SPOONMINNOW
Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2016
- Messages
- 220
We've had drought conditions for over 3 months and it affected various patterns I can count on in spring. Drenching rains in the last week have caused local waters to rise 3/4 of a foot and with it, placement of fish in areas far easier to fish jigs than before it rained. Two patterns are in play:
1. pads in water 3-5' deep
2. near shorelines with no plants, just hard bottoms.
Jigs as you all know can be used like any lure that can be pitched or flipped close to pad edges. Fish are high in the water column near those pads and either ambush the lure on the splash or chase it before striking.
Two kinds of fish have been attacking my lures: slammers and nippers. Slammers mean business and are easy to hook. Nippers nip at the lure all the way to the boat with no intention of getting it far enough in to set the hook. Solution: larger lures for slammers; smaller lures for nippers even if it means biting 1/4" of the front cutting the length down to 2". The other remedy for nippers is to use a lure with a flat tail on a light jig (1/24 oz,)
Recently I had the bright idea to cut the belly off a Sassy Shad to make it shimmy even better. I worked for crappie, sunfish and white perch in pad pockets and along pad edges:
View attachment 23193 View attachment 23194 View attachment 23198
View attachment 23197
Before i cut the belly off, I had no use for the Sassy Shad except for smallmouth bass.
But then nippers started nipping at the lures and I had to go to a flat tail grub and bite a bit off of the front to shorten the overall length:
View attachment 23195
I caught small perch and sunnies with no problem. Of course bigger fish also joined the fun not wanting small fry to have all the fun. This 2 3/4 lb pickerel and 2 lb smallmouth bass amazingly stayed hooked after one hell of a fight!:
View attachment 23196 View attachment 23199
A large LM bass jumped and through the hook so no pic.
(Note the color of the thin tail grub on the left: chartreuse pearl with orange belly.)
I alternated between the Sassy Shad and the thin tail the rest of the outing and in 4 hours caught 51 fish - 6 species ranging in size from 4.5" yellow perch to large bass and a pickerel . Far better than the guys only fishing for bass and left early leaving the lake all to myself. Ahhh. what a day!
1. pads in water 3-5' deep
2. near shorelines with no plants, just hard bottoms.
Jigs as you all know can be used like any lure that can be pitched or flipped close to pad edges. Fish are high in the water column near those pads and either ambush the lure on the splash or chase it before striking.
Two kinds of fish have been attacking my lures: slammers and nippers. Slammers mean business and are easy to hook. Nippers nip at the lure all the way to the boat with no intention of getting it far enough in to set the hook. Solution: larger lures for slammers; smaller lures for nippers even if it means biting 1/4" of the front cutting the length down to 2". The other remedy for nippers is to use a lure with a flat tail on a light jig (1/24 oz,)
Recently I had the bright idea to cut the belly off a Sassy Shad to make it shimmy even better. I worked for crappie, sunfish and white perch in pad pockets and along pad edges:
View attachment 23193 View attachment 23194 View attachment 23198
View attachment 23197
Before i cut the belly off, I had no use for the Sassy Shad except for smallmouth bass.
But then nippers started nipping at the lures and I had to go to a flat tail grub and bite a bit off of the front to shorten the overall length:
View attachment 23195
I caught small perch and sunnies with no problem. Of course bigger fish also joined the fun not wanting small fry to have all the fun. This 2 3/4 lb pickerel and 2 lb smallmouth bass amazingly stayed hooked after one hell of a fight!:
View attachment 23196 View attachment 23199
A large LM bass jumped and through the hook so no pic.
(Note the color of the thin tail grub on the left: chartreuse pearl with orange belly.)
I alternated between the Sassy Shad and the thin tail the rest of the outing and in 4 hours caught 51 fish - 6 species ranging in size from 4.5" yellow perch to large bass and a pickerel . Far better than the guys only fishing for bass and left early leaving the lake all to myself. Ahhh. what a day!
