Bass'n under Lillies

[Rambo50]

Does anyone have any pointers when fishin for bass under lillie pads? How do I get at them, texas rigged worm with a heavy weight?

What do you guys think?

[JimBuck]

I've been having lots of luck with pitching non-weighted plastics on the pads and just slooooowly twitching. Between pads I let the plastic fall ever so slowly and usually get my bites that way. I don't have a setup with heavy duty line for ripping through the pads so I try to stay as light and as weedless as possible. I know everyone has been saying they've been finding the bass deeper lately but I'm still getting heavy action in 3-5 f.o.w. on the lakes I fish on a consistent basis. Good luck!

[CarlWBL]

I often cruise into the thick of the pads and will pitch multiple baits. A few that I have had success on are a jig and pig and t-rigged plastics, whether it be a worm, brushhawg, or lizard. When I throw a jig n pig, I try to pitch it into holes and pockets that are relatively close to the boat, say 10-15 ft out. With the exposed hook, I like to keep it close so I'm not tearing through a lot of pads and distrupting the fish. When I am t-rigging, I try to use a weight that is heavy enough to get the bait down to the bottom, but light enough to have a moderate fall speed, as a lot of bites will occur as the bait initially falls. Often I peg the weight as well to keep the presentation more compact.

As for line, I typically use braid when fishing the jigs and sometimes with the t-rigged as well. The only thing about braid is that it tends to stick to the top of the pads, which can hinder your bait falling beneath them. Otherwise, I will use 17-20lb florocarbon, as it is abrasive resistant and relatively heavy to get the bait down. I just bought a Quantum Tour PT Burner with a 7:1 gear ratio, and I really like how I can retrieve my bait at faster speeds to get to more pockets quickly, and also to get those fish up fast to avoid them wrapping themselves around the lily pad stocks.

Once you are pitching the baits in those pockets, be ready because the fish will hit on the fall, and typically this is when most anglers have slack in their line and they don't even feel or see the bite.

Carl