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Wow just about sums it up. After seeing how well the picnic anglers did on lake Samm I knew I had to give it a try on my day off. I started fishing on a gorgeous morning at 7:45am. I worked the east side of the lake from a distant point back toward the launch. The first hour I had no luck and was wondering if I'd totally lost my skills. Fear not, hour two saw the action turn on, and when it did it was incredible.

I primarily was fishing drop-shot and when I got my first SM, a chunky 16" and then almost immediately after that a bigger 17", I was hooked. I put all my rods away except for the drop-shot and got to work. Over the next two hours I landed a total of nine fish. A 15", 2 16", 1 17" and five under 12". I also lost a nice fish right at the boat that was probably around 17". The hot lures were West Coast Custom Tackle "Money Worm" in Burnt Melon and Western Dropshot worm in Western Ayu.

The key was to only fish the deep docks. I got nothing in less than 20 feet of water, and 22-30 was money. The trick was finding those deeper docks. Next time I think I will run farther north, because the contours closer to the launch were too shallow. I didn't get one fish in less than 20 feet deep.

Thanks guys for the tips, advice, and motivation to get out there and work those deep piers!

Bigbass Dez

7/21/2008 12:47:00 PM

Thanks for using those baits Mike , Iv been tring to tell these guys that D.J. makes good baits and they work . PROOF IS IN THE PIC !!! Good job BTW mike on showing some fish ... Okay let me get this straight a person can go to WWW.WESTCOASTCUSTOMTACKLE.COM place a order recieve the baits in two days tops then go to Lake Samm and have the best bass day of the year (EASY) ... Dez

Rollin with Rolland

7/21/2008 1:24:00 PM

those smallies sure do fight, huh?

Mike Carey

7/21/2008 3:07:00 PM

Yup, DJ does make a great product. I need to get more of the Burnt Melon color. Smallies fight like nothing else. Those 2-3 pounders were burying my tip in the water. Too bad I have to work tomorrow.

fishnislife

7/21/2008 4:50:00 PM

YES!
See, all that waiting and anticipation the other day payed off. I'm sure glad you got into some nice smallies Mike. Good work out there.

fishnislife

hookorcrook

7/21/2008 5:24:00 PM

Hi Mike,

How exactly do/did you fish the drop shot? Do you actually work it like a plastic worm??? I have found how to rig it, but I am not clear on technique. thanks.

Mike Carey

7/21/2008 5:48:00 PM

I was casting up against the ends and sides of docks in water that was 20-30 ft deep. Just free spool till it hits bottom, reel in the slack line and gently twitch your rod tip. The bite will either be soft in which case give the fish "a bow" and set the hook, or I had a couple that were just slammed and "fish on". If you feel any resistance set the hook because most likely it's a fish. At 20+ feet I was not dragging any weeds, less than 20 ft - weeds. But like I said, nothing in the shallows, at least for me today.

Rosann G

7/21/2008 8:05:00 PM

Nice fish and pics Mike. Congrats. You sure put on a great picnic last Saturday and thanks for the WL.com tee shirt, I plan on wearing it proudly.
Rosann

Trent Hale

7/21/2008 9:47:00 PM

Well looks like the fish wore ya down so much it put you in the bottom of the boat. Nice fish Mike I didn't think Bob was putting me on about ya. Great job!

fishndude

7/21/2008 10:20:00 PM

Were any of those deep docks you fished public? If not, do you know which public docks are deep enough for dropshotting bass? Obviously, I'm asking these questions because I dont have a boat. Thanks for the help!

Mike Carey

7/22/2008 4:48:00 AM

sorry, those were all private docks. You'd have better luck going to lake Washington which has numerous public docks scattered along the west side of the lake.

bob johansen

7/22/2008 7:02:00 AM

Nice fish Mike -- good job! Who was your photographer?

Rich McVey

7/22/2008 7:32:00 AM

Good Job Mike! Them is some nice fish. I get to feeling the same way too, I guess its time to change up my methods.

Thanks Again, Saturday was great!

Mike Carey

7/22/2008 3:12:00 PM

Took my own photos with the camera timer. Two didn't comeout so well, these ones were OK, I guess.

HillbillyGeek

7/22/2008 9:39:00 PM

Suh-weet! Those smallies sure do fight!

I've been putting off learning how to dropshot for bass, but it looks like it's time to give it a whirl. How long do you jiggle the lure before moving on? Do you make several casts to the same spot? Is the goal to make the lure wiggle in place, or is rise / fall a better technique?

Sorry for all the questions; I want to decrease my learning curve...

Mike Carey

7/22/2008 9:44:00 PM

What worked for me was jiggle in place. If I didn't get a bite in a minute or two I cast a little farther down the pier. All my bites came pretty fast from the time I felt the weight hit the bottom. But then again, I'm not the most patient guy so I prefer to keep moving.

bassmasterderek

7/23/2008 10:26:00 AM

Good job Mike, Happy to see that you got some smallies. You really looked like you were itchin for fishin at the picnic.

BassFanatic

7/23/2008 8:12:00 PM

nice fish we are going to hit the lake up tomorrow I hope we have the same luck

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