Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Species-How-to-Catch-on-Lures » How to Catch Skinny Water Bass on Lures

How to Catch Skinny Water Bass on Lures

For many anglers chasing skinny water bass in creeks, rivers and smaller pockets of water is a passion. It takes you to some awesome places and can be pretty exciting and visual fishing. It often requires effort to get to the fish, on foot, by kayak or other small vessel, and accurate casts in tight country, which are both rewarded with brutal strikes as your lure lands in a shady pocket or next to structure, followed by a stubborn battle from these Aussie favourites. They're not all big fish, however trophy size bass can still be encountered in skinny water.

Where & When

Skinny water bass can be caught year round, remembering to check your local regulations on closed seasons. They do tend to fire up more when the weather warms and when there is a rising barometer. Smaller waters often produce smaller fish from 20-40cm, which are great fun on light gear, especially around structure, however we have encountered 50cm+ fish on occasions which can make for some heart stopping battles and tense moments.

It doesn't take long to work out a pattern in terms of where fish hold in skinny water environments, with structure and shade often the keys to success. If it looks like a pocket that will allow a bass to hold position and ambush prey, it's worth a cast. Laydown timber, rocks, lilies, weed edges, deeper pockets and overhanging vegetation will all hold fish, especially if they are shaded during the heat of the day. During periods of low light, shade is less important and it's worth fanning casts throughout the area as bass cruise and feed more actively. It's also important to keep an eye out for mid-water structure such as timber, rocks, weed and drop offs that may not be protruding from the water.

Quality polarised sunglasses will assist with spotting structure in the water, while also protecting your eyes from flying lures and foliage if you're bush bashing. Many hardcore skinny bass anglers opt for sunglasses with photochromic lenses that will lighten and darken as they move from shade into sunny areas, or alternatively opt for sunglasses with lighter lenses in copper or brown that will assist with colour and object enhancement.

Gearing Up

When chasing bass in skinny water the gear is generally light and shorter rods are handy, especially if bush bashing on foot and making casts in tight country. If there is less dense vegetation and casting is made easier, then a longer rod is fine and if fishing an area that is loaded with heavy structure and commonly produces larger fish, you may wish to step up your line and leader.

We commonly fish 10lb braid, such as the Australian made Platypus P8 braid and 10lb leaders for our skinny water fishing, however I know anglers in some heavier environments and also southern waters where Murray cod may also be encountered that fish up to 20lb braid and 20lb+ leader for extracting fish and increasing their chances of landing larger by-catch species.

Here's a few combos that we run when skinny water bass fishing -

Okuma LRF-S-502L-FG 5' 1-3kg spinning rod and Epixor XT EPXT-20 reel - an excellent combo for ultra-skinny water fishing and tight country where most fish are in the small to medium size range.

Okuma LRF-S-602L-FG 6' 1-3kg spinning rod and Epixor XT EPXT-20 reel - additional length for when longer casts are required and when there is more room for casting.

Okuma Competition CM-S-662M 6'6" 6-14lb spinning rod and Alaris 20 reel - an excellent entry level combo for bass.

Okuma Cerros CER-S-701ML 7' 2-4kg spinning rod and Epixor XT EPXT-30 reel - an excellent mid-range combo for bass.

Okuma Helios HS-S-701L 7' 1-3kg spinning rod and Helios SX HSX-20 or 30 reel - an excellent high end combo for bass.

Baitcast gear is also popular for skinny water bass fishing, requiring quality baitcast gear that is capable of casting light lures when required.

Okuma Cerros CER-C-601MH 6' 4-8kg baitcast rod and Cerros baitcast reel - an excellent mid-range baitcast combo that has proven stopping power and light lure casting capabilities.

Okuma Cerros CER-C-601MH 6' 4-8kg baitcast rod and Helios SX baitcast reel - a high end baitcast combo with a reel that features Friction Free Shaft System for long casts with light lures.

Lure Selection

Skinny water bass will eat a wide variety of lures, from topwater, skirted jigs and plastics, to reaction baits such as spinnerbaits and ChatterBaits.

