Fishingintheweeds

Yeah, I bought some because you're supposed to and because I'd fished other places in the south, growing up, where it made sense...throwing black and blue up here seems like a waste if time and $$$. Sooooo...I still have some sitting in bags that I will probably never use all of and some of the bags I may never open. Ha, and I sure won't be buying anything new in black and blue (or anything similar) to fish up here. Variations on green pumpkin or watermelon and white/grey seem to be the way to go up here, with soft plastics.

Green pumpkin with purple and copper flakes. I seem to have better luck in a wider range of conditions with that color than I do with gp and no flakes or even gp with some other color of flakes. I don't want to believe that the fish are that picky, so when the gp with purple and copper flakes are gone, I'll be tossing gp with purple and green flakes for a bit.

Think of what you'd do if you threw your worm into a tree. You'd try to snake it through. Think of the grass in a similar way. Jumping or popping the worm should help get through some of the grass also. Really what I mean is that when you think you're smashed or pulling it in, raising your rod tip and shaking it will help you be able to work through the grass also. Think more of shaking it loose if you think you're legitimately snagged or about to be in grass. The last thing you want to do if you think you're snagging grass, is start jerking on it and ripping up at it. You're guaranteed to bring in all the grass that way. If you HAVE grabbed too much grass with your hook, reel the slack or of the line, point your rod straight to where your worm is and slowly pull straight back. Most of the time this will free it without actually catching the grass and you will be able to continue fishing that cast. Another thing you could do, is aim for the edges of the grass or any holes. Those could be nice spots to find fish. Probably though, if there is grass, there are fish. If you want to try something more exciting, try a chatterbait. I've done pretty well with them in a lot of different conditions and a lot of people love them where there's grass. It's a while other conversation but I like to go ahead, with braid, and throw them at pads even. There are so many ways you can go at this. The way I mentioned with the Senko is the simplest way I've found to catch fish, even with a pretty good amount of grass. Maybe look into learning how to skip them also. If you're using a spinning rod, it's pretty simple and fun.

Ha, not to mention all of time wasted not-fishing, while we decide what to use next, cut off and tie on 100 times...or stare at the 10+ rods we brought, trying to decide which one to try next. I'm guessing that they probably didn't have the same luck?

Gets bit there, down south...but not in the north. Das right. You couldn't pay me to tie one in in most places in Michigan.

I'm going to second what a lot of others have said. Wacky rig a 5" senko. For me, I use a small circle hook, Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw, whatever, for me, something like a size 6 or sometimes even 8. I crush the barb with pliers. I've used this setup for anyone from 3 year olds who are learning to fish, to adults who haven't fished in years or maybe never and they've all been able to catch bass on this setup. The way I use them, and tell people to, is to cast, let it hit the bottom and keep their rod tip at maybe 10-11 o'clock and just pop it up from time to time. Don't let there be a ton of slack in your line or you won't feel some of the bites. So, I let mine sink, then pop it up (rod tip to 11-12 o'clock) a few times and then let it fall again. To the bottom or not, that's up to you. Sometimes I let it sink to the bottom and pop it as soon as I think it's down, other times I pop it 2-3 times and just let it sit there for a while, give it a bath. The best way is whichever way the fish bite that day. For the smaller circle hooks like that size, once you see your line move, feel a different kind of "snag" or just an obvious bite, just let your roof where it is and start to reel. If you try to set the hook with this kind of hook, you will pull it out of their mouth and probably lose them. If you think you have one on, don't jerk, just start reeling. Another important piece of information - if you feel a bite and realize that you didn't react (or a short strike), just keep doing what you were doing when the fish hit the first time. We're tempted to stop and kill it but what's worked best for me is to just continue doing whatever I was when it bit. I've never caught a fish after feeling a strike and then killing the action and stopping. The wacky rig seems a little boring but it gets the job done. I've seen all ages and skill levels catch them like this and I've caught some of my biggest just the way I described. Good luck!

