Every year I make a strong effort to learn a new technique to further my bass fishing prowess. A few years ago I tried a new bait that had just hit the market and was only available in Black, Green and White at the time in a 5" variety. They were called Yamamoto worms and eventually were termed "senkos" for their erratic action in the water. Despite all odds and without any preconceived ideas on how to fish them, i put a small size 6 bait hook through the center of the worm (now called "wacky worm") and throw it out into the river along a brush pile. I ended up catching a good bit of fish on that plain black worm that day. Today, most of my fishing circle live and swear by that worm as one of their go-to baits. The watermellon green color landed Rebisz a 7 pounder last summer next to another fisherman that was using live bait!
So two years ago I picked up another new style of fishing for the hot, clear summer days, particularly when the wind was lite and the bite was slow. The method was called drop-shotting. Small 1/8 ounce sinker placed below a long shanked straight hook that was rigged about 12 inches (or so) above it with a finesse or french-fry worm. Aaron Martens had ripped up the BASS circuits with this tactic and it seemed to work on all waters north and south. I gave it a whirl, bought a new rod (witch seems to happen yearly), and learned a new method. This continues to be one of my favorites and it works amazingly!
This year I have been reading about fishing high pressured lakes such as Silver Lake, Conesus, Honeoye and others in the local area. Basically, small bodies of water that get killed over and over by weekend warriors and die hard locals. Ref: http://proxy.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/members/insider/technique/story?page=b_ency_FLARp42_highpress
The basic premise of the article is fish hard, be patient, use something different, and dont be ertarded about where you put your boat and how you treat weary bass. According to this article, most pressured bass will retreat from the comfort of deep and open water and will seek out thick cover such as matted grass, weeds, and brush, particularly in deep water. If youve ever fished in upstate NY, you know that every lake is a virtual cereal bowl with typical topography of weeds from 0-12/13 feet that peters off into a sandy bottom from 14-20/30. Most lakes in upstate, NY dont hold enough oxygen (according to DEC) for fish to stay to long below 20 feet in the summer. So, where do pressure fish go? Into the thick weeds in 10-12 feet of water. At times, we kill them on the weed line, but when pressure, they are always safely 4 feet away from our lure in the weeds. So how do we catch them? Weedless worms - no chance, lines to light and the weight isnt there. Drop shot? To much hardware on the line and way to light of a rod. Spinners and crankbaits are out of the question. According to locals, and verified by many articles "Stichin" is the way to go. Now the technique transcends fishing the thickest of thick and can be applied in open water for deep water, weary fish, but for practical purposes, ill start my learning in the weeds.
Necessities - Your going to be fishing deep and in thick cover your going to need line that doesnt stretch so Monofilament is out of the question and braided wire or something similar is a must. Your typical spinning rod has got not chance because there is at least a foot of give in the rod before the hook is set - thats why there is such a huge sweep in the hook set for spinning rods. So your going to need a baitcaster, and not just any baitcaster, something with some backbone. So here is my initial recommendations:
rod - 6'6" medium heavy or 7' heavy action bait caster. Im using a 6'6" Guide Series from Gander Mountain, one of the only rods thats not a St. Croix or G-Loomis in my garage and frankly, its an awesome rod for about a quarter the cost.
reel - whatever baitcasting reel your comfortable with, I prefer a Pinnacle because their stupid proof, but Shimano is a great selection for a low dollar as well.
line - Stren Superbraid lo-vis green 20-30lbs minimum, im using 30.
tackle - Heres where it gets interesting.
Big Jigs. They look nothing like anything in nature. They are really heavy and they have punching power. The hooks on them are gamakatsu, which are some of the strongest hooks made. And, get this, on the fall and most of the retrieve, the are
weedless. Most of the time, the lure is about 6 inches in length and about 3 inches in girth weighing in at just over an ounce, so it will feel like your throwing a downrigger ball from your rod. But, you cant argue that the lure will get down through the weeds.
Now, lets talk tactics. We already know the where and the why, we know the what, so heres they how - its what we've already coined as stichin.
