Fishing Dense Milfoil for Bass

Yesterday I went out from 3-6….terribly hot but only time I could get out for a few hours. I went on a small area lake near my house in Carver County – have never fished the lake before since I usually hit Waconia. There is a bay on this lake that is 4-5 feet deep and completely choked up with mifoil. Then it drops off pretty quickly to around 11 feet or so. I was using a jig with a plastic craw trailer and trying to punch through the milfoil, find pockets, and also fished parallel to the weedline. I caught 4 fish, but no consistency at all. Any jig experts out there have any tips? Was it a bad time of day or should I have fished differently?

Try fishing a Phelps floater with a leech & no weights. Find a small gap in the weeds on the surface & let her sit. Works best when calm. The leech just wiggles around on the surface attracting attention. It’s a blast. I’ve had many bass go airborn doing this, but it may be difficult getting the hawgs through the milfoil to the boat.

How heavy of a jig were you fishing. If the mat is supper thick you may have to go to a 3/4 Oz. jig or even larger to get it to fall through the heavy mat. Another thing to try is that when the jig seams to hang up shake it a few time to see if you can’t get it to continue falling through the mat. If at all possible I’d try to stay as close to vertical as possible. Also keep in mind that the top 3-5 feet from the top down is total mat. You want to fish as deep at possible to allow the fish more room below the mat to move. I’d also try throwing a White jig with a white craw trailer. On some lake that can be a hot color. If you have not tried stieger lake in victoria you should try it. There are some real monster bass in there. Not a great #’s lake but a great lake for a big one. It use to be all catch and release so before you keep anything from there check the Reg’s. best of luck to you.

This is all I do….in the Metro –

1.) Try a jig worm on braid – It seems to fall into the cracks better than a jig.

2.) Try a 3/4 to 1 oz tungsten sinker – pegged ahead of a flipping bait – make sure you fish this on braid too.

3.) Try a 3/4 to 1 oz grass jig.

Fish all on braid and try and stay close to the boat (vertical) When you set the hook – hit ’em hard and don’t waste any time playing the fish.

The braid will cut the milfoil.

Enjoy

Dog

Grousedog’s!! got it 65#braid on a flippn stick and hang on becauce you aitn seen nothen till you hook a big fish in that stuff. if you use any of the stechy line mono or floro you can’t handle the fish and you loose most of them,the braid cuts the weeds and you can get em out.

Stan

Frogs! 65# braid, heavy action 735 baicasting rod…FUN!

Setthehook;
I have the same issues in my neck of the woods. The difference is that my lake is private and I’m a much more experienced basser than you. When I can find a hole in the vegitation that I caused with my fertilizer & Chemicals, I use a very small jig with a very large hook!! Put a small bit o worm on the hook, drag it slowly across the top of the pads and jerk as soon as it falls out of sight. They are mostly snagged but hooked in front of the gills, so it’s legal. Try It in a tournament, it works!!!

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Setthehook;
The difference is that my lake is private and I’m a much more experienced basser than you.

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WAIT-
are you “THE BILL DANCE?”

I like a 3/4 oz bullet weight…tungsten is nice but when you’re on a budget lead does just fine..gammy superline hook and a texas rigged tube or berkley chigger craw. It is beneficial to peg your weight but I often down’t do it.

The technique is called plunking and the idea is to flip your bait up (higher than you usually would) causing the bait to nosedive at a faster rate right into the thick canopy of milfoil.. Once you break through you want to shake it a bit and allow it to sink all the way to the bottom. Once it hits the bottom a series of 3-5 lifts and drops varying the sharpness of each pull will do the trick. If you don’t get bit make another flip. Just like any other area you want to concentrate most on any type of irregular feature within the weed edge. Look for points or indentations, and anywhere were there is deeper water under the mat. My favorite mats are the ones with 6-10 feet underneath. Depending on conditions and water level, the fish may be right on the edge or way back. If they are far from the edge covering water with a frog like mentioned above may be your best bet. If they are off the edge try a drop shot or rapala DT-10. good luck

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Setthehook;
I have the same issues in my neck of the woods. The difference is that my lake is private and I’m a much more experienced basser than you. When I can find a hole in the vegitation that I caused with my fertilizer & Chemicals, I use a very small jig with a very large hook!! Put a small bit o worm on the hook, drag it slowly across the top of the pads and jerk as soon as it falls out of sight. They are mostly snagged but hooked in front of the gills, so it’s legal. Try It in a tournament, it works!!!

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yeah, sounds like great fun…why not just drop a giant treble hook down the hole if you’re just going to snag them.

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yeah, sounds like great fun…why not just drop a giant treble hook down the hole if you’re just going to snag them.

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If you don’t use worm on the hook to lure their nose close, they tend to get hooked in the gut, this ruins the meat.