How to fish muddy/weedy lakes? 2025
Quarry Man reply :
my lake is man made and 40 acres, with an average depth of 4' (lol), and a max depth of 10'. The lake has almost no cover/structure besides a few isolated rocks/logs and a channel There are some spots that have rock and are the deepest, and I fish these spots well. The back third of the lake is very shallow and I am one of the only ones who actually goes back there and has luck.Mist if the lake is silty and has mud and weedy bottoms (milfoil). this makes me hesitant to throw any lures that touch the bottom. I pretty much only throw moving baits over top, even during the day. What can I do?
slonezp reply :
If you're a bank beater, the banks suffer less from the silt than 5ft out from the banks. Fish the banks prior to the weed growth and run above the weeds once they fill in. Fish weed edges. Don't forget punching in the summer.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/18/2019 at 8:08 AM, slonezp said:If you're a bank beater, the banks suffer less from the silt than 5ft out from the banks. Fish the banks prior to the weed growth and run above the weeds once they fill in. Fish weed edges. Don't forget punching in the summer.
Forgot to mention that I have a boat. lake isn't that weedy. only the bottom foot or so has milfoil, no mats or anything. there are weird clumps of milfoil though that reach the surface around 10' in diameter, and I have noticed baitfish around there. I usually bank fish at night with luck, but want to fish bottom baits more, like jigs, Texas rigs, and crank baits
Dens228 reply :
Rip a swim jig through the mats that are coming to the surface.
IgotWood reply :
Lipless crank! I like to yo-yo a lipless during the cold months in my super weedy lake. A jerkbait may not be a bad idea either if you can keep it just above the grass.
slonezp reply :
On 2/18/2019 at 8:43 AM, Quarry Man said:Forgot to mention that I have a boat. lake isn't that weedy. only the bottom foot or so has milfoil, no mats or anything. there are weird clumps of milfoil though that reach the surface around 10' in diameter, and I have noticed baitfish around there. I usually bank fish at night with luck, but want to fish bottom baits more, like jigs, Texas rigs, and crank baits
By bank beater, I meant all you do is cast towards the bank and don't do offshore fishing. During early spring, I fish a lake with a bunch of rotted vegetation on the bottom. Any lure that hits the bottom in 13ft or less comes up with a black stringy mess. I usually end up using cranks or suspending jerkbaits rather than wasting time on presentations that will get lost in the silt and vegetation. As the water warms up and the fresh vegetation grows in, I'll run lures over the top. Save your finesse plastic tactics for a harder bottom
Lottabass reply :
Last year I bought a Power Pole Micro Anchor. It has an 8 ft spike. Went to one of my favorite reservoirs (very old) and sitting in 2 ft of water I dropped the spike and it went all the way down! Now I realize just how soft and silty the bottom can be in an old lake. What happens to your jig or worm when it hits this type of bottom? Does it sink clear out of sight to the bass?
FCPhil reply :
With muddy water I would first really try to dial in your topwater fishing, even during the day. A whopper plopper 110 and Teckel Sprinker frog would be great for covering water both when the surface is clear or has debris. Then poppers, walkers, propbaits and frogs are great around the bank and cover. I think a lot of people write off topwater too soon during the day or think just because one isn’t working they all won’t.
After that I would pitch jigs and weightless plastics around the isolated cover you have.
Then crankbaits that run over the tops of the grass and lipless cranks ripped out of the grass.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/18/2019 at 9:32 PM, Lottabass said:What happens to your jig or worm when it hits this type of bottom? Does it sink clear out of sight to the bass?
Yes, and I get no sensitivity/feel. I do fish a drop shot in spots where it isn't weedy, but thats few and far between.
On 2/19/2019 at 2:12 AM, FCPhil said:With muddy water I would first really try to dial in your topwater fishing, even during the day. A whopper plopper 110 and Teckel Sprinker frog would be great for covering water both when the surface is clear or has debris. Then poppers, walkers, propbaits and frogs are great around the bank and cover. I think a lot of people write off topwater too soon during the day or think just because one isn’t working they all won’t.
After that I would pitch jigs and weightless plastics around the isolated cover you have.
Then crankbaits that run over the tops of the grass and lipless cranks ripped out of the grass.
Thats a very good plan and its similar to what I do. I have one spot that I only fish in tournaments, its an isolated cove maybe 25 square feet, but its super matted and catch a decent bass literally every time. I hit it maybe 15 times and never failed to get bit! around the area are shallow reeds and I have frogged it, caught one once, but I have been using the ima skimmer to get bit, I love your idea about the popper will definitely give it a go. The best way to describe this kind of fishing is like sight fishing for redfish I guess. water is clear and super shallow, you can see the fish sitting there and they make a wake with dorsal fin when swimming away. I haven't caught fish in the middle of the lake with topwater, though I haven't tried much.
On 2/18/2019 at 8:03 PM, slonezp said:By bank beater, I meant all you do is cast towards the bank and don't do offshore fishing. During early spring, I fish a lake with a bunch of rotted vegetation on the bottom. Any lure that hits the bottom in 13ft or less comes up with a black stringy mess. I usually end up using cranks or suspending jerkbaits rather than wasting time on presentations that will get lost in the silt and vegetation. As the water warms up and the fresh vegetation grows in, I'll run lures over the top. Save your finesse plastic tactics for a harder bottom
that makes more sense, thanks for clarifying. I sometimes cast towards the bank, but fish offshore near the stream channel drop off like you said
Bankbeater reply :
I would work those clumps of vegetation that come up to the surface. I'd start by running a spinnerbait, lipless crankbait, or shallow crankbait right by them at different speeds. If that didn't work I would let a jig or a t-rigged plastic fall right alongside the vegetation.
soflabasser reply :
Try fishing with a spinnerbait, buzzbait, or chatterbait.
