dragging in the mud

Was on the pond last Wednesday and marking alot of fish on a mud flat but couldn’t get them to bite. We were holding our sinkers off the bottom as not to stir up the mud – this is what I always do and I’m sure most of you Mille Lacs vets do as well. Finally – I told my partner to put on a 3/8oz sinker and let it drag bottom. He immediately caught a 25″er. So I did the same and we started ripping fish like crazy. We dragged the rest of the day and caught a ton of eyes. I would like some comments about this as I find it contrary to what I’ve always been told. Maybe the fish turned on at the same time we switched.

Eyecrusher, I think it all depends and you need to keep both methods in mind. I got my handed to me early one morning by my hung over brother who was dragging and I wasn’t. As soon as I switched to dragging. Boom FISH ON. You need to keep both methods in mind and in your arsenal.

I think dragging on some flats is different to another. Some Flats may only have a inch or so of sedeiment/silt on top of them, while others may have over a foot. I have been on a few where I have even felt gravel. I think the ones that have “thinner” sediment or mud, you might be able to drag these more often than the “thicker” mud ones. With the “thicker mud ones your sinker might be sinking deeper into the mud and not allowing your bait to be above the mud, therefore dragging your leech in the the mud or right on top. The thinner mud areas your only dropping that sinker 1-4″ in the mud and your bait is still above the bottom perhaps 4”-1′?? In the zone where fish can see and perhaps creating less of a cloud or mess by dragging allowing the fish to see your bait. Also by kicking up some mud it causes the insects and debris to float and be easy pickings for bait fish and predator fish.

What ever the fish want you need to figure that out and give them that.

Nice post Lip!, I asked the same question a while back to see what everybody thought. I have always done better dragging, than holding higher, that’s just me, however I was told once by a old launch captain that stirring up the mud is kinda like banging cranks off the rocks, more like a visual reaction type thing. Also like Ripper said it gets things riled up down there.