me deeper and then I just slowly drag it along the bottom. This usually produces strikes when the fish are a little deeper.

[Flippy]

heres a quick way to be universal i often put a bobberstoper on my line then my wheight 1/8 - 3/8 then another bobber stopper then i rigg my 4/0 gammy with my fav. lizard. this allows me to fish texas rigg and with a slide of the bobber stoppers ican fish c-rigg this works well with the 3x lizards you can adjust the hieght that the lizards float with the stoppers as well

[zooker]

they work for me dead dropped next to vertical struture any tim the water temps hit 58 or less..

zooker