I want to try fishing a huge Lily pad area. Pads are from the bank out 100' + from 0-10' + . water clarity is generally good with 10-12" visibility. Need rod specs ,reel speed, line type and test and last but not least baits. Any advice appreciated.
I want to try fishing a huge Lily pad area. Pads are from the bank out 100' + from 0-10' + . water clarity is generally good with 10-12" visibility. Need rod specs ,reel speed, line type and test and last but not least baits. Any advice appreciated.
I use a Fitzgerald swim jig rod, and white Strike King Heavy cover swim jig with a white caffeine shad paddle trail trailer for the pad edges and anywhere i can drop it in a hole, a G. Loomis GLX texas rig rod with a weightless caffeine shad for the edges and holes, both with 14lb Sniper fluro. Further back in the pads I'll throw a frog with a Falcon Cara Head Turner and some 50lb braid. I use some variation of a Daiwa Tatula on all of them usually in a 7.3 gear ratio.
2019 Ranger Z520C
2019 Mercury 250 ProXS 4S
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
Lowrance HDS Live 12
Lowrance HDS Live 9
The fish were in the pads on Tuesday. Caught 12 on a Stanley Top Toad Floating frog with a unweighted hook.
Fished it on a St. Croix Legend Tournament Slop-N-Frog 7’4” HF action using a Revo STX 8:1.1 reel spooled with 65# Sufix 832 Camo line.
I also keep a buzzbait tied on a 7’0” MHMF Legend Tournament Sweeper Spinnerbait rod with a Daiwa Tatula reel spooled 40# 832.
Last edited by RazorCat; 05-01-2025 at 10:42 AM.
BassCat Sabre FTD
Mercury 150 Optimax
"It's just fishing"
Thank you both. To my knowledge shad primary bait everywhere on lake not sure in pads. Very seldom see anyone fish them . thought I would give it a shot.
i don’t have a rod heavier than MH and love fishing pads when I frequent the lakes that have them. It’s my favorite cover to fish honestly.
If sparse pads hard to beat a horny toad, weedless popper (like a snag proof), a swim worm, or swim jig. Have also done very well with a Texas rigged senko dragged though them too.
for thick pads, pitching into the openings has been my best bet
I also have had really good luck using a plopped style bait and a chatterbait right on the edge of the pads
Last edited by ECobb91; 05-01-2025 at 06:46 PM.
1995 Ranger 481v
1995 Johnson Fast Strike 175hp
Any 7 foot heavy or medium heavy action rod, a reel with at least a 7.0:1 gear ratio, and 50 pound braid. I usually have 3 rods rigged like that when fishing a lot of pads. My favorite for lilly pads is a black and blue swim jig with a Z Craw Jr. in black and blue. Another favorite is a Booyah Pad Crasher frog. My last rod is rigged with a 7" or 8" stick bait, like a Senko, Dinger, or BPS Sticko. Frankly, I've caught as many or more fish on the Sticko as the Senko and the Sticko is a little tougher plastic so it last much longer without tearing up. I rig those baits on a 5/0 EWG heavy wire hook. Another good investment is a bottle of Mend-It to repair the torn plastics. Four final baits that I carry in reserve are a weedless spoon of some kind (both brands of spoons that I use are not longer made), a weedless vibrating jig, a Gambler Big EZ swim bait, and a buzzbait.
Last edited by Jeff Hahn; 05-06-2025 at 10:04 PM.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
^^^This has been my experience too. I do use a heavy rod at times but all the baits/techniques, spot on in my book.Originally Posted by ECobb91
Heavy heavy heavy. I also throw a larger bladed spinnerbait in pads. You could even go to Colorado blade(s). The bait doesn't have to go down into the pad roots, just retrieving it as it knocks pads aside can provoke some vicious strikes.
Your fishing in Illinois in a pad field I would use at least an MH or even better an H rod. I like Zodias rods and I would choose an H rod, 7 foot 4 in that line. For a reel, I would use a ratio of 7:1, not a faster reel. For pads I like heavy braid (65 lb) because it stays at the surface more and does not sink into the pads. I also like yellow braid that is easy to see and make it easy to locate where your lure is. For lures; frogs on top, swim jig in between and a senko at the bottom.
You have to remember that pads in Illinois are not as tough as pads in Florida. They grow on the water and close together. I might be wrong but I think that pads in Illinois die during the winter so this is always new growth.
Last edited by Real L; 05-02-2025 at 03:42 PM.
I think he has a boat, because he knows the water depth. He's just referencing the distance out that they are.
I want to try fishing a huge Lily pad area. Pads are from the bank out 100' + from 0-10' + . water clarity is generally good with 10-12" visibility. Need rod specs ,reel speed, line type and test and last but not least baits. Any advice appreciated.
You are right.
Some great advice from all, thanks. The pads do die off and are right now only stems but not for long. I will report back on success or lack of.
I fish a lot of pads, mostly in WI but they can't be that different. I use 3 main baits and usually have all 3 on the deck.
1/4 oz swim jig with a Kalin Scrub. 1/4 stays up better, with the scrub it's almost in between a swim jig and a buzz toad. Tough to beat the Dirty Jigs Compact swim jig for this. I do fish an 1/8oz from time to time, for that it's an RC Tackle head that I tie.
frog, 90% of the time it's a white or black Deps Slither K
"miss" bait (I used to use a Senko but last couple of years been using the Yamatanuki). 4/0 Owner Haymaker no weight
All pretty much same rod, I like a MH+ I build them but for this it's the same blank as ALX Toadface. 50lb braid and a 7 or 8 to 1 reel
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