Lure Colour

When it comes to skinny water bass fishing colour is often less important than an accurate cast, right into the pocket. In saying that many anglers opt for light natural colours for clear water conditions and when the sun is on the water, or darker silhouette colours for lower light conditions and murky or tannin stained water. A glitter or fleck in soft plastics is also popular when fishing murky or tannin stained water as these catch the available light and create the illusion of a scale flash and sense of movement. Anglers also often carry a couple of fluoro colours as a reaction style presentation, such as Fire Tiger in spinnerbaits, chartreuse in ChatterBaits or Sexy Penny, Space Guppy and Sexy Mullet in ZMan soft plastics.

Light / Natural Colours - Bad Shad, Pinfish, Baby Bass, Pearl and Pearl Blue Glimmer.
Dark / Silhouette Colours - Bloodworm, Mud Minnow, Gold Rush, Motor Oil and Midnight Oil.
Fluoro Colours - Sexy Penny, Sexy Mullet, Chartreuse Glow and Space Guppy.

Soft Plastics

When it comes to soft plastics for bass, plastics around the 2.5" - 3" size are the preferred option, with some anglers stepping up to 3.5 - 4" models as the waterways get larger or if they are trying to discourage smaller fish and specifically target larger fish. ZMan soft plastics are 10X Tough and super-soft and flexible, however they are also buoyant which means for anglers chasing skinny water bass, they can be rigged weedless on TT Lures ChinlockZ or ChinlockZ SWS jigheads to be fished topwater, or weighted as reuired for longer casts and faster sink rates. A ZMan 3" MinnowZ rigged on a 3/0 ChinlockZ or 2.75" Finesse FrogZ on a 2/0 ChinlockZ make a versatile and inexpensive topwater lure that can be fished over and through heavy structure with minimal chance of snagging and fouling. Even better... fish explode on them on the surface, making for some exciting fishing.

Curl Tails - Curl tail plastics have accounted for a stack of bass during many a skinny water session, with the ZMan 2.5" GrubZ, 3.5" GrubZ and 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ all very effective options. This style of plastic has loads of built in action, making them great for both beginner and experienced anglers as they swim on the sink and the retrieve.

Curl tail plastics can be fished with a slow roll (slow wind), burn and kill (wind and pause) and hopped. In fact a curl tail will respond to almost any retrieve, from a slow shake and drag, to a fast wind, so mix it up until you find what the fish respond to on the day.

Paddle Tails - As their name suggests, paddle tails have a paddle like tail that is designed to imitate the tail of a swimming baitfish. ZMan's super-soft and buoyant ElaZtech construction has allowed them to create a range of paddle tails that have an unmatched action in the water, especially when you need action at slower speeds and stiffer plastics won't swim. They have loads of tail action and body roll, attracting fish and triggering strikes.

Popular paddle tail models for skinny water bass include ZMan 2.5" and 3" Slim SwimZ, along with the deadly ZMan 3" MinnowZ. Paddle Tails are an excellent plastic for covering water and a simple slow roll, roll and pause or roll with a few twitches, is often all that's required to attract the attention of a bass.

Crustaceans & Creatures

Crustaceans and creature baits are especially effective when fishing slower retrieves, waterways with less flow and when slowly and systematically working larger snag piles rigged weedless. Creature baits, such as the 3" TRD HogZ and 2.75" TRD BugZ (coming soon) are designed with a stack of built in strike triggers such as legs, antennae and ribbing that allows them to mimic a variety of aquatic and terrestrial prey. Crustaceans can also be effectively fished in these conditions, with the ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ a favourite. We often rig crustaceans and creature baits on a TT Lures NedlockZ, mushroom style, jighead that encourages a rapid stand up presentation when paused. The plastic can then be hopped, twitched and paused to mimic small prey and when paused, the plastic rapidly stands upright as if defending itself, attracting fish and triggering strikes.

Another crustacean that has produced on the big bass and is a favourite of Pro Angler Cameron Cronin, is the ZMan 4" Turbo CrawZ. The Turbo CrawZ has claws that act like two curl tails, thumping and moving in the water and Cameron rigs it both weedless and on a standard TT Lures HeadlockZ. Buzzed across the surface the Turbo CrawZ creates similar noise, action and water movement, attracting some brutal strikes, while also reducing the number of smaller fish being landed.

