BrianMDTX

Try making a weedless Texas rig jig. Search posts made by A-Jay to find the exact instructions, but it’s essentially a pegged bullet weight, a jig collar, jig skirt and a worm hook for a trailer. You can add a bead, and A-Jay recommended lead vs. tungsten bullet weights (I used tungsten as that’s all I have anymore). It’s very versatile and can be fished in many different ways. Like a standard jig, a swim jig or a Texas rig. Easy to make once you buy jig skirts and the collar. One thing that’s nice is you can easily swap weights depending on need.

In areas that are prone to excessive snagging (like yours) I stick with lighter jigs and swim them.

Gray, overcast, low 70°s and nary a breeze. No rain forecasted until 4:00 pm. Figured I’d start with a popper on top. Caught one. A 4” bluegill lol. Tried a spinnerbait, bladed jig, A-Jay Special, a squarebill and a Mann’s Jelly Worm T-rig. Nada on all those. Had a bite on the Bitsy jig with Easy Shiner (sungill) trailer. Had one about 1.5 lbs. on the hook but it threw it halfway to the boat. A few minutes later had something bite it, but after reeling it in, I saw the paddletail was ripped off. Decided to try one of the new ones in electric shad. Remember I said no rain until 4:00? Never trust the weatherman lol. A slight drizzle turned into a hard rain. The second cast after the rain started the jig got hammered. Nice 2.5 lb. bass. No pic as it was pouring. Then as it stopped, it got hit again. But it wasn’t a bass— it was a 3 lb. catfish. On a jig lol. That was it. There were some kids fishing that hammered cats on live bait. One was five lbs. They had no hook removers or pliers, so I removed the hook and weighed it for them. Dang kids outfished me lol.

Not exactly. That likely is not as weedless. This is what it looks like.

I’ve had a Bass Pro gift card since my birthday last September. Stopped there today and got a new Columbia Omni-Shade hooded shirt, a pack of 8” Mann’s Jelly Worms in blackberry, a pack of 4” Keitech Easy Shiners in electric shad (that bait in sungill has been hot as a jig trailer but that color wasn’t there so I opted to try this), and a spool of (new to me) Sufix Advance co-poly mono. 10 lb. and low-vis green. I bought a Daiwa CA-80XS off MN Fisher to replace one of my Black Max’s with a broken thumb bar. Hate to admit it, but considered the cost and time to replace the bar, and for a reel I paid $42.99 NIB, figured it wasn’t worth the hassle. Since I ran out of Sunline Shooter Defier, I figured I’d try something new.

George Orwell said it best. “All lakes are Lake Menderchuck. But some are more Menderchuck than others.”

Two? TWO? 🤣 @WRB-2.0 I stunk at fishing jigs. But I had some private discussions with Tom and he gave me some sound advice on how to fish jigs in water where the bottom is mucky and can get easily fouled. I went from zero bites to being as successful with jigs as other baits that worked well. Bonus- Tom also got me to try Sunline mono. 👍🏻 @A-Jay Look, I call it the A-Jay Special because I don’t know what else to call it lol. My “best” description is that it’s a weedless Texas-rig jig hybrid. A pegged weight, a jig collar and skirt, a bead and a EWG hook with a trailer. I normally use a Rage Craw. Some T-rig and jig bites are subtle. I’ve never had a bass do anything but crush this bait when they hit it. You can work it like a jig, a swim jig, a Texas rig…it’s very versatile, and why I don’t know, but trailers last a lot longer than they do on just a jig or a T-rig. And a special shout-out to @Swamp Girl Not for information, or advice. Just to remind me and all of us that while we strive to catch more bass and bigger bass, we should never stop simply enjoying being out on the water and reveling in nature’s beauty and majesty, regardless of what we do or do not catch.

“So, what’s for dinner?” “Shaking the tree this year, boys! We’re having breakfast for dinner this year!” “Wow! Sweet! Bacon? Sausage? French toast? Eggs Benedict? What’s the menu?” “Sorry, been outta town. Froot Loops or Cheerios?”

Ouch! 🤣

I rarely tie a Palomar. 98% of my knots are Improved Clinch.

6.5 lbs. is a nice bass anywhere. The Iowa record is 10.75 lbs. and has stood for over 40 years. Yeah, I’d be darned proud of that bass!

I hope you have better luck next time! 🤣🤣 Smallmouth piranhas lol.

I think there are 42 ponds where I live. Some are definitely more ornamental and are located in or near business parks and others are, shall we say, simply “natural”. Or as natural as man-made ponds can be. I’d say most of the ornamental ponds are aerated whereas the natural ones are not. There’s no doubt about the difference in water clarity, algae growth and the amount of muck between the two types. Oxygenation makes the difference.

