Bottom baits

[DustyD26]

I am a tournament angler and this year i really want to do better and get better with all techniques. That said i have a hard time getting any bites at all on any type of bottom baits...i.e. worm, tube, creature, etc. Aside from a jig i dnt think i caught a fish on a slow moving bottom bait last year. And i really want to get better this year. I was in the boat with a buddy last year several times. He would start catching numbers on a 7in power worm and start using same set up down to the hook and weight and not get a bite. I was qondering if anyone had any advice for me on how to get bites on these techniques. Thanks guys

[BigBass94]

Are you fishing these bottom baits deep or shallow? If you're fishing deep, make sure you're fishing around a point, creek channel, a ledge, some deep brush piles, etc... You gotta make sure you're around fish too. Find structure and/or cover out deep is imperative to deep water fishing success. If you're fishing shallow find some heavy cover with deep water close by and you should at least get bit.

[brushsjigs]

sent ya a pm

[Tarheel14]

Make sure your worm or whatever plastic bait it is, is rigged straight. Try to slooow down. Drag slowly then reel. When you throw out, watch your line and when the bait hits bottom your line will settle on top of the water. But watch the line for any unusual movement.

[DrewFlu33]

You have weeds where you're at? If so, figure out the depth where the weedline stops (the outside weed edge). This almost always happens at the same depth everywhere on the lake, so it's easy to replicate all over. For example, if you're running perpendicular to shore watching your graph and see the weeds change to bare bottom at 15 feet, you'll almost assuredly be able to find 15 feet anywhere and see that same effect of the weeds transitioning to bare bottom. Flip baits along this outside edge and you'll run into them eventually. This is much more tolerable for someone who likes to fish fast as usually you can use a relatively heavy weight so it gets down quickly, hop it on the bottom a couple times after it gets down there, then reel it up and keep moving.

Alternatively, you can flip baits into the stalks of weeds using the same technique. Places where different types of weeds mix or edges where weeds "should be" but aren't are awesome places to try this.

This is so much more interesting than casting and dragging and counting rocks. That technique has its place and is often the way to get big ones, but it's definitely not the only way to do it.

[DustyD26]

I do have a couple grass lakes that i fish. Although the state has treated the grass in these lakes the past couple years and its not as plentiful as it once was but u can still find some. I will what your suggesting. Thank you for your feedback. Getting tored of donating to the local clubs.

[Dh0ckey11]

If your buddy is catching them and you are not, slowwwwww dowwwwwwn. That is generally the problem.

[Les Young]

If your buddy is catching them and you are not, slowwwwww dowwwwwwn. That is generally the problem.

Yep. When it's tough I have a buddy that has a hard time slowing down. I try to tell him & he'll say he can't help it & he just can't slow down like me Same with jigs or plastics. We've won several tournaments that i have caught a limit & culled up several times & him not do anything & then feel guilty about it.

[DustyD26]

Happened to me last year. Me and my buddy won a tournament and i was only the net man. Never caught a keeper.

[Walkabout7781]

Spend some time out with your buddy fishing only a worm. Tho, frankly, I'd 86 the worms and go with Zoom lizards. Any way I use a Zoom lizard, they get bit. Carolina, Texas, Splitshot, Flipping, Pitching, Shakyhead, even topwater.

Something I always do is hold onto the line ahead of the reel. This tells me I'm getting bit sooner and makes up for cheaper rods than others may be able to afford. The bite can be a "thump" or just "heavy", it might be much like an electrical jolt, or perhaps you'll only see the line twitch or move off. I like to see the fish swim off with my line (bait), because it's almost 100% certain that I'll get the hook into the fish. You need to learn to be a "line watcher". You'll find that clear line is much easier for you to see than green, even FC.

Originally, I thought worm fishing would be boring as hell, but I discovered that getting 300+% more bites made it anything but boring!

[DustyD26]

Thanks dor the lizard tip. I have alot zoom lizards drom years ago but have gotten away from throwing them. And i try to be a line watcher but its definately something i should get better at. Thank you

[TableRock55]

Only take out what you want to improve with. Leave everything else at the house. And as many have suggested, slow down.