Deep Water Bass

[dboyd101]

I have an extremely difficult time with this and want to look beyond the carolina and texas rigs. Do you have any tips to catching fish in 15+ feet?

Thanks for the help. I think this part of fishing for me equates to my short game in golf. ha

[gnuisance]

Have you fooled around with dropshotting?

[kcritch]

That deeper stuff is a pain. I have had success with whacky rigged Senkos believe it or not...but it's slow slow slow and can war on you after a while. The drop shot is a great option but I never seem to have enough ambition to rig it up...now that's lazy.

I am starting to use football jigs more as I have heard they can be good. Have caught a few fish on them either on the fall around structure if there is any....or dragged/hopped on bottom. You can also swim them like a spinnerbait after letting them sink to the depth you want. If it's weedy I switch to a 1/2 oz swimming jig (pointy head) and swim it/rip it through the tops of the weeds. Beats waiting for those mind numbing Senkos to sink! HA!

[Michael82929]

I have an extremely difficult time with this and want to look beyond the carolina and texas rigs. Do you have any tips to catching fish in 15+ feet?

Thanks for the help. I think this part of fishing for me equates to my short game in golf. ha
Boyd - point of information if you may or may not know... I dont know the lakes you're fishing and can't speak for it, but on the lake I fish - each year we have a biologist on the lake run a series of tests...

One part of the test (mind you - this is YOY of data) - is our lake's oxygen content lines. This test shows you the oxygen level in the lake. The deeper it dives off the lower the oxygen becomes.

In our lake, the fish in our lake are most active above 12 feet. The fish that are below 12 ft - seem to go down there to settle down and not expand as much energy... ( it doesnt mean they wont hit nor will they come from the depths to snatch a rattle trap) - but I always thought it was very interesting in the lake I traditionally fish - most of the catching is done in the 12 ft or above vs 12ft or below which supports our biologists data.

Now I would assume each lake is different but this is something that I have held as a strong piece of data that lends me to fish the areas that will yield the best results.. Perhaps the environments you are fishing have a similar conclusion.

[iceehot6766]

My best advice is try dropshotting......It works........and easy to get the hang of after a few tries....once you feel a bump in your line or weight on the line , the fish is on....it's that easy...just like regular jigging,but works better for me........I hate deep water fishing myself(anything over 15 fow is considered deep in my book) , BUT, sometimes you have to in order to catch fish......good luck dropshotting!!!

[ScowardNJ]

I have an extremely difficult time with this and want to look beyond the carolina and texas rigs. Do you have any tips to catching fish in 15+ feet?

Thanks for the help. I think this part of fishing for me equates to my short game in golf. ha

Funny thread coming from the guy with the biggest bass at the meet-n-greet. How deep was that PB you caught? :D ;)

[dboyd101]

dropshot... so i looked it up and it's the same way that i fish fluke on a party boat... seems easy enough. thanks guys..

and yeah, scoward, even the master has his challenges :D

[jimmythegreek]

a blade bait like a binsky works great if theyre active, also a jig w a curly tail OR a weighted worm jig head like a stand-up-jig w a floating worm is killer. Dropshotting is a killer way to fish them, I always have a dropshot tied up when fishing for probing the depths when marking fish that are unknown to me

[iceehot6766]

Jimmy , funny you mentioned Binsky and blade baits...I just tied on a Little George possibly for Sunday morning....not sure if the water is ready for that yet....water temps. got to be in the low 60's to be used effectively, but I am fall frenzy ready!!!

[dboyd101]

this is all awesome info.. thanks all!

[acabtp]

don't underestimate a 3/8 or 1/2 oz ball head jig and a mr twister, drop, bouce and SET THE HOOOOOOOK

[ScowardNJ]

You cant go wrong with live bait either :D

[GetANet]

Fall Frenzy!!!!!! Yea Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eyes And Stripes !!!!!!!!!
Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooho!!!!!!!! !!

[Shameless14]

Having done quite a bit of this up north, I would use first jig and a grub, then drop-shotting, a tube, or a vertical spoon (or a blade bait). They all work.

[bulletbob]

Good advice here, from all the replied.. Personally, I don't "get " the big dropshot craze.. If the fish will hit a plastic lure on a hook with a sinker bouncing below it, they'll hit the same lure on a jig head.. Drop shotting is just jigging with the hook and the lead weight separated..
I would try plain lead head jigs around 1/4 oz with natural colored worms, minnow shapes, tubes, craws, Sluggo type bodies etc, and see what happens.. better yet, bring two rods, one with a jig head, and another rigged for drop shotting, and see what produces better.. The MAIN thing is fishing productive water.. Some NJ lakes have a problem with oxygen levels below a certain depth,, If you are fishing lets say a rocky area in 40 FOW on a smaller lake, there may be no or little oxygen at that level.. In that case you may need to fish the edge of a weed line in lets say 14 FOW...
If the lake has Lake Trout that are regularly found deep, or is know to have good bass life in lets say 25 + FOW water, it probably has enough dissolved oxygen.. You need to know the lake, so do just a bit of research... Deep water jigging will get you some big fish. If you do this on the big NJ lakes., or the Delaware River at the right time, you may also get yourself some big Smallmouth ,Walleyes, BIG perch, Catfish, Carp, Laker, Brown Trout, and even a Striper hybrid or Pike or Muskie.. I have caught all these species while deep jigging.. The best tool is a good Fish Finder on the boat.. If you see schools of bait, and fish arches with decent consistency, there is food and oxygen down there, and you will be successful if you work the lures correctly.

