Northwest Fishing Reports

Bass lake and Twelve in King County are horrible for mill foil right now. Its very difficult to cast a sinking lure that will actually sink. I've picked up some 7" lizzards I want to try tonight though.

Also, I don't want to cast a $10 or $20 lure into a mess where I would likely lose it... (maybe that's just me). but maybe I'm over thinking this. The weeds are in 3-5' of water. Is that too shallow? I'm not seeing the fish, just guessing still. Should I get further out and work the edges instead of deep weeds on these little lakes?

you got two choices. 1) get a heavy weedless jig and drop straight down in the openings in the milfoil. 2) get a buzzbait or other weedless lure that runs across the top of the weeds. One goes down to where the bass are, the other gets them to come up.

try a popper, topwater lure, or a weedless mouse- frog lure!

I would start out with a spinner bait (willow blades)and burn it just under the surface to creat a wake .. this can trigger some bigger bites for ya ! :batman:

Spinner bait on braided line would be my first choice. It is amazing how well they work in weeds and are often overlooked. I pulled two nice sized bass out of a mess of milfoil and pads in about 30 minutes using a 5/8 oz chartreuse spinner with one colorado and one willow blade

Lizzards have too many appendages that can get caught on weeds. Get some 10" ribbon tail worms with a chartreuse tail and some 3/4-1oz weights. Lube up your bait and line with an oil based attractant.

I'd get a swim/grass jig. It has a pointed head that will come through the weeds better.

A floating frog with a slow steady retrieve is a good bet on one rod with a T-rigged worm and a pegged sinker as a follow up. My local lake is always choked with weeds so I feel your pain. I know these methods to work, for me anyway.

I haven't tested this one but I have read good things about beaver baits. Their compact shape helps them sail through the weeds.

burn a spinner bait like dez said or a buzz bait.......frog would work also ....lipless crankbait and rip it out of the grass to get that reaction bite

awesome thanks guys. I went back out today but before I read this post. I played with the lizzard more and got the little ones to strike it, nothing big enough to take it. I'll try these other lures and see what happens! the pads and mifoil is soooo bad on Lake Twelve....

As Nocloths1 said to use braid or at least 20#Floracarbon and then you can use any lure you want!

Bold Bomber is causing alot of people to leave this site. i dont know how much troll i can take.

Bolder NUTS/

Go to church pray hard not for the world
Pray for your soul I am LEAVE!
Guys when your pressing structures, logs, weeds, rocks and other natures structures power pro is a strong choice due to the elements and the ability to also get your gear back in some of these areas where the biggest stay and play due to protection a over sized weedwacker:-& might be as sweet as power pro! :chef:

swedefish4life1 wrote:Bolder NUTS/

Go to church pray hard not for the world
Pray for your soul I am LEAVE!
Guys when your pressing structures, logs, weeds, rocks and other natures structures power pro is a strong choice due to the elements and the ability to also get your gear back in some of these areas where the biggest stay and play due to protection a over sized weedwacker:-& might be as sweet as power pro! :chef:

power pro 20lb? I'm due for a respoool anyways, may as well!

I use both Power Pro 20# and 50#. P-Line CX is also a strong choice.

I would use the following: texas rigged creature bait with the weight pegged, spinnerbait, buzzbait, jig, and a Western Stik/Senko along the weedlines and in weed pockets.

Dustin Bass Lake is setup perfectly for frog fishin! It's got the right type of cover, and the right type of pads to really work it nice and slow over them. the last time I fished that lake was about 5 years ago, but we'd throw a frog up into the shallow pads, and see consecutive blowups around it after it hit the water. If you've never experienced frog fishing, you gotta tie one on and have some faith, those largies will absolutely hammer it! Our best areas were directly across from where you launch your boat, and then the shoreline to your left (enumclaw side of the lake). For reference though I use a 7'6" Fenwick Elite Tech Froggin Stik with 65# powerpro braid. Might be overkill but I learned a tough lesson in the NWBass tourney on banks lake when I lost 3 consecutive frog fish because I couldn't pull them out of the slop! happy to say I haven't lost one since!

davidwat1 wrote:Dustin Bass Lake is setup perfectly for frog fishin! It's got the right type of cover, and the right type of pads to really work it nice and slow over them. the last time I fished that lake was about 5 years ago, but we'd throw a frog up into the shallow pads, and see consecutive blowups around it after it hit the water. If you've never experienced frog fishing, you gotta tie one on and have some faith, those largies will absolutely hammer it! Our best areas were directly across from where you launch your boat, and then the shoreline to your left (enumclaw side of the lake). For reference though I use a 7'6" Fenwick Elite Tech Froggin Stik with 65# powerpro braid. Might be overkill but I learned a tough lesson in the NWBass tourney on banks lake when I lost 3 consecutive frog fish because I couldn't pull them out of the slop! happy to say I haven't lost one since!

what kind of scent do you use Dave?

I have had the most action when I coat my lures in the crawfish salt (smelly jelly). it seems to stick to the lure the best, and the smell/flavor gets the most nibbles. everything else I try seems to repel more than attract.

I hit bass lake again this week with no luck in the float tube, but the point of view sucks from a tube so i'm going to try taking the boat out and motoring over to the other side again.

I don't put scent on frogs, but I use it mostly when I'm fishing football head jigs with spider grubs or when I'm fishing a lizard on a carolina rig or splitshot rig. I like basswax in garlic or crawdad, but I've used smelly jelly plenty of times over the year, in the Crawfish/Anise combination. I rely on scent alot more in the early spring and late fall/winter than during the other times of year, but that's just me, I'm sure others have great success using it year around. Bottom line....If it gives you more confidence, then glob it on there!!!