when do you find rip rocks productive and not productive.  it would make sense when the bass are looking for warmer areas in the early spawn that the rip rap would warm up first attracting fish.

but after that cycle are the rip rap productive for you?   what lures and presentations do you use??  

Rip rap is going to be productive all year long. Look for places that another piece of cover is with the rip rap, say a log is laying down the rip rap, that should be a productive area. Another thing to look for is places the rocks point further out into the water or cave in. You will want to be casting parallel with the bank so you can be in the strike zone longer. If you have a depth finder or using a carolina rig you can find some of the bigger rocks or areas that some rocks formed under the surface in piles that most fisherman won't find. A square billed crankbait could be the best bait, you will get that square bill to bounce of all the rocks tempting the bass to strike. Another great choice would be jigs and tubes imatating crawdads, which thrive in the rocky situations. Don't forget the senko it makes another great bait fished texas rigged weightless. Whenever the season be watchin the sun. If you are fishing early spring or winter you can be fishing shallow when its sunny since the bass will move up to absorb some heat. Then when you are fishing the warmer times of the year be careful how deep you are fishing on a bank that gets beaten by the sun all year the fish will move deeper unless there is vegetation, especially around rip rap when there is little shade. Rocks are not going to produce oxygen, and the rip rap is going to warm the water, so fish will be there just look a little bit deeper. When looking at fishing lines go with monofilament such as Berkley Big Game or fluorocarbon such as Seaguar. The braided line will break easily among all the rocks. Also be prepared to loose lures, the rocks will eat them up.

 

Will

Rip rap is productive for me all year long. I catch alot of bass on a shaky head worm, jig, and crankbait.

I've done well with everything mentioned before, along with topwater poppers.

I look for riprap that has deepwater nearby and maybe a point with a laydown or brushpile. Also wind and sunshine are a must, the wind must either be blowing directly towards the riprap or blow parallel to it so to create some current. The sun is also very important, it must be shining on the riprap so to create more heat and warm the water.

Hope this helps.

100% agreed with everthing said already.........except for the braid breaking on the rocks part.....without checking your line frequently...yes, over time your braid wiil let you down but, mono in the rocks will fail 10 times quicker than braid.......Just my .02

HH

I also think riprap will produce all year long, also try a tube and a yamamoto dt hula grub

Rip rap is going to be productive all year long.

Yep...and I always fish rip rap with moving baits.

when i lived in Tenn., there were a few stretchs of rip rap that i felt Whenever i could get to them, i could "crank" them & catch fish.

certain features on long stretches (laydowns, big humps, etc.,) just seem to attract & HOLD fish.  other lures certainly allow you to catch those fish, but, crankbaits just produced more effectively for me.

Lots of great replys here.

I like cranking parallel to the rip rap. Especially if I can throw into the wind.

If not cranks, I use shaky heads. Make sure you bring a lot of them though.

I fish it year round. This time of the year I fish it because it holds heat and the water around it is warmer. (jig)In the rest of the year I fish it because there is always something living in and around it be it crawfish or bluegills or shad.Morning topwater like a buzzbait or spook later in the morning crankbaits or spinnerbaits work afternoon jig. If you can find any drop that is next to the rip rap that would be prime or a feeding flat.

Another thing I learned right at the end of the season this year is to look for the first drop off away from the rip-rap.  I was fishing a dam on the lake and trolling inside other guys from my club that were out about one cast.  They had found that the fish were suspending on the drop off and biting when the T-rigged bait made the fall off the ledge.  Nothing was biting up on the rocks, even though they had been two days before :'(