Best Lure For Structure

[daveinozark]

what do you go with when fishing IN structure like tree limbs in a river? My texrig worms still get snagged as well as cranks/jerks. any suggestions other than using weed guard hooks?

[nofearengineer]

I recommend making sure your hook points are not exposed. This will certainly help. Also, don't just go ballistic on every tap and set the hook into solid wood.

And if the sticks are particularly thick and you just can't keep from casting in it...I recommend you pray.

[WaffleJaw]

Welcome to the site.

IN structure I usually pitch a jig or a T-rigged creature bait....However,with the T-rig,Im extremely gentle retrieving it ,so if I get a snag,I can 98% of the time still get it out.Dont set the hook unless you know for sure,and I know how hard that can be,lol..Now if the tree limbs are out of water,a spinnerbait can be a deadly third choice.Knocking them off the wood and what not.Fishing them as close to the limbs as I can.

[keithdog]

Just had an idea come to me. I have seen salmon and steelhead fisherman float a spawn sack or crawler downstream to a log jam while they remained upstream. They engage the reel so the bobber presentation remains just at the edge of the logjam while the bait suspends among that side of the logs. It works great for them. What if a bass fisherman anchored upstream from a brushpile used a topwater or floating stick bait and let the current carry the lure downstream into the edge of the brush pile and then engaged the reel so the lure would stay exactly in the brushpile where you want it, and just worked it stationary right there?

[Bassboss]

How deep?

If it's not to deep, than I really like spinnerbaits. Try using a shallower crankbait, or using heavier line. The heavier line will make a crank dive more shallow, this should help with snags. The crank should be right over the tops of the stuff, and every few feet or so, knocking into the tops of trees. Also try a jig, they're really weedless and catch good kicker fish.

But one thing you should know is that if you're fishing in the heart of the stuff, you've put yourself i a major disadvantage! The bass are gonna be more on the edges of the cover. If there are any jots, channels or points, around the edges, than fish these, the bass are gonna be draw to this more so than in the heart of it. Also look for grass, hard bottom, or anything different in the wood -- they're gonna be drawn to this too. You can find this stuff by idling over with your boat and looking at your sonar. If you know what too look for, it should help you out lots! If it's shallow nuf, than use a good pair on polarized sunglasses, find them, and mark them with a buoy or something, go along find more, and than cast to them.

Also if you can, fish the edges length wise. Don't just cast to one spot on the edge and reel it back in. Your lures will be in the strike zone less than half the time. If you fish the edges, than it'll be there 90% of the time.

Hope this helps

[nofearengineer]

Originally Posted by keithdog

Just had an idea come to me. I have seen salmon and steelhead fisherman float a spawn sack or crawler downstream to a log jam while they remained upstream. They engage the reel so the bobber presentation remains just at the edge of the logjam while the bait suspends among that side of the logs. It works great for them. What if a bass fisherman anchored upstream from a brushpile used a topwater or floating stick bait and let the current carry the lure downstream into the edge of the brush pile and then engaged the reel so the lure would stay exactly in the brushpile where you want it, and just worked it stationary right there?

Keith, I have even seen where guys do that, but with a small planer board they can flip over and back...they just work the lure side by side on the target over and over. I gotta try that sometime.

[JB]

spinnerbait

[daveinozark]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't tried spinnerbait in tree structure yet so I will give that a go. My comfort bait has always been the plastic worm on the Finley river here in Ozark since it's had the best results. Plus I don't mind losing several of those getting hung up. Reason I brought this up is because last time out I did what I thought was a horrible cast with the worm right in the middle of the tree mess and thought I got stuck right away. Started yanking like mad and had the biggest catch yet on. It's only a 6-10 foot pool with a downed tree mess, so now I'm wanting to throw into it more often. I've got some weedless jigs to try also. Not much current there so I wouldn't be patient enough with a floater.

Thanks again, like this forum!

[woody]

It's been said before- if you're not losing a few lures every now and then, then you're not fishing in the right spot.


-Mark

[DaveW731]

IMO, very little is as weedless as T rigged plastic. I tend to use somewhat harder plastics (e.g., Zoom Fluke/Super Fluke) when tossing into wood like that and make sure that the point is as deeply "skin-hooked" as possible. I think the harder plastic tends to bounce and slide off the wood a bit better. Another superweedless bait is a Yum-Dinger, or similar bait with a hook channel on the top. Use the right length of hook to be able to drive the point into the front end of the channel with the rest of the hook completely inside the channel and you can pull it through a rosebush without hanging up.
A word of caution about spinnerbaits in structure where there is current: If either the blade arm or the hook arm contact wood, the current will cause the bait to pivot or fall sideways and actually point the hook into the wood. I still use spinnerbaits in wood where there is current, however I do NOT throw them over the wood, like I will in a lake. I use them to probe edges, pockets and indentations where I can run them along the side of trunk or the limb.

[BigBassin144]

A couple of my favorites for fishing tiber, expecially laydowns are spinnerbaits and jigs. I'll throw an occasional crank too. You're not trying hard enough if you're not losing a couple baits.

BB

[BassMoJo]

When I was on the Potomac last week I was fishing an old sunken dock first cast I had a pick up on the jig it felt good but I didn't get a good hookset. After that I told myself I would leave til a got a fish well 20 mins later and about 5 b/b jigs and 4 shakyheads I caught a 12in fish... While the hook may be Texas rigged the weight always finds a way to fall into the smallest hole.

[muddy]

What kind of cover is on the structure? If it is lets say a rock pile, on the edge of a creek channel : Either a jig or a crank bait may be called for.
If it is a weedy flat and there are big rocks in it I might use a trigged/weightless plastice.
If you can be more specific about the cover and structure, I am sure you will get clearer answers. I am new to structure fishing my slef, having switched from Natural lakes to small man made flood impoundments where i live now.

[3dkicker]

Couple of thoughts that might help. First is to peg your weight. Second is to use a short worm without a ribbontail (or a lizard or craw). Third I'd use 17 to 25lb test. Finally you need to make sure you have a rod that will allow you to get the fish out or get really good at busting up the cover to try and retrieve the fish. Sometimes you can work a bass out if you know how to give the fish slack so that it doesn't wrap itself around the laydown.