@Motoboss One thing I do semi-frequently is rig a “heavy” soft plastic (my two favorites are the Fat IKA and the Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Macho) as a weightless Texas rig, and cast it just on the bank. Let it sit for 15-20 seconds and jerk it off the bank into the water. Some of these bass hang in water so shallow the tips of their dorsal fins stick out. Casting directly to them will spook them at times, but pulling it in off the bank can trigger some hellacious strikes.

I mainly fish small ponds. Most smaller than what you’re referencing. All are man-made so no natural sunken stream courses, sunken timber, etc. Very little structure except for what’s on or overhanging the bank. Most of my catches tend to be right at the bank, around or under overhanging limbs (especially ones that are partially submerged), or off the bank where the weeds start to lessen a bit (4’-5’ deep and parallel to the shore). I don’t really “downsize” but I also don’t have any huge swimbaits, etc. I use standard-sized soft plastics, jigs, etc. About the only concession I make is that I pretty much use 3/16 to 1/4 oz. weights on Texas rigs and usually 1/4 to 3/8 oz. jigs. Too heavy and they sink in the muck and you spend all your time cleaning gunk off your bait after every cast. Yesterday I had good success with a 1/4 oz. Strike King Bitsy Bug jig with a 3” Keitech Easy Shiner, but the biggest bass hit an A-Jay Special, which is a hybrid weedless “Texas rig jig” with a 1/4 oz. weight, a jig collar/skirt, and. 4/0 EWG with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer. I had to cut and retie and used a 3/8 oz. weight and it was getting fouled on every cast. So maybe downsizing in weight is what I would say I do. I don’t use treble baits much as they are definitely getting fouled, unless they are topwater or shallow jerkbaits/squarebills. Even then you run that risk but the rewards balance that out unless the floating mats of weeds is just too thick.

Gotta be honest, I figured you’d probably catch one, maybe two. You had a much better outing than I imagined. Those are some good-lookin’ bass! Hope your pup is warmed up by now!

Hey @Swamp Girl I said you’d catch ONE! 🤣

Koz, I almost did the same thing today. My last bass was nowhere near the size of yours, but in my inflatable it easily pulled my boat. I keep my net in the front of the boat, but I was gripping the rod in my right hand as I was reaching for the net. Just then it made a dive under the boat and the line went slightly slack. Luckily (for me, not the bass), it was hooked deep and wasn’t throwing that hook any time soon. Being low to the water in a light boat does make for a challenge at times.

I bet you catch something. I can sense it! 😎

I was thinking about going back to Stinkweed pond again, but didn’t feel like it and went back to my local pond. The one where I got skunked last week. Hit the water about 8:00 am and started casting the same Bitsy jig with the Keitech Easy Shiner in sungill trailer. After a few casts I felt a light hit and set the hook. It was a decent bass but lightly hooked and it threw it. I casted back in the same area 3-4 times and felt the same hit. This time the hookset was good. 3+ lb. bass. I worked my way to the north end as that’s the way the wind was blowing. Casted a bomb cast and just started reeling when I felt the same light hit. I set the hook and boated another 3+ lb. bass. When I got to the far north end, I switched to an A-Jay Special with a green pumpkin Rage Craw trailer. On the second cast, I felt an extremely light tap but saw the line move sideways. I reeled the slack in and set the hook and knew this one was bigger. It was guthooked deeply but luckily the barbed end was exposed, so I cut the line and got the hook out without damage. Took one quick pic so I could get it back in the water fast. Looked to be 4.5 lbs. or so. Caught two more on the A-Jay and one more on the Bitsy, but all were 1.5 lb.‘ers. Those hits were amongst the lightest I’ve ever felt. Barely noticeable.

The two I use the most are a Kistler Helium TCJ MHF, and a Falcon Lowrider MHF.

I’m not going to argue that, and had that thought while on the water. It was a beautiful day on the water, bass or no bass. When you’re not getting any bites, you can really concentrate on how your gear performs. And I have to say, it surprises me how well that Garcia Black Max casts on that Daiwa Aird-X rod. It’s definitely the cheapest rig (well, I have two- one MF and the other a MHF) I own, but I do not use it and scowl that it stinks compared to by Fuegos and Tatula. It’s not like there’s a wide gulf of difference in overall performance. Yeah, the drag and brakes on the Daiwas are better overall and easier to adjust, but overall it fishes very well. My problem was using a spinnerbait lol. 🤣

Woke up to 51° but soon-to-be sunny skies. Heavy rain on Saturday and the pond was at max pool. I was ready! The bass weren’t lol. I had one small one tap a swim jig and that was it except for one that hit a nose-hooked paddletail swimbait on the first cast with that bait. And as soon as the hook set, it was gone. Reeled the line and no bait, and no hook. Went to retie a new hook and it snapped as I tightened the knot. I felt my way up the leader and although it looked fine, the final 2’ was rough. Cut that off and retied a new hook but the moment had passed. Nice day for a skunk!