# Lure Question



## Dmcgee (Feb 4, 2005)

There are some small city lakes not for from where I live. I fish there a lot and so does many other people. For some reason the only thing I can catch fish on are green watermelon seed lizards without a weight. Sometimes slugos and bass assin shad work but the lizzards work great, spinnerbaits never work and neither do hard plastic baits. THe water is clear and the is a ton of vegitation. Is there such thing as fishing pressure? Could that be the reason these natural looking lures work so well.


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## upland420 (Dec 27, 2004)

Yes and yes.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Agreed. Clear, calm water+fishing pressure= finesse presentations. However, in clear lakes with a great deal of vegetation, jig presentations in the weedbeds will often score big. A 3/4 to 1 oz presentation with a stiff rod and heavy line is required to haul the fish through the salad.
Burl


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## upland420 (Dec 27, 2004)

Additionally you may want to try some bobber fishing with live bait if they have seen tons of pressure with artificials. Never seen a bass refuse a leech or crawler or minnow when dropped in front of them. We use the biggest minnows we can find in the spring to keep the lil ones off the line. Sometimes its a nice change of pace to traditional bassin.


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## Dave_w (May 25, 2005)

I agree with the natural bait suggestion. A full-size nightcrawler hooked once through the middle is...well, it's so far beyond "irresistable" that it's almost funny. But you will catch a lot of sunnies and perch and such. And they'll steal all your damn bait.

Figure out what they're eating in there. Try some shiners, especially. Another suggestion...eschew heavy line. Guys...what's up? Weeds are not heavy. I know. Eight-pound is generally enough. Ten is good. Twelve is pushing it. Get some Berkley Vanish, preferably eight pound, or ten if you're still all worried. I use six-pound in some pretty heavy cover with some pretty big, mean largemouth, smallmouth, lake trout, and pike, and to date, I've never once broken a line on a fish. This includes a number of 36" pike, a 35" laker, and more 25+" largemouth than I care to count. And a really big, mean-spirited six-pound smallmouth that was shaped like a football, but bigger.

The secret to light line? You know that little thing on the side or top of the reel? It's called a drag. Loosen it until you can pull the line off the reel with your hand, and then learn how to play a fish. Expect to be humbled at least once.


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## win4win (Sep 8, 2003)

When I hit a body of water that is clear and gets lots of pressure I start downsizing my tackle and equipment. Finesse worms....soft plastic jerk baits.....drop shots....floating worms.....wacky worms.....small carolina rigs....light line and matching drag. Having a reel with a quality drag system is pretty important. I grew up on a lake with tremendous pressure and water so clear you could easily read a newspaper at 20 feet deep. I learned the hard way. Don't forget to use quality super sharp hooks....and make sure to keep em sharp. If you set the hook like you see on tv shows you'll snap off more than a few fish especially if your drag isn't set correctly.


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

Try fishing a superline like Fireline or Power Pro in 10 or 20 pound test (4-8 pound diameter. Then tie a swivel at the end and attach 6' of Vanish, or other flourocarbon before your plastic worm or tube. That's what In-Fisherman recommends for high-pressure and high-clarity lakes.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

If you are fishing for fillet's, live "natural" bait is the way to go. Our philosophy with bass is to release every fish, unless it is too injured to survive. Artificial's work well, as very seldom are they taken deep enough to damage the fish. Fish caught on worms and minnows are often hooked too deeply to survive.
As for using heavy line, I use Fireline exclusively, and have found the small diameter combined with the incredible strength is a huge advantage in clear water, heavy cover situations. 
Wood is one situation where light line and a loose drag will do absolutely nothing for you. When fishing wood, you need to pull the fish out of the branches before he has a chance to entangle and break you off. 
In heavy weeds, you can fight fish on light line, but it will often be necessary to go to the fish in order to bring her to hand. Doing so often disturbs the prime area where the bass may be holding. With heavier line and a stiff rod, you can drag the fish through the weeds, to hand without making unnecessary commotion, and continue to fish the same area. The original topic was heavily pressured fish in clear water. The author didn't mention where he was from, but white rattle jigs have worked well in many natural lakes with clear water and heavy weeds, such as Minnetonka, for years. Fish the bait in small holes in the milfoil or coontail, drop it to the bottom, jig a couple times and hang on! Land another beautiful fish. Repeat. Good fishing, Burl


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