hey guys I'm heading up to a private lake in PA this weekend to fish it with my dad. the lake is about 80 acres and weedy with one very large brush islands sticking up out of the water in the middle of the lake. there are A LOT of small pike in the lake as well as big bass. however, the past year or so we haven't caught a lot of bass but when we do catch a bass its a big one5-8lbs)

so my question: how do i catch more bass when i know they are in there and keep the small pike away?

 

The weather has been in the lower 80's and the winds rarely exceed 15mph on that lake


p.s the lake is a sheet of glass in the evening and i usually throw topwater sometimes i get 30 strikes , but lately I've gotten nothing   

 

PLease help!

Thanks

That's tough, how's the bottom of the lake and how deep is it? Have you ever tried a fake crawler? (7 to 10 inches)

The lake is mostly 4 feet deep then it drops to 6 in one spot... It's all submerged weeds and shoreline as far as structure goes

The lake is mostly 4 feet deep then it drops to 6 in one spot... It's all submerged weeds and shoreline as far as structure goes

 

Sounds like it's tough to fish...I would try a fake crawler texas rigged/weedless..but you dont really have a lot of options with how weedy it is, anything with an exposed hook you're oging to be screwed

I'm going to try topwater, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, and hollow belly's

I'm going to try topwater, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, and hollow belly's

 

 

Anything with an exposed hook in conditions like that will probably get you a lot of weeds/snags. Be careful.

If you know there are large bass, the bottom is weeds and you don't want the pike to hit, I'd go big.  Get a small tungsten punch weight with a skirt that matches the local foliage. Use a 3/0 hook and Texas rig a creature bait of your choice and have at it.  I would think if you pitched this around the island, you may get some takers. Good luck.