Big Mouth (Large Mouth) Bass Issue

[Gangly]

I know the world calls them Large Mouth, but we grew up calling them Big Mouth bass

Background: 

At the begginning of spawn, I found and old Ox-Bow lake that appears to have been the remnants of the old San Jacinto river, and it appears to have been there for a VERY long time.  It's about 5 feet deep at its deepest part, 125 feet wide at its widest part, and is about a quarter mile in length (if straight) and forms a giant horse shoe, thus the term Ox Bow.  Anyways, I decided to wet a hook in it one day just to see if there was anything in it and within 45 minutes I caught 6 (LM) bass, one of the bass about 14 inches long, and a crappie the size of a dinner plate, all within a 50 yards stretch that may have covered a tenth of the lake.  I didnt know if there were any fish in the lake so I didnt bring a stringer or anything, and just let the fish go.  All of the fish were very skinny, like the lake was over stocked.  The water is clear, but the undergrowth of vegetation is crazy.  Of the 5 foot depth, 4 feet of it is covered with algea, weed, and hydrilla.  You couldnt see the bottom if you wanted to, it's that dense with undergrowth.  The lures I used were a Rebel Minnow and a Rapala F-7 floater, both top water baits that I fished like a wounded minnow with twitches and darts.  The water would explode with hits.

Current Issue:
Now that spawn is over, I have seen a noticeable drop in the number of "Hits" that I have gotten, which is understandable because spawn is over.  However, I cant seem to find a lure that works consistantly now.  I have tried Spinner Baits, Crank baits, Jigs, Jig Heads, Jigs with trailers(Chigger Craws), Spoons, Worms, EVERYTHING, and I cant seem to get consistant hits with them.  The only thing I can consistantly catch fish with is the live minnows I buy for my boy to use.  The crankbaits dive straight into the hydrilla and come out a tangled mess, the Jigs of all types fall straight into the hydrilla and weeds and come out covered in garbage, the spinner baits work good staying in the top foot of water but they have produced absolutely nothing.  The wounded minnow lures still produce every now and then, I'm just a little confounded as to what approach I could be using that might produce better results.  Does anybody have any ideas as to what I could possiblky try out, or what has worked for them?  Trying to figure out what lure and presentation to use on a lake that is so cluttered with undergrowth can be a little intimidating, especially considering they arent feeding so aggresively right now.

[Noah]

Fish get educated real quick in small bodies of water like that.  Lighter line, finesse type baits, or just a bait that they haven't seen yet sometimes work.  We've got a lot of ponds that hold lots of fish, but won't bite a thing.

[bghogdogtx]

well  my 2 cents is that they have moved out to deeper water.  if the deepest spot is 5 ft.

[Gangly]

the deepest part of the entire lake is 5 feet, but its a broad 5 feet that covers almost the entire width of the lake.

[Gangly]

Fish get educated real quick in small bodies of water like that.  Lighter line, finesse type baits, or just a bait that they haven't seen yet sometimes work.  We've got a lot of ponds that hold lots of fish, but won't bite a thing.

I'm thinking thats what most likely has happened.  I've seen others fishing on it at the sime time i have and so I assume the bass have seen a lot of different types of lures over time.  Might have to try something completely different and out of the ordinary, maybe a rooster or something.

[Noah]

For those situations, I've had luck with a bubble gum Zoom worm, with a hook through the middle, so it drags through the water sideways, no lead.... or carolina rigged at the most.  Funky looking enough to trick 'em.  I'll also break the fly rod out, much more variety in finesse baits that way.

[Gangly]

I havent tried the worm tactic with the hook through the middle.  Carolina rigging had me pulling the worm down the the bottom because of the weeds catching the line, and making the bait dissapear.  I have always wanted to try a little fly fishing, guess its time i go pick out a cheap fly fishing rod and reel combo (though i have yet to see a cheap one ) and give it a whirl.  Finesse fishing may be the way to do it, the more I think about it the more i start to believe that those fish have probably seen most everything a fish could see.  Thanks for the idea, it might be worth trying

[Gangly]

p.s. I have had great luck with the ZOOM June Bug color, and the ZOOM Cotton Candy colored worms.  Cotton Candy has worked very well on rocky bottoms for me.

[Noah]

Yep, june-bug is my go to worm on new water for sure!  Good luck!

[Dexter]

its time to pull out the "banjo minnow"