BassinCNY reply :
I have a friend who has a camp on a lake with similar conditions. He fishes almost exclusively with a wacky rigged senko. He uses an unweighted wacky hook with a weed guard and does very well.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Shallow/small pond bass trend to roaming around shoreline chasing bait fish. In shallow mud bottom with weed, I would try weightless trick worm or zoom Super Fluke or Fluke Jr.
Rip_lipz reply :
Flip that submerged milfoil. 1/2ounce pegged with a Texas rigged craw. Cast and pop pop pop that bait.
Quarry Man reply :
bump
this lake has living and dead milfoil literally everywhere in random clumps, no mats or anything specific, just sticky weeds all over that make treble hooks impossible, they attach to spinnerbaits and anything they can. I want to work on jigs and Texas rigs this year.
my staples here are swim jig, weedless keitech, frog, Buzzbait, drop shot. The drop shot gets weeds on the weight every cast all year long. I think there is a foot of weeds on the bottom and then several feet of mud, some rock but its covered in weeds.
txchaser reply :
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Northland_Tackle_Weed-Wedge_Jig_2pk/descpage-NTWW.html
These do a really nice job of just resting on weeds/muck/etc, seem to be even better than a weighted swimbait hook in really weedy spots.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/12/2020 at 1:28 PM, txchaser said:https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Northland_Tackle_Weed-Wedge_Jig_2pk/descpage-NTWW.html
These do a really nice job of just resting on weeds/muck/etc, seem to be even better than a weighted swimbait hook in really weedy spots.
ill have to give it a try!
JediAmoeba reply :
Are you fishing at Lake Harmony? I was there last year once.
Quarry Man reply :
that lake is 5 min from my house, its a private shallow ditch more or less
JediAmoeba reply :
On 2/12/2020 at 10:38 PM, Quarry Man said:that lake is 5 min from my house, its a private shallow ditch more or less
A good majority of the lakes here are like that for some reason - really shallow and weed choked private "lakes". I guess they were easier to make...
The upside is, I have gotten pretty good fishing in this manner of water.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/12/2020 at 10:43 PM, JediAmoeba said:A good majority of the lakes here are like that for some reason - really shallow and weed choked private "lakes". I guess they were easier to make...
The upside is, I have gotten pretty good fishing in this manner of water.
well ill have to get you out here then. what did you think of harmony?
JediAmoeba reply :
It has nice pickerel! I was only there the one time and caught a few small bass but a bunch of pickerel.
If it fishes pretty close to the way the water where I live fishes - during the day getting a bite is really tough. Being there isn't a lot of cover and it is shallow they bury themselves during the day and unless you hit them on the nose don't bite much. But early morning, evening, during rain and night bites can be fire!
PhishLI reply :
My local spots are tough too. Most were streams or creeks, now dammed, that flowed out to the ocean. Some still have eels and at least one has a newly installed fish ladder to let the alewife migrate back in. They're all shallow and weed ckoked. Throw in massive pad fields, water chesnut, and other wicked shrubbery and it's a challenge. Treble baits are almost impossible to throw after late June. I'll be able to throw Dark Sleepers until June and then it's over for it and any open hook bait. The baits in the pic I uploaded do the best here. Most come through the worst of it very well even after the grass has been draped with algae. The swing head ewg jigs are more likely to get caught up in the thicker algae. I drag in huge, slimy, green wigs with them occasionaly, but for the most part I can rip them through the majority of the weeds. I can't explain why the Beast Coast Miyagi with it's shape comes through everything so cleanly, but it does. All the baits shown below are fish catchers around here. The Hazedong Shad is killa everywhere.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/13/2020 at 1:37 AM, PhishLI said:
My local spots are tough too. Most were streams or creeks that flowed out to the ocean. Some still have eels and at least one has a newly installed fish ladder to let the alewife migrate back in. They're all shallow and weed ckoked. Throw in massive pad fields, water chesnut, and other wicked shrubbery and it's a challenge. Treble baits are almost impossible to throw after late June. I'll be able to throw Dark Sleepers until June and then it's over for it and any open hook bait. The baits in the pic I uploaded do the best here. Most come through the worst of it very well even after the grass has been draped with algae. The swing head ewg jigs are more likely to get caught up in the thicker algae. I drag in huge, slimy, green wigs with them occasionaly, but for the most part I can rip them through the majority of the weeds. I can't explain why the Beast Coast Miyagi with it's shape comes through everything so cleanly, but it does. All the baits shown below are fish catchers around here. The Hazedong Shad is killa everywhere.
similar stuff to what I use! thanks for sharing.
OnthePotomac reply :
WOW! That looks like prime frog country.
collinfiske_RFC reply :
Bass are going to prefer hard bottom during the spawn. I would target some of the vegetation that needs a harder bottom or see where they end up setting up to spawn. Attack that smaller area during the spring/spawn then move to swim jigs, reaction baits ect. (what everyone else mentioned) around the weeds when they move off. Attack the pockets between the weeds if there are any.
Quarry Man reply :
On 2/14/2020 at 2:15 AM, collinfiske_RFC said:Bass are going to prefer hard bottom during the spawn. I would target some of the vegetation that needs a harder bottom or see where they end up setting up to spawn. Attack that smaller area during the spring/spawn then move to swim jigs, reaction baits ect. (what everyone else mentioned) around the weeds when they move off. Attack the pockets between the weeds if there are any.
haven't been able to find a spawning bass yet in this lake. Wait, I know of one, spawned in the back flat next to a stump, the only cover in the lake
Michigander reply :
A slow retrieved Toadrunner might do well for you. It's a go to bait for me in those type of situations.
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