I do a lot of these same things to stay a little more stealthy to the point that I'm not even really aware of it until someone asks why I'm doing certain things. I fish from the banks almost exclusively but I watch the colors I wear, try to be a little more quiet coming up to the water but also in general, watch where I'm standing, where my shadow is, sidearm or skip-cast more...and sometimes I downsize. As for fishing tactics? I'm no pro but I do alright all things considered - I try to make longer casts, fish in stuff that most people won't, sometimes go painfully slow with certain plastics and sometimes faster with things like jigs or chatterbait. The heavier jigs have done better for me than the lighter ones. I also like to get out when it's windy and/a little rainy. I'm pretty sure that the fish are there, I just have to figure out how to get them to bite. One thing that I haven't had seem to be an issues for me has been my line. I use all weights of braid, all colors and almost faded to white (sometimes I will color it black) or 8-10 lb mono. It's all worked for me. I've never caught anything on braided setups with a flouro leader. I know people swear by it but it seems to not be worth the time it takes me to tie one on. The lakes in the two Michigan counties that I fish in the most are all pretty clear and seem to be getting more and more traffic every year. For now, I'm still able to do pretty well. Try being more stealthy though. That's one of the easiest, least expensive things you can do and a good place to start!

Jigs and spinner baits. When I was a kid, I was told jigs were the best but all I could do was loose them. Spinner baits seemed cool too and it seemed like that was all that Jimmy Houston owned! But I was pretty sure I would lose those too, so aside from a couple of half-hearted attempts to fish them, they mostly sat in my tackle box. That stayed with me for years. I finally decided that I was only going to fish jigs and that's all I took out. And sure enough, I started catching fish with them. I started to do the same with a spinner bait and finally caught a fish on one. And that was it. I used them a while after that and even bought a few more but haven't caught anything else in them. It sounds like I'm one of the rate ones who immediately had good luck with a chatterbait, and that got a lot of my time. That may also be a reason why I haven't stuck to it very well with the spinner bait. Swim jigs are one that I still haven't had anything in yet. Now, I HAVE caught a couple of fish while unintentionally "swimming" a jig on the end of a cast but as far as going out with a swim jig head and intentionally trying to catch fish just swimming it, I still got nothing.

When I was 10-12 years old, I decided catfish were cool but I really wanted to catch bass like the guys on tv. I was told that a rubber worm was all I needed to catch anything - probably because that's just what was available and I would lose everything else, then accessibility, etc. But this was the setup I was given. I believe the one I used for so long was either blue or purple. The best part was that it was "weedless" because I was SURE that would prevent me from losing it. That in itself made it seem almost magical. This was the first thing I'd ever seen anybody catch a bass on in person, and what I caught my first bass on.

For wacky rigged works, jigs and sometimes bed rigs, in places that are mostly clear water, but even in a couple that are a little dirty or stained...I DON'T think that it matters...but it sure SEEMS like it does...by the lop-sided numbers of fish that I catch. I get bored and curious sometimes and decide to run the experiments again and again. There's not way to control all of the variables but that doesn't stop me from trying again. I give my best efforts to fish everything the same ways, in the same spots, weather, times of year, and do it over a longer period of time...but it sure feels like the fish eat that green pumpkin Senko or Ned Rig a lot better when it's got the purple flakes and the jigs a whole lot better when I stick to green pumpkin with a little brown and exactly 3 3/4 stands of orange ?

How did your test go? How did your test go?

Ha, ha, hilarious. I moved to a place right before my senior year of high school where that same pattern had taken hold. I didn't know any of the girls before their condition started but apparently there were dozens of them who had fully transitioned in as little as just 2-3 months. The rest of your story was pretty cool too.

I'm about to give this a shot right now but if I'm doing it wrong, how do we get the link from the image? If I do it right, maybe it will help someone else...I got it. Feel free to delete. Thanks!

