Shore-bassin' Question 1 - Reverse fishing the drop off and grass line

[Ground Pounder]

Date: Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 6:08 PM
Location: Newburgh Lake, Livonia MI
Conditions: 84 deg. F, mostly cloudy skies with an occasional light sprinkle

The day is hot, and the fishing is... lacking. In my second hour of flipping senkos, lizards, superflukes, a scum frog, and even a few pieces of teriyaki beef jerky down a long stetch of grassy, lilly-pad filled shoreline, I'm getting nothing but weeds.

Needless to say, my 6th grade Sadie Hawkins date gave more action than this lake.

As I'm chugging down another bottle of Perrier (okay, it was the cheap Kroger stuff... jeez), a fella' in a beat up old Jon boat paddles over and starts working the outside of the grass line with what looks to be a rusty hot-wheels car tied to the end of a salmon pole. I sit by, half scoffing and half snickering as he casts out about 200 yards, and begins cranking this monstrosity over and over again.

Suddenly, the tip of his mammoth pole dips, and he jumps from his seat and jerks hard enough to cause a wind-sheer ripple in the water 400 feat away. As his cigar goes flying from his now-frothing mouth, he jerks and yanks on the pole as his hands turn the reel at the speed of light, in only what I can guess is an effort to beat this poor creature on the other end of his line senseless before it reaches the front of his rust-trap of a boat.

(Don't worry, there is a reason for all this nonsense below)

As the gnarled old geezer, now sweating like a ox, reaches down to pull a nice 16-18" bass from the water, I'm stunned, and disgusted at the same time.

"Nice catch - get many today?", I yell in a choked voice that resembles that Flick kid from A Christmas Story, when he got his tongue stuck to the lightpost.

"This's num'er 7, and we got 9 yesterday. Don't keep 'em, though, gotta' let 'em grow up. You?", the beaming old codger wheezes and rasps back.

"Very nice. I'm skunked so far. Hope it picks up when the sun sets," I bellow back.

"Gotta' get out to the deeper water if you wanna' get 'em. It's too warm up by the shore", he states matter-of-factly back to me.

After a quick thanks, I turn away and head straight to my backpack. I know the fish are in deeper water... hell, if for no other reason, because I just worked every square inch of shallow water in this pond!

As I start sifting through my lures, I'm suddenly blank. What can I throw out there that's gonna' be able to get down in 7-8 feet of water, and still have a chance of making it back to me in all this grass?

In a panic, I start tying on anything I can find. Cranks and spinners all nearly get lost in the weeds. T-rigged a couple sinkos, but couldn't get them out far enough beyond the grass line. Tried a heavy-weight drop shot rig, and nearly put my eye out yanking it back out after I snagged the outer edge of the grass.

I was befuddled - and still am.

What in the world are my options in this situation?

- Bass are in deeper water
- I am on shore
- Between me and the bass is 20-30 yards of jungle-thick shallows
- No way to get into the water (no wading allowed).

SO NOW TO THE QUESTION:

I remember seeing a technique once (I think it was KVD) where he was taking a crankbait, digging it into the shallows just inside the grass line, and pulling it off of the drop-off and letting it sink into the bass below.

Is there a technique or a presentation I can use to do the opposite? To cast out either on or past the fish, get the lure down to the right depth, keep a good presentation to the fish, but stay weedless enough not to nearly kill myself trying to drag it back through the grass?

Any help is appreciated - thanks!

GP

Note: There was an arial photo shot at the scene for reference, but could not be used (as I was flipping the bird to the camera.) Below is an unnamed artist's representation.