No matter what Alabama Coosa River Impoundment you choose to fish for largemouth bass during this hot, summer season, at some time during your travels you will encounter a variety of bass-holding aquatic weeds.
Yes, although its hot in the low-to-upper 90′s, keep in mind, there will always be numbers of big, largemouth bass mostly found lingering in and around the multiple variety of aquatic weeds that our Alabama lakes have to offer! These are catchable bass!
Especially on those three man made impoundment’s located in the mid-to-southern Alabama region on the lower Coosa River System. Like Lay Lake (impounded in 1914 “Happy Birthday Lay Lake”, now 100 years old!) and another age old lake, Mitchell Lake (impounded in 1923) and Jordan Lake (impounded in 1928), all that have loads of aquatic weeds and these are lakes not lowered during winter, they are kept at or near full pool, year round!
Knowing what lures it takes to successfully tempt these bass into accepting your offerings, then fooling them into biting (while hoping to land them as well), will help keep those avid tournament anglers one step ahead of the competition!
Or, even if you are not a bass tournament angler (as many other anglers are), you will still have the “need to know” to learn how to successfully fool, then catch, these big, largemouth bass that are constantly lingering in and around the lake’s aquatic weeds both during the daylight hours and at night!
SELECTING LURES, VARIOUS TECHNIQUES AND LURE MODIFICATIONS FOR BIG, SHALLOW BASS AROUND AQUATIC WEEDS
Choosing the correct lure, for any bass fishing situation, is just one of the many keys to help you unlock the puzzle of catching bass! Keep in mind, “fish for bass in and around the grass with lures you want to get back” so that eliminates a lot of having to select any one of those many lures in that big, old tackle box of yours! Lures, that you will inevitably hang up or they may get lost when broken off and you will not get them back.
Although any angler can just visit his local tackle store and collect an arsenal of bass catching lures, you have still got to know how to fish each and every little offering in order to successfully get those quality sized bass to bite! But thats not all!
Lure modifications or just plain tinkering with any store bought lure does have its rewards. It often helps those astute anglers build their confidance and at times aids them in hooking and landing each bass. When other anglers often go all day without getting a bite, or they loose every bass they entice to bite, but they do not connect with a successfull hook up.
All due to a little lure selection, lure fishing technique, sharp hooks and lure modifications that entice that one big, old bass into biting! Something all anglers strive for on each and every fishing trip. Success!
So, after eliminating a lot of weed-grabbing lures here is one of my many favorite weedless lure selections for “tackling” those big, largemouth bass while fishing Alabama’s shallow, weedy waters this summer season. Not only good on those weedy Coosa River System Lakes Lay Lake, Mitchell Lake and Jordan Lake but this one lure alone and the many techniques that can be applied to any lake in the country featuring shallow growing aquatic weeds! Frogs!
IMITATION FROGS - At the top of my list and at the top of the weedy, summertime food chain, would have to be the frog. Just take a good listen to any late evening to early morning frog serenade and their incessant croaking will soon tell you, there are literally thousands of frogs on the menu for these bass to choose from. And they do, eating frogs daily and at night.
Recently I read an article on Bassmasters website that was titled, “87 ways to fish a frog”. No, the content was not written buy one of their well know writers, but contributed by 87 readers and bass anglers from all over these United States. Anglers that love to fish with fake frogs. The content was amazing!
It explained 87 different ways you can both fish and modify a frog and it will help aid you in your success…which is fooling a big bass into striking your fake frog offering! Read it, you will love it.
Selecting a fake frog will have an angler left scratching his/her head when done for the first time, with dozens of fake frogs on today’s lure market to choose from. You can either choose a soft plastic frog, one you can insert one big 4/0 to 5/0 size worm hook in, or you can choose the hollow-bodied frogs, designed with two upturned very weedless hooks.
* Either type of frog will work but I, like many bass anglers, prefer the hollow-bodied types for many reasons.
Hollow-bodied frogs are more durable and heavier thus they can be cast a long distance and they last longer than soft plastic frogs. Hollow bodied frogs have a better hook up ratio, with two hooks instead of one and bass seem to engulf them when attacked. Also, you can insert rattles, cotten balls drentched in fish attractant, you can add small worm bullet weights or wrap the hooks in solder or pipe cleaners for added weight.
Other modifications? (See: “87 ways to fish a frog”!) There are as many ways to modify fake frogs as there are ways to fish them. One is the skirt or legs. Some anglers trim the long skirt (legs), of the frog. This creates a smaller target or profile and results in a better hook up. You can cut or trim off about one to two inches of the skirt, that is thread through both sides of the back end of the frog. Or some anglers cut off the frogs fake rubber feet.
* Another tip to simulate a wounded or hurt frog is to trim only one side of the fake frog legs (or feet), or you can pull the skirt out longer on one side of the frog, that looks quite like the frog is hurt or injured, when fished with short jerking hops! An easy target for a big, hungry bass looking for an easy-to-catch meal lingering in and around aquatic weeds!
Oh, but there is so much more. Ways to fish a frog, more frog modifications, casting a frog and the equipment you use, sharp hooks and even the hook set, are all very important for your success. Even fishing frogs deeper along the edges of weeds with added weight.
Did you know some anglers flip frogs? Not only in and around aquatic weeds but flipping or skipping them far up under shady piers and boat houses! Or you can flip or cast frogs far up under over hanging bushes, or around brush piles, stumps, laydown trees and even flip them far up in culverts or in log jams or fish frogs in the backs of small feeder creeks! For some very explosive bites!
There are not many lures that can be cast far back in the thick weeds and in the slop, scum, patchy weeds or lilly pads…and hope to get them back, not like a fake frog.
Some anglers fish the soft plastic frogs (with one hook) in open water or around thinner weeds, like a buzz bait with a slow, steady retrieve. With hollow-bodied frogs that float, you can fish it with short hops, a steady retrieve or you can stop it for as long as you (and the bass), can stand it before retrieving it away from the security of thick, aquatic weeds.
* Experiment, each day the strike and what it takes to entice the bass, is different.
Equipment on the stronger side is a must. Long rods such as a 7 - 7 1/2 foot flipping rod aid in long casts, getting a good hook set and getting the bass out of cover and in the boat. Wide spooled reels hold a lot of heavier 20-25 pound test line, that has a larger diameter. Or you can fish with braided line in the 50-60 pound test catagory.
Sharp hooks are a must. Select frogs with sharp hooks or you can sharpen them yourself. Some anglers even add trailer hooks such as those with wire weed guards. Getting a good hook set is important too! Many anglers miss bass attacking a frog because they set the hook prematurely. Always wait a second or two after the strike, then set the hook hard. Or wait until the frog disappears or you feel the bass, then set the hook hard and reel fast, as fast as you can!
Fishing with fake frogs requires lots of patience. Of which most anglers have any way or they would not be bass fishing! It also requires stealth, loads of confidence, accepting the fact that you will miss some bass strikes and even loose some big bass in the process.
Oh, but the rewards are worth it all! When that big bass explodes on a well placed topwater frog there is nothing like it in this bass fishing world. Give it a try…if you dare!
Thanks and good fishin’ Reed Montgomery, owner of Reeds Guide Service guiding on all Alabama lakes for over 40 years for largemouth bass, spotted bass, smallmouth bass and striped bass, year round.
