fishing for big bass in lillypads

Question
hey jack ,i watch a lot of fishing shows on t.v., that show how to fish for bass in most cases but i;ve never seen them fish in lilly pads , i;m in a bass tournament all this week, biggest bass gets the money of course , but please could you give me some pointers?  thanks BRIAN.......

Answer
Brian; One of my favorite tho not necessarily the most productive fishing for bass is in lily pads.  I have caught some really nice bass in the pads but I seldom catch as many as in some other places.  Here is how I approach an area of lilly pads.  First I look to see if the pads are mostly solid or do they have breaks or openings in them.  If they are solid I use one of two lures.  Either a floating frog or a large Johnson Silver Minnow with a pork (not plastic) frog as a trailer.  I stay outside of the pads with my boat but cast as far back into them as possible.  I keep my rod tip high to keep the line from falling into the pads and hanging on the thick stem or finding the cut in each pad and hang up.  If I am using a frog I work him in short movements stopping on a pad now and then and then pulling him in and to another pad.  If I can work him between pads I do so.  Try not to be in a hurry.  Let him rest on the edge of a pad now and then and just shake the pad a little bit.  Sometimes a bass will come up and get him right off the pad.  I try to work him all the way to the boat because at times a bass will follow behind until the frog reaches open water then zips up and grabs him.

I like to fish the Johnson Silver Minnow with a pork frog.  I cast this as far back into the pad bed too but I start this back with a pretty steady retrieve.  The spoon will sink if you do not keep it moving so as before I keep the rod tip high for the same reason as before.  I like the Silver Minnow to move over the tops of the pads slowly and when it comes to the edge make it swim quickly to the next pad.  I realize that a large part of the retrieve is not even in the water but rather is on top of the pads.  Don't kid yourself, Ol' bass knows it is there on top of that pad and he can tell where it will come off the pad into the water even if is only an inch or so to the next pad if he is wanting it he can get it.  When you come to the edge of the pads just pull the Silver Minnow off the last pad and let it sink.  Often it is just as the Silver minnow flutters down that he will grab it.

If the pads are broken up into patches with areas of water in between I will use a topwater bait such as a Hula Popper, a Chug Bug, a Devil Horse, or another kind of topwater that can be fished slowly and makes a lot of noise when jerked.  Another possibility is a buzz bait buzzed over and between the pads.  ONE THING I SHOULD CAUTION YOU ON IS SUCH A COMMON MISTAKE THAT EVEN SOME PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN MAKE IT FROM TIME TO TIME.  THIS IS "WHEN YOU SEE OR HEAR A STRIKE AT ANY OF THE ABOVE TYPES OF BAITS DO NOT STRIKE INSTANTLY AS YOU WOULD WITH A CRANKBAIT OR SPINNERBAIT IN MORE OPEN WATER. ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN FEEL THE FISH PULLING ON YOUR LINE BEFORE SETTING THE HOOK. IF YOU DO NOT WAIT YOU WILL ALMOST ALWAYS PULL THE LURE AWAY FROM THE FISH WITHOUT GETTING A HOOK INTO HIM.  THIS IS TRUE AT ANY TIME YOU USE A FLOATING LURE WHETHER IN PADS OR OPEN WATER.

Still one more method of fishing pads is to use a soft plastic such as a plastic worm or plastic critter.  Make certain the weight is fastened securely against the worm etc. or it will slide and the lure will be one place and the weight may be on another side of the pads and this will very often hang up or even worse lose a good fish because you can not set the hook properly.  Again don't set the hook on a sound or sight of a strike as you will likely pull the lure away from the fish.

I used to have another kind of lure made to fish pads with but I lost it and haven't been able to find another one .  I wish I could find one as it was often the best lure for pads.  I don't even know the name of the darned thing anymore.  If you ever see a hard plastic body lure with a single hook molded in the body and a long metal bill fastened in the front looking like it is upside down buy it and buy one for me and I will pay for it.  This lure seems to be working backward.  By that I mean it sinks rapidly and then when you reel it in it comes up to just under the water and works well through pads and certain weeds and catches fish.  I am going to try E-Bay to see if I can find one.

There are probably some other ways of fishing pad beds but I do not know of them so I guess I may as well close off.  Thank you for calling on me to answer your question.  I hope it helps you to catch a big one and win the tournament.

I am
Jack L. Gaither     (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Ga.