The last time I caught one this big, I finally bought a scale. And then proceeded to never bring it, sometimes purposely deciding to leave it in the truck, and end up catching very good fish. This time, I figured we would just run out for fun and it was extremely windy, right around noon anyway, so...no need for the scale. Again, I got another I wished I had a weight on. Measured 22.5 up against the kids rod. That's the best I can do. But I'll still start off the story to my cousins and friends telling them this was over 8 lb ? Maybe this is another topic altogether, but once I started figuring out how to get them like this, I quit believing people when they would say there's no fish in a place or nothing big. They just haven't seen them. Not bad for a smaller size Michigan lake. Maybe somebody can help me out with the posting? I read somewhere on here that uploading to this link would size the pics correctly and all I had to do was paste the link and the software would do the rest? Thanks!

A little follow up here, why do you 7/16 over 3/8 or 1/2?

Ha, ha, you got me. I guess I only looked at the last post before mine, from 2013. Most of my fishing time, I'm on the bank. Until a few years ago, I had caught exactly zero fish on a jig in my life. Then, I decided to start leaving everything else at home and figure it out and now feel pretty comfortable with them even from the bank. I ended up using 1/2 oz. arky because I was making the longest casts that I could and then just fishing painfully slow most of the time. This year, I've been fishing different places. Some of them have more pressure, clearer water, and a more slime (and more vegetation before long) and soft bottoms. Of course, that got me thinking and noticing that I was catching a lot of the fish at distances that I could probably reach with something lighter. I was also thinking about if I could really even be that much quieter I could be if I downsized. Just in general wondering if I could improve in those kinds of conditions by downsizing. Thought I'd see how light people were going because I don't hear about it often.

All the replies regarding wind, bottom composition and cover make sense. 8 years later, has anybody changed their general approach? Is anybody casting the jigs with any luck?

Kinda funny, I read the beginning of this post the other day and thought to myself how much I agreed. I was kind of proud of myself for going through this thread so many times and having the same experience. The information in the rest of the post was lost on me until just now. Not a word of it stuck until I found myself rereading it. Again.

Ha, ha, that's a key point. But if 2nd place isn't even close, I may give that a shot in Michigan this year, just to see ?

That's one of my favorites too...but now I gotta ask...4, almost 5 months after your post, and with Memorial Day sales going on right now, how much gear do you have now?! ?

Yeah, it changes some. I have two, a year and a half apart and they're still young. I started having to get little 30-45 minute trips in and planning them out...it was a change, for sure. But I've caught all of my biggest 3 since I had my second. So, never fear! All is not lost. I've also lucked out that my 2 and a half year old can fish with a wacky rigged Senko on a tiny circle hook and...SO FAR...not get anything twisted or stick with a hook. The circle hook also relieved most of the worry about him causing a late hook set somehow and having a gut hooked fish. Of course, I help, but he actually gets to fish...and mom's a fan of anything that can get at least one kid out of the house! Just saying...it's worth a shot!

Nice fish. Handling one that size or bigger, up this way (I'm in Michigan) , will have you talking to yourself. I've got my two biggest this year just a few weeks apart also and it kinda leaves me wondering where I go from here...ha, ha, probably down. But congrats! That's a nice one!

Well, I picked up the 9:1 Megajaws. Shark teeth and all. It casts good...0 backslashes, even the bad casts in the wind. So far, so good.

100%

Yes, I know. But while I don't MIND catching good pike or musky, I'm not trying to. I was asking because I'm aware of guys pike fishing that swear all they need is big mono (not that I believe it but they also swear that they've never been broken off) and also because I'm not super-aware of people using steel and doing well for bass. I myself have caught them on anything from cheap pieces of plastic up to chatterbaits...with no leaders. Thinking I was fishing for bass. But if course, I've also been broke off on those things too. Because...you're never ONLY fishing for bass. I'm just trying to keep the math on the cost in the acceptable range. I currently do not own any $25 OR $125 dollar swimbaits?