FrogZ

A lure that has been catching plenty of bass off the surface and even winning bass tournaments is the ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ, rigged weedless on a TT Lures 2/0 ChinlockZ or 1/12oz 2/0 ChinlockZ SWS. This little frog imitation has paddle feet that bubble and gurgle on the surface as it is buzzed (wound quite quickly) across the top of the water. You can tell by the sound the FrogZ makes as it swims across the surface when you have the retrieve speed right and that bubbling and gurgling draws the strike. BOOF! Creative anglers are also fishing this plastic sub-surface, slow rolling (slow winding) and hopping it throughout the water column.

Jig Spinners

Jig Spinners have long been utilised by bass anglers as a means of quickly and easily adding flash and vibration to a soft plastic presentation. Jig Spinners consist of a stainless steel wire frame that clips onto the eye of the jighead, your line is attached to the tow point at the bend of the wire frame and then a swivel and blade are attached at the other end of the wire. When retrieved the blade spins, adding flash and vibration to your soft plastic presentation, with the added benefit that the wire frame adds a level of snag resistance to the presentation.

Jig Spinners are available in gold and silver coloured blades, with silver often preferred in clear water, while gold excels in tannin stained and murky water. There are also a range of blade sizes available allowing you to change from a small blade and more subtle presentation in skinny water or when targeting smaller fish, to a larger blade when prospecting larger waterways for big fish. Using a Jig Spinner can be a game changer, drawing fish from structure and switching on the bite, while being a more subtle presentation than a spinnerbait or ChatterBait.

Jigheads

When it comes to selecting jigheads for bass many anglers prefer lighter gauge / fine wire hooks as they are using light line and light drag settings. However when it comes to extracting fish from structure anglers often opt for a jighead with a heavy wire, black nickel chemically sharpened hook that combines good penetration with a brutally strong hook. The TT Lures HeadlockZ HD is a go-to in this big fish and heavy structure situations.

HeadlockZ Finesse

TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse jigheads are built on fine wire, black nickel chemically sharpened Gamakatsu hooks and are all about hook penetration. They are available in a stack of weights and hook sizes to suit the go-to ZMan plastics for bass and feature a unique 'head lock' grub keeper that is designed to lock the 10X Tough ElaZtech material in place on the jighead.

When it comes to skinny water bass, anglers will carry a selection of jigheads around 1/12, 1/8, 1/6 and 1/4oz. As most of the plastics are smaller, hook sizes around the #1, #1/0, #2/0 and #3/0 are common and you can check out the 'Rigging Guides' section at www.tackletactics.com.au for guides to selecting jigheads for ZMan plastics.

DemonZ

DemonZ have been a popular jighead for bass, with their hand painted colour range to match your favourite soft plastics and their realistic 3D eyes. They also feature the 'head lock' keeper to lock your soft plastic in place on the jighead.

NedlockZ

The Ned Rig, with its mushroom style jighead, has taken the US bass fishing scene by storm and is growing in popularity in Australia. Central to the Ned Rig system is the TT Lures NedlockZ jighead, a mushroom style jighead that creates a rapid stand up presentation that ensures the plastic is always working to trigger strikes, either fleeing on the retrieve or rapidly hinging to a claws up defensive pose or natural tail up feeding pose on the pause. The NedlockZ, combined with the buoyance of ZMan's ElaZtech material, makes for the perfect Ned Rig presentation. When swimming, shaking and dragging a plastic on the bottom, with the occasional hop or slow roll, the Ned Rig is often irresistible to fish.

RevlockZ

The TT Lures RevlockZ is an underspin style jighead, meaning it has a blade mounted under the jighead that spins on the retrieve, adding flash and vibration to your presentation. Like a Jig Spinner, it allows you to quickly and easily change up your soft plastic presentation, adding subtle flash and vibration that may in turn switch on the bite. RevlockZ jigheads are ideal when teamed up with a curl tail or paddle tail plastic to cover ground and draw fish out of the weed and other structure.

ChinlockZ / ChinlockZ SWS

The ChinlockZ is a weightless weedless hook with a 'chin lock' keeper designed to lock the ZMan ElaZtech soft plastic in place. These are available in a heavy wire or a 'Finesse' (fine wire) version and are perfect for swimming FrogZ and other plastics on the surface or a dead slow sink. There is also a SWS (Snagless Weight System) version available that features a weight on the belly of the weedless hook to keel the soft plastic presentation, create a slow natural horizontal sink and allow longer and more accurate casts, especially in windy conditions.

