| Expecting to fish bass in the shallows I started my way to the back of the bay, but once I got to the area that I wanted to fish I soon found out that I was wasting my time. Making my way to another area I soon found the same results. Knowing I had to make a change I turned up the trolling motor a little and started towards deeper water in the area. Firing a cast infront of the boat towards the inside weedline I saw my Stick Worm disappear into the shallow weeds and before I could move the bait my line was starting to move across the water. Reeling in the slack I let the bass set the hook as it moved away from the boat and the show was on. After a few jumps I was lipping a solid bass, my first of the day.
Inside weedline through out the fishing season will hold bass but the best time to get the most out of these edges is during the early part of the bass season. Bass going up into the shallows will hold on the inside weedline edge waiting for the shallows to warm. When they are done spawning the inside weedline seems to be the stopping area on their way back out to the flats or deeper water. In fact if the weeds are thick enough and has a good enough food source it is not uncommon to have bass on the inside weedline from the start of the season and staying until late fall when the weeds start to die.
Looking at an inside weedline you will soon get the impression that not all inside weedlines are created equal like all fishing areas there are good inside weedlines and others that will not hold many bass if any at all. One of the keys too the holding power is the distance between the shore and the inside weedline. The farther apart these two are the better the inside weedline seems to be. When you have inside weedlines that are located close to the shore they do not seem to attract many bass, but the farther apart these two edges are the better the bass holding power. I think two factors that make the difference is one the depth of the inside weedline and second the area for baitfish and bass to roam.
To find potentially good inside weedlines take a look at a lake map. This can give you a good idea as to some of the areas that will need your attention, but the best test for these areas is the fishing test. How you position your boat is key when you are fishing inside weedlines keep your boat parallel the weedline and make your casts infront of the boat. This keeps your bait in the bass zone longer getting your lure infront of more bass than if you were too position your bait outside of the weedline and cast past the weedline bringing your bait back to the weedline. The time your bait is in the strike zone will be far shorted with this presentation angle.
When it comes to inside weedline tactics there is a one, two punch that I like to use. The first presentation that I use is with an Outkast Stick Worm. I rig this in two ways, one way and the most popular is texas style. I team this with an Eagle Claw 2/0 (L7092R) hook. To add a little more attraction to the bait resulting in a few more bites I use the red version of this hook. If I need to pick up the pace a little and fish a little bit faster I use a weighted hook to get the bait down faster. You can get by with doing this when the bass are active and feeding. In the cases when the bite is slow and tough you are better off to fish the bait rigged texas style with no weight. The slow, natural fall, that the Stick Worm has will turn a neutral bass into a biter.
Another tactic to use on the inside weedline is swimming a jig. For this presentation I use Outkast’s Pro Swim Jig. Rig this jig with a 5” Fat Tail Grub and you have one of the best swim jigs made. To fish the jig, make your cast and let the jig hit the bottom, give the jig a hop and start to reel. This is all that it takes to fish a swim jig. You do not need to put extra action into the jig let the jig and grub do the work for you. I have found the more action you try to put into the jig the less attention the jig gets from the bass, where on the other hand if you just reel the jig back to the boat this is all it takes to trigger strikes. One more important point try not to set the hook when you feel the bass bite just keep reeling the bass will hook themselves if you do not stop reeling.
To swim a jig; I use a 7’ medium heavy to heavy action baitcaster rod with a matching reel spooled with 12lb to 17lb P-Line Fluorocarbon. When it comes to colors, mix it up, I have found the best jig combinations are the ones that you mix up. Purple jig with white tails, white jigs with gold tails and so on you get the idea.
So there you have the inside scoop, inside weedlines hold not only bass but also big bass the majority of the open water season. Many times these locations are easy find and easy to fish I thing sometimes too easy that is why they are over looked in many cases. To order the fine products of Outkast Tackle log onto www.outkasttakle.com For more timely bass tip and tactics log onto www.fishinginsider.com
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