Stichin - A slow process of keeping the bait in contact with the bottom moving it only inches at a time in a painstakingly slow manner.
Now, as I mentioned early, this can be done in all types of situations and fishing environments, but the two keys remain consistent - SLOW and BOTTOM. The huge jig and its overwhelming weight make the bottom part easy. But, the slow part, well, thats an entirely different story. For most of us, throwing a plastic worm or a faster moving bait is all about reaction strikes and the perfect cast in the spawn. If the fish doesnt hit at that specific point, within those 15-30 seconds, then its off to the next cast at the next spot. Stichin challenges that mindset. Picture open water in 18-20 feet, well off the weedline along a mainlake or secondary point. Your casting a 14 inch black plastic work with 1/8 ounce weight. It takes the worm 30-45 seconds just to reach the bottom. By the time it does, your only next step is to move the worm about 3 inches and let it settle back to the bottom again. After another 15 seconds or so, you move the worm another 3 inches in a slow, methodical manner (not with an erratic jerk or twitch). You then repeat the retrieval over and over with grueling patience until the lure is back to the boat. Each cast feels like an eternity and tests your patiences worse than your wife nagging you about going fishing in the first place.
So now we know how, so whats the reward?
Yes, thats right fish. Some might ask, well, why would I waste my time using a technique that is SO gruelingly slow if the fish are biting. Well, thats just it, the fish arent biting, or at least their not biting our typical fast moving presentations, or plastic worms, or weed line antics. So rather than concede, we will as the article reads, be patient and work hard. Furthermore, and really the icing on the cake for me, many local tournament veterans swear by huge jig and pig combinations. These are guys that dont care much for numbers of fish as they dont win tournaments. They care about quality of fish - SIZE. According to Conesus Lake fisherman, blue and black jig and pig combos at 3/4 to 1 ounce weights catch more 7 and 8 pounders than any other lures fished in tournaments. If that holds true, sign me up. Ill try it. Especially on days where I've driven an hour one way to fish burning $50 in gas towing my boat and have permission from the wife to spend the day on the lake. I understand that not everyone reading has the funds or the tackle to perform said stichin technique, so, call me up. I have more than enough tackle to take everyone on this blog fishing at once. As long as you dont give me a hard time about fishing slowly or not catching enough fish, i wont throw you overboard either.
Thanks for being patient and good luck in your fishing endeavors.
About the author:
Larry Moore grew up in the rural districts of Westmoreland County about an hour east of Pittsburgh, PA. Fishing and Hunting were primary focuses of his childhood upbringing. Many of his early experience as a bass angler were on PA's local reservoirs and rivers such as Big Keystone Reservoir and the Conemaugh River Lake watershed. Today, Larry resides in Rochester, NY. He works hard to fish the finger lakes region and many local lakes in the area. While he considers Silver Lake in Perry, NY his home water, he's not afraid to travel for new fishing experiences.
For more information contact:
Larry Moore
Big Wawwy's Fishing Adventures
21 Donlin Dr.
Rochester, NY 14624
585-415-7751
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What an awesome morning. My arms are killing me (really). Catching salmon out on the lake is a totally new ball game. We had a ton of fun. We never went more than 10 minutes without hooking up. Hope the fishing continues like this. With the salmon comes fall... goose season...duck season...deer season...I can't wait. Tight lines and shoot straight my friends (and post once in a while)!
The first picture is a brown trout I caught on a spinner in Sandy creek in late March. After that time I stopped fishing for a short period of time before hitting the crappies. 
Ended up putting away a bunch of packages of fish. The last two weeks I have fished several days with Larry on Silver Lake with good success. 
Last weekend Larry, Adam, and I were zipping down Silver Lake at Sunrise and I saw something swimming in the water. 
As we got closer we saw that it was a deer (doe) swimming across the middle of the lake. We took a couple of pictures and then let it go on its way. 
Only a few bass were caught that day. Anyway, this weekend is Memorial Day and we are going on the annual Memorial Day camping trip (to Seneca Lake this year). 
It should be fun and I should have some pictures to post when I return. Take care and keep fish