SnakelockZ / SnakelockZ Finesse

Available in a 'Finesse' and heavy wire version, SnakelockZ are ideal when fishing extremely snaggy and weedy areas. The worm hook design sees the barb and point of the hook sitting snug against the plastic, allowing you to fish timber snags, lilies, weed and other structure that would not be possible with a traditional jighead. The free-swinging front head weights are interchangeable and give you the casting distance and sink rate required to get your plastic into the strike zone. They too feature a 'chin lock' system to lock the chin of the plastic in place.

Spinnerbaits

Spinnerbaits have long been a favourite for bass, especially when fishing snaggy areas, however it's important to select a small profile spinnerbait, such as a TT Lures Vortex spinnerbait in 1/8oz or 1/4oz. The Vortex is built on a chemically sharpened hook and includes a stinger hook, both designed to turn subtle taps into hooksets. The Vortex range also come fitted with quality silicone skirts, 24K gold and nickel plated blades, along with ball bearing swivels. Tested and proven quality.

Spinnerbaits are a deadly reaction presentation that allow you to cover plenty of water and their wire frame design makes them extremely snag resistant for fishing timber, lilies, weed beds and other structure. The Vortex is also designed so that its blades helicopter on the drop, allowing you to fish it vertically down the face of weed beds, timber, lily edges and other structure.

You can speed up the retrieve or lift the rod tip to fish higher in the water column, or drop the rod tip or slow the retrieve to run the spinnerbait deeper. This allows you to bump the top of the weed or timber and draw fish out of the structure, while the spinning blades create flash and vibration that also attracts fish from further away than many other more subtle presentations. Go-to Vortex colours for bass include, Purple Blue Scale, Purple Glimmer Scale, Gold Olive Scale and Fire Tiger Scale, giving you light / natural, dark silhouette and fluoro options.

ChatterBaits

ChatterBaits are a lure that have become a go-to for bass, with the ZMan ChatterBait Mini 1/4oz and Original 3/8oz both claiming trophy captures. The ChatterBait combines the erratic action of a hard body, profile of a skirted jig and flash and vibration of a spinnerbait into one unique fish catching presentation.

To a lesser extent than a spinnerbait the design also assists in reducing snagging, which makes the ChatterBait a popular option for fishing around timber, weed, lilies and other structure. Being a reaction bait, like a spinnerbait, its flash and vibration calls fish to the lure and attracts brutal strikes from larger fish.

Fish your ChatterBaits over the top of weed beds and amongst lilies, in and around timber, along the edges of weed beds and lilies that hold fish, and also utilise it as a search bait, making long casts and varying your retrieve speed to cover different heights in the water column until you locate fish.

Go-to colours in a ChatterBait for bass include Brown / Black, Green Pumpkin / Black and Shad / Blue Glimmer in a 1/4oz Mini and June Bug, Black / Red, Perch, Chartreuse / Sexy Shad and Green Pumpkin / Purple in a 3/8oz Original ChatterBait.

Skirted Jigs

A subtle presentation that can be extremely effective when the bite is tough, skirted jigs are basically the jig component of a ChatterBait, without the blade, meaning less flash and vibration and more subtle skirt movement, hops, drags and pauses. Skirted jigs are even more deadly when teamed up with a buoyant ZMan ElaZtech trailer to add movement and life to the jig. ZMan's CrosseyeZ Power Finesse Jigs are perfect bass size jigs, built on a 2/0 Mustad black nickel chemically sharpened hook, that teams up perfectly with a ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ, 3" TRD HogZ or 2.75" TRD BugZ.

Choose 3 Lures

All of the lures above are effective on bass... if I could only choose three plastics and three reaction baits -

Plastics -

1. ZMan 3" MinnowZ on a #3/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ / HeadlockZ Finesse / DemonZ jighead, with a #2 TT Lures Jig Spinner attached. A great searching presentation that can be fished with a wide variety of retrieves. (Clip the Jig Spinner off and you have a different presentation). If you have a #3/0 TT Lures SnakelockZ jighead in your kit then this plastic is also ready to go through and over weed, timber and other structure.
2. ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ on a #1/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ / HeadlockZ Finesse / DemonZ jighead, with a #2 TT Lures Jig Spinner attached. A more subtle and downsized presentation that can be used as a searching presentation and fished with a wide variety of retrieves. (Clip the Jig Spinner off and you have a different presentation). If you have a #2 TT Lures SnakelockZ Finesse jighead in your kit then this plastic is also ready to go through and over weed, timber and other structure.
3. ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ on a 2/0 TT Lures ChinlockZ jighead. A dynamite surface presentation that can also be sunk slowly into snags. This plastic attracts strikes even in the middle of the day, can be fished through and over some wild structure and it is the perfect bite size surface presentation for bass.

