Thursday night tips for Feb 27.

[Fishhawk]

A long day at The Show, a lot of talking...but here's the scenario...



It's overcast, windy, and there is two to three feet of water pushing loose grass and other debris into small mats. We lined ourselves up with the breeze and quickly drifted along in front of the edge of grass, 15 feet away...we tossed texas-rigged tubes.

What would you do?

[JP]

Depending on how the bit is, I would throw a rocket shad(spinner bait )to start along the open water right by the grass and burn it back to the boat. If the bite is on, or if has been stable weather the last couple of days, I would flig a triple rattle back jig and pig into or under the mat of vegitation building up. Also look for open pockets within the grass where small 3 1/2" tube may work, rigged weadless.
If the bite is slow or a cold front has moved in, I would drag a tube along grass line, carolina rigged.
JP

[Joisey Joe]

Probably go with plastic worm(weedless), plastic crawfish or maybe live bait(no bobber). Might also try good old floating rapala too. BigJoe.

[spinner]

If nothing was hitting in the open water on the way in,I would try flippin a jig and craw combo to the edges and openings.

[Lucannus]

Going against the grain here I would throw a spinnerbait way out form the pile and attract some angry bass.

Fail on that I would switch to 8 inch black power worm and bounce it along the egde bottom and go for the slower hungry hit!

[SteveC]

I like a Texas rigged power worm here. If that fails...


Give up once I realized that I can't fish. There's no fish in this stupid lake anyway. Go home and have a beer. (I'd have one on the boat but that would not be legal)

[DUBIE]

First would use the spinner baits, then the tubes close to the grass. If it was any thing like last year i would be catching more grass than fish but i think that ive got my new rod working now.

[jazman]

Well... messy optionbut I would throw a buzz bait, in between the mats. like say off the 416 bridge....mats and more mats.

Another option, if the water calmed a little, twitch and drag a rat over the mats.

Jazman

[Cancatchbass]

I would run the TM S-L-O-W-L-Y (just a crawl) into the wind, about 5 feet out from the slop edge. I'd be pitching a light (for me) 1/2 ounce jig/craw combo, since that surface cover doesn't look too thick. Short pitches, maybe 10 feet ahead of the boat, concentrating on the backs of pockets and the points. Pitches would be spaced max. 5-6 feet apart.

I'd also be keeping an eye out for any pockets or holes BEHIND the rushes- up to 10 feet back from the front edge. That's where some of the bigger mamas can be found. The hard part is getting them out. I have a custom made 10 foot flipping stick made from two St. Croix musky blanks that I use for those occasions where there are openings back in the jungle. I can lift a gallon can of paint with that rod.

CCB

[BASSSTALKER]

Berkley black leeches work well....... maybe Carolina rig it in......or a craw daddy.......

[Fishhawk]

I would run the TM S-L-O-W-L-Y (just a crawl) into the wind, about 5 feet out from the slop edge. I'd be pitching a light (for me) 1/2 ounce jig/craw combo, since that surface cover doesn't look too thick. Short pitches, maybe 10 feet ahead of the boat, concentrating on the backs of pockets and the points. Pitches would be spaced max. 5-6 feet apart.

I'd also be keeping an eye out for any pockets or holes BEHIND the rushes- up to 10 feet back from the front edge. That's where some of the bigger mamas can be found. The hard part is getting them out. I have a custom made 10 foot flipping stick made from two St. Croix musky blanks that I use for those occasions where there are openings back in the jungle. I can lift a gallon can of paint with that rod.

CCB

CanCatch - I like your approach and will likely be practising it a lot in this kind of situation this summer. For the benefit of those who don't know what you do once the jig/craw touches down, please explain what you would do. This is an area that interests me alot. Usually when I am pitching something into these situations, it the fish doesn't take the bait immediately, they don't at all. What do you do to tease the bass over to the bait?

[Cancatchbass]

Seems I have to give everything away?

The jig will get through that relatively thin cover easily. Let it fall to the bottom with a thump. Usually the bottom in this type of cover is muck or silt. The jig hitting it will send up a puff of fine sediment- it looks like a puff of smoke.

That gets their attention. Next, lift the jig 6" off the bottom and, ever so gently, twitch it in place for maybe 3 seconds (5 or 6 twitches). Hold it steady for another 2 seconds- if they haven't taken the jig by now- there are no fish there OR they have lockjaw. Retrieve your jig and make your next pitch or flip.

Now, when the fish are really active (not often enough), they'll be on that jig within a split second of it breaking through the cover and you won't get to try the old seductive jiggle and twitch. They'll hit it hard. Be ready.

With the proper rod and jig in this type of situation you DO NOT rear back and set the hook like you would with a T-rigged worm. You simply lift quickly and smoothly. Get the fish up through the cover before it knows it's hooked.

CCB

[Fishhawk]

Seems I have to give everything away?

The jig will get through that relatively thin cover easily. Let it fall to the bottom with a thump. Usually the bottom in this type of cover is muck or silt. The jig hitting it will send up a puff of fine sediment- it looks like a puff of smoke.

That gets their attention. Next, lift the jig 6" off the bottom and, ever so gently, twitch it in place for maybe 3 seconds (5 or 6 twitches). Hold it steady for another 2 seconds- if they haven't taken the jig by now- there are no fish there OR they have lockjaw. Retrieve your jig and make your next pitch or flip.

Now, when the fish are really active (not often enough), they'll be on that jig within a split second of it breaking through the cover and you won't get to try the old seductive jiggle and twitch. They'll hit it hard. Be ready.

With the proper rod and jig in this type of situation you DO NOT rear back and set the hook like you would with a T-rigged worm. You simply lift quickly and smoothly. Get the fish up through the cover before it knows it's hooked.

CCB

Thank-you CCB. Not enough people know what to do after they have fired the bait in the perfect spot.

[LouisD33]

I have had lots of luck flipping a quad blade spinner bait tight to the mats. It seldom has time to hit bottom,but when it does I work it slowly back to the boat using a lift and fall retrieve

[Draven]

I would start with a scummfrog pull it across the top to see if that stired up anything if not (black-blue) jig matching craw trailer on the bottom.