Ask questions about the areas you want to fish, don't waste time fishing dead water... bob

[acabtp]

Good advice here, from all the replied.. Personally, I don't "get " the big dropshot craze.. If the fish will hit a plastic lure on a hook with a sinker bouncing below it, they'll hit the same lure on a jig head.. Drop shotting is just jigging with the hook and the lead weight separated..
I would try plain lead head jigs around 1/4 oz with natural colored worms, minnow shapes, tubes, craws, Sluggo type bodies etc, and see what happens.. better yet, bring two rods, one with a jig head, and another rigged for drop shotting, and see what produces better.. The MAIN thing is fishing productive water.. Some NJ lakes have a problem with oxygen levels below a certain depth,, If you are fishing lets say a rocky area in 40 FOW on a smaller lake, there may be no or little oxygen at that level.. In that case you may need to fish the edge of a weed line in lets say 14 FOW...
If the lake has Lake Trout that are regularly found deep, or is know to have good bass life in lets say 25 + FOW water, it probably has enough dissolved oxygen.. You need to know the lake, so do just a bit of research... Deep water jigging will get you some big fish. If you do this on the big NJ lakes., or the Delaware River at the right time, you may also get yourself some big Smallmouth ,Walleyes, BIG perch, Catfish, Carp, Laker, Brown Trout, and even a Striper hybrid or Pike or Muskie.. I have caught all these species while deep jigging.. The best tool is a good Fish Finder on the boat.. If you see schools of bait, and fish arches with decent consistency, there is food and oxygen down there, and you will be successful if you work the lures correctly.

Ask questions about the areas you want to fish, don't waste time fishing dead water... bob
i agree. good post bob!

[Bergen Angler]

Blade baits. Many think that blades are just for cold winter lure but I have had great success with heavy blades (3/4 oz) fishing deep in summer. You just need to burp it slightly at the bottom. A Big mistake is setting the Bassmaster hook set. You will lose the bass. You just need to reel them in as fast as you can.

1. Heddon Sonars are ok but not great.
2. Woverines are good.
3. Johnson Thinfisher is good for shallow water not for deep water. (1/4 oz is the heaviest)
4. Reef Runner Cicada works well (1/2 oz is the heaviest)
5. Vib E is good (but the hooks will rust right after you use it).
6. Silver Buddy is excellent.
7. Cotton Cordell (good for shallow water)

If I have to choose 1, it would be Silver Buddy 3/4 oz. Then Reef Runner Cicada is the close 2nd.

[jimmythegreek]

The binsky is the best blade bait I have used and ive tried them all. It has the widest profile in height, which gives alot of flash and mimics wider profiles like herring, a local favorite in NNJ. 1/2 oz is good all around, for deep water 3/4 is better. U can move the holes forward or back to change blade action, 3rd hole back is best all around setup.

As far as drop shotting it is NOT the same as a regualr jig, not even close. U cannot suspend a jig 2 feet off the bottom consistently putting it in front of a walleyes face, some fish dont want the hop and bounce presentation, they want slow finesse deal. Also in alot of reservoirs and sand lakes u have 1-2 feet of grass/cabbage just on the bottom w no actual weed growth, a jig hopping disappears into that stuff and gets fouled, a drop shot w 2.5 foot dropper keeps ur bait in the zone the whole time, I often drop shot a minnow/herring and its the only way to do so effectively in some spots. Dont get me wrong, my goto is a mooneye VMC w a twister tail but its not the catch all, every setup has its place, and u gotta be on fish to catch anything w any presentation

[iceehot6766]

The binsky is the best blade bait I have used and ive tried them all. It has the widest profile in height, which gives alot of flash and mimics wider profiles like herring, a local favorite in NNJ. 1/2 oz is good all around, for deep water 3/4 is better. U can move the holes forward or back to change blade action, 3rd hole back is best all around setup.

As far as drop shotting it is NOT the same as a regualr jig, not even close. U cannot suspend a jig 2 feet off the bottom consistently putting it in front of a walleyes face, some fish dont want the hop and bounce presentation, they want slow finesse deal. Also in alot of reservoirs and sand lakes u have 1-2 feet of grass/cabbage just on the bottom w no actual weed growth, a jig hopping disappears into that stuff and gets fouled, a drop shot w 2.5 foot dropper keeps ur bait in the zone the whole time, I often drop shot a minnow/herring and its the only way to do so effectively in some spots. Dont get me wrong, my goto is a mooneye VMC w a twister tail but its not the catch all, every setup has its place, and u gotta be on fish to catch anything w any presentation


Well said Jimmy!!!.....You are correct.....jigging is jigging and while it is similar in style , d/s is a totally different presentation