As bass fishing becomes increasingly popular, mastering the art of lure selection is paramount for success.
Your techniques and lures will certainly have to change if you are competing with tons of other anglers on the same pond or lake.
Here are the best lures for pressured bass as well as the strategies you need to catch them.
The ned rig is so simple and non-threatening that even highly pressured bass will eat it.
Pressured bass tend to drop a bit farther in the water column and sit on or close to the bottom.
Since the ned rig is a bottom hopping bait, it stays right in their field of vision.
There are also some weedless ned rig hooks and jig heads that allow you to fish right in the cover and grass that pressured bass love.
Typically, the simpler the better. A plain stickbait is often the best soft plastic option when fishing over pressured bass.
But you can still experiment with different ned rig baits in order to match the hatch as best as possible.
The shaky head and the ned rig are the most reliable baits out there.
Whether it be cold water, hot water, over fished water, or high barometric pressure, these two baits will still catch bass when nothing else does.
The shaky head is going to give the bass a bit bigger profile with an extremely subtle and slow presentation.
The weedless setup also allows you to fish grass, reeds, and light brush piles.
Finesse is often the best answer for catching pressured bass.
They become cautious of loud, high vibration lures, but still can’t resist a finesse worm.
Paddle tail swimbaits are actually my bias, favorite bait for fishing pressured ponds and lakes.
This is because I much prefer to cover lots of water. Slowly crawling or hopping a bottom bait starts to bore me very quickly if I’m not catching anything.
But with a finesse swimbait, I can still use a finesse presentation while covering lots of water.
And since you can rig a paddle tail swimbait tons of different ways, they are incredibly versatile and easy to use in any body of water or weather condition.
When other anglers are throwing crankbaits, chatterbaits, or other aggressive lures, tie on a finesse swimbait and you will get the finicky bass to bite.
The willow leaf spinnerbait is the exact opposite side of the lure spectrum.
Unlike the above finesse baits, this spinnerbait will be fished very fast and aggressive.
The goal is not to entice a picky bass into biting. Instead, you are trying to burn the lure past the bass and trigger a reaction strike.
The bass doesn’t have time to decide whether the bait is real, fake, or dangerous.
It just eats the spinnerbait as a reflex. Pressured bass will think twice about eating a lure, but if you burn a willow leaf spinnerbait by them, they won’t have time to think twice.
I believe there are two reasons why buzzbaits work so well for pressured, over fished bass.
First, not many anglers use buzzbaits anymore. With all the modern frogs, ploppers, and walking baits, many guys just forget about the classic buzzbait.
So bass don’t see buzzbaits very often and are more likely to hit them.
Second, there just seems to be something about the obnoxious splashing sound that a buzzbait makes that makes bass angry enough to bite no matter what.
Especially if you use a double blade or clacker buzzbait, the bass just get so annoyed and angry at the lure that they eat it.
When ponds and lakes are over fished, sometimes it is better to focus on strategies and techniques rather than specific lures.
Pressured bass have seen all the crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and other search baits wiz past them for weeks.
These bass will often prefer slower moving, less threatening lures. Also, these bass will usually be holding very closely to cover like grass, wood, and rocks.
So slowing down your presentation allows you to spend more time around this cover and keep your bait in front of them longer.
I am sure this seems completely backwards considering what I just said.
But like I explained with the willow leaf spinnerbait, pure reaction strikes can be a great way to catch over pressured bass.
They don’t have time to think or worry about your lure. They either have to eat it immediately or watch their next meal swim right by them.
The number one key to catching over fished bass is to show them something that they haven’t seen.
This may be a very slow bait or a very fast bait. It could by a tiny, finesse lure or a giant glide bait or swimbait.
It could be a topwater in open water or a jerkbait around brush. Try using wacky colors or retrieves that might not look optimal, but if nobody else is doing it, it may just work.
Just be different than all the other fisherman that are on the lake.
Pressured bass refer to fish that have experienced significant angler activity in their habitat, making them more cautious and difficult to catch compared to less pressured bass in more secluded waters.
Pressured bass waters are typically found in heavily fished areas such as popular lakes, ponds, and rivers where there’s consistent angler traffic.
Signs of pressure include boats or anglers regularly seen in the area, visible fishing lines, and crowded fishing spots.
Matching the hatch, or using lures that closely resemble the natural prey of the bass in that particular body of water, can be crucial for success.
Pressured bass are often more selective, so presenting them with baits that mimic their natural forage increases the likelihood of triggering a strike.
If bass aren’t biting and traditional methods aren’t yielding results, don’t hesitate to experiment with unconventional techniques or seek advice from local anglers familiar with the area.
Sometimes, unconventional presentations or strategies can trigger strikes from pressured bass that have grown accustomed to seeing the same lures and baits.
Bass fishing continues to gain popularity, which means lakes and ponds sometimes become over fished.
But with the best lures for pressured bass and the right techniques, you can beat all the other anglers and still catch lots of bass.
Never let competition stop you from getting out on the water and having fun.