Other Lures -

1. TT Lures 1/4oz Vortex spinnerbait. This spinnerbait has caught me more skinny water bass than any other and for those in super-skinny shallow water, it is also available in a 1/8oz which is dynamite.
2. ZMan ChatterBait 1/4oz Mini. This ChatterBait is snack size for bass and I love using it to pick around snag piles as it really draws the bass out. I have caught double figure bass numbers from around a single snag pile, switching between the Brown/Black and Shad/Blue Glimmer colours.
3. ZMan 1/4oz CrosseyeZ Power Finesse Jig rigged with a ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ. A great presentation for fishing slower, tougher bites and focussing more attention on particular areas.

Scent

When casting into pockets and retrieving for bass the strike is often instant, as the bass detects the lure and rapidly ambushes its prey. In this situation scent plays less of a part. When fishing slower, picking apart snag piles and working areas with more subtle presentations however, it's definitely worth adding scent. Scent can also make a difference when a snag pile or the bite in general shuts down, switching the fish back on again or dragging a couple more out of the snag. I apply Pro-Cure Super Gel scent to all lures at all times, reapplying a little after every 30 or so casts and after landing a fish.

Go-to Pro-Cure flavours for bass include Garlic Plus, Mullet, Shrimp, Aniseed and Bloodworm. Pro-Cure is super-sticky and combines real ground bait, with laboratory science that includes powerful amino acids, bite stimulants and UV enhancement.

Land Based Tips

Skinny water bass fishing is often the realm of land based and kayak anglers, with smaller boats accessing some systems. As is so often the case when fishing land based, Google Maps is a great starting point in terms of locating access points, launch points, suitable banks to fish and possible obstacles to overcome. Bridges often allow access, as do parks and fields.

The trick when chasing bass land based is to find areas where you can access a reasonable amount of water to fish. In some locations you may also be able to enter the creek and slowly fish your way along, targeting snags and deeper pools. In some areas it can be more effective fishing upstream, otherwise as you fish downstream you will stir up the bottom and dirty the water. This will of course depend on the bottom structure. If the water is shallow or the creek is made up of a section of pools, then walking/wading the creek can be a lot easier than battling the bush on the banks. Remember safety first and make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing and footwear.

Safety first if trekking more isolated areas for bass. I carry a small backpack when trekking... don't overload the pack or you may regret it later. In my pack and on my person I carry a selection of items that includes basic tackle, line snip, measuring device, camera, phone in dry case, more water than I can drink, a snack, survival blanket, snake bite kit (if in an area where snakes are present), basic first aid kit, compass, LifeStraw (water purifying), waterproof matches, a few zip ties, length of cord, LED headlamp and a few random other bits and pieces. The bulk of the first aid and survival items can be packed into a small, clip lock plastic container and stowed in the bottom of the backpack, out of the way unless required. This container can also come in handy if you find yourself in a survival situation. If we are doing an overnight or kayak mission, we include an EPIRB for additional piece of mind.

Landing & Handling

Bass have spikes on their fins, along with gill rakers and a nasty anal fin spike that can leave you with strong pain for a while if cut or punctured. Thankfully they don't have teeth, so that makes them easier to handle, with a firm thumb grip in their mouth and supporting their belly with the other hand. We generally use lip grips or a small landing net to land them and from there they are quite easy to handle for a quick photo and release. Bass can be kept for the table, however it is important to check your local regulations. Most anglers prefer to target bass purely as a sportfish and release those landed.

There is some great bass fishing to be had in the skinny water, with many suburban areas having a mix of rivers, creeks and lakes that have bass populations. If you have more time it's worth exploring further afield as skinny water bass fishing takes you to some pristine and scenic areas, where a fish is a bonus. Grab a light spin combo, a handful of lures and explore your local freshwater systems.

All the best with the fishing...
Justin Willmer