Help With Thick weeds

[Anubis91]

This Year the lake i fish in is totally chocked up with loads of weeds in a lot of places... what can i use to get the fish and still avoid being caught in the weeds?

[Marty]

Originally Posted by Anubis91

This Year the lake i fish in is totally chocked up with loads of weeds in a lot of places... what can i use to get the fish and still avoid being caught in the weeds?

Since the fish will probably be relating to the weeds, use heavy equipment so you can do some horsing.

[JB]

try a horny toad over the top of the vegation, also a manns minus one in any areas that have a inch or more of water, it will stay on top..also a fluke or buzzbait, or and floating plastic.
A rattletrap run fast just over the top of the weeds will produce strikes.
If you see any holes in the vegetation growth, try dropping a weighted plastic or a jig.

[Mac1]

I'd suggest a zoom lizard, weightless to begin with. It will skirt over most weeds on top and then let it settle in the small open pockets. Pause the lizard for 15 to 20 seconds, then twitch it gently a couple of times.

I like the green pumpkin color or the watermelon/red colors the best. Lizards are also great fished slowly in the reeds as well as weeds. Fishing the weed edges that cast shade also is a great way to catch the bass. The lizard will amaze you in lilypad fields too. They tend to crawl up and over a lot of the pads without getting hooked.

Another approach is called the bump and grind. Take a watermelon/red zoom speedworm, cut off the hooktail on an ultra vibe model speedworm a half inch up the body and rig it texposed on a 2/0 offset shank worm hook. If it's not the ultra vibe model with the hooktail, but the old style with the paddle tail, pinch the tail off at the thin spot and texpose that as is.

Cast to an open pocket in the weeds and let it sink as far as it will go. Wait, watching line at all times, for 20 seconds, then lift your rod tip gently until the zoomie hits against a weed, then let it drop and pause another 20 seconds.....keep doing this until the lure works its way down deep into the weeds.

I fish this lure weightless and you may think it wouldn't get down to the bass, but with gentle patience it does. We've caught a good number using this "bump and grind" slow fall system, most of the time, using 6 or 8 lb test line.

For some reason, watermelon/red glitter works by far the best of the colors offered by zoom. We never use any weights when fishing this method. The lure will resemble a Senko, a simple cigar shape, and will work its way down very well on its own, without weight.

Most often, we anchor the boat just off the weeds allowing us to work the open edge areas as well as the nearby pockets. After working an area, we'll move and quietly re-anchor.

Good fishing, Mac

[keithdog]

When you have that much weed cover, you'll need heavy duty gear like Marty said. I would go with a 7 foot medium heavy casting rod coupled with a casting reel and 50 - 75 pound braided line. Power pro is now my choice. Working with plastics rigged texas style as JB and Mac said is a sure fire approach. A weedless spoon with a pork or plastic trailor can also be killer in the "slop". A 5 inch Tiki Wave worm in the laminated series will work great and has the weight to allow long casts and faster sinking without the use of a weight. Lastly, you need to take a few minutes and take a good long look at the lake for changes in the weeds. When there is that much weed cover, you need to isolate targets that will attract bass. Look for any breaks in the weed fields. Such as piers, logs and downfalls, brush, large openings in the weedbeds which may suggest deeper water. Working the deeper edges of any points leading to deeper water is excelent this time of year. Basically, your looking for any breaks in the weedbed structure. Bass love breaks. So pick your targets wisely, get in close and work with short casts. Good luck!!!!

[roadrunner]

I went fishing the other day and the water i fished was choked up with vegetation and the water was super clear. i immediatly through a popping scum frog and caught some nice keeper bass. my brother through a soft plastic craw but with liminted success. if you can't catch them on the bottom try a floating frog, just remember to have the sharpest hooks available.