Dipsnort,
Ya' gotta lose the picture of the slimer, dude.  Catch a toad of a largie and CPR.   

sounds like you had a really good top water bite. thats great.

Jim

I appreciate the tips, fellas - thanks! 

There are only two (very small) docks on the lake.  They float on the surface and are in very shallow water - maybe up 2' depth, so I don't put much effort into them.

Here's my report for yesterday:

I picked up a 13" (that had a huge air bubble just under its skin - very odd!) on a spinnerbait.  Casting right at the dropoff, I let it sink briefly and the fish hit during the drop.  It was my first spinnerbait fish ever! 

I also caught a 10", which hit the instant my crankbait hit the water on the edge of the lily pads, and I got a perch with that same crankbait along the pads.
I missed one other strike when the crankbait hit the water tight to overhanging brush in 3' of water loaded with milfoil.

My 6" black w/ red specs Texas-rigged ribbontail worm got a lot of attention from smaller fish, but I didn't catch anything on it.

Not too bad of a day for a rookie, I guess.

Now I have to figure out how to dropshot.  I made several attempts at tying the hook to get it pointing straight out with the hook facing up, but the results were, uh, less than optimal.    Maybe I need to bring materials to the next meeting and have one of you show me how it's done. 

Dip,

Are there any docks on the lake? Usually you can skip baits under docks in the summer and be pretty successful! The docks are usually free of weeds because of the lack of direct sunlight.

The responses above are all excellent ideas.

Try getting into some of the thickest stuff in the lake. Heavy weed patches will still hold fish during the day, and they will be especially attracted to any change in bottom depth, or extra structure, like a log or rock. Don't be afraid to throw a really heavy bait like a 3/4-1 oz. texas-rigged worm or jig to bust through the top mat of weeds. If you throw a worm, pick something relatively smooth and free of "dainty" appendages. Ribbon-tail worms and things like that will hang up a lot. Try using a straight-tail worm or tube, or dunk your bait in a lot of scent to help it slide through the weeds. Weeds are frustrating to fish, but once you locate fish, you should be able to go back to the same areas all summer and catch fish!

Good luck,
Chris

Thanks Larry never thought of that. Try new things theirs a concept for me.

Those fish were there for probable more than just the overhanging branches and since all that was done was more structure was added, I would bet they are still there just have chosen the weeds to move laterally along the breakline that exists close by....try finding an edge....inside or outside and first try a rattle trap or slow rolled spinnerbait along the edge....pop it when it gets loaded with weeds or gets slowed by weeds.....this will see how aggressive they are....if no response try a jig or tube along the edges and look for holes that you can pitch into.
One of the biggest mistakes made by anglers is to leave an area where fish existed just due to weed growth or altered conditions. adapt because that is what the fish have done!

I ended up using a buzzbait over the milfoil a great deal the other day, but absolutely no takes.  I'll try the spinnerbait to see if I can entice a brute out of the weeds.

Thanks for the tips, I'll give them a try tonight! 

Dipsnort,
Take a jig and throw it into the pads! Into the open spots of the pads! No matter how small or how large the opening is hit it. remeber use heavy line and about a 1/2oz jig. It works really well! then like rob said run crankbaits along the weed edges and throw a spinnerbait over the top of tyhe milfoil. If your spinnerbait is getting into the milfoil before you can start reeling start pulling the rod towards you when it hits and catch up by reeling. It was a trick I got out of one of my many bassmasters magazines. it helped keep me from snagging so much hopefully it helps you to.

I'm no expert, but have been catching fish on the deeper edge of the weedlines. Sometimes on the shallow side. Softplastics throw on these edges will keep you from getting all tangled in them. I like to run cranks down them too. I had one hit right out of the top of a weedbed on a spinnerbait at Big Lake as soon as the bait broke the surface. The fish like to run right into the weeds though so be ready.

Ok, so I see that my local largemouth lake is being overtaken by milfoil in the last couple of weeks and when I fished there yesterday the bass had seemingly dissappeared from their typical hiding places, which are under the tree branches hanging out over the water in 1-4' water depth zone.

Where would you guess they've gone?  I would say the two best choices are under the lily pad fields in 6-10' of water or down at the deepest part of the lake where in all likelihood the milfoil is non-existant (probably in the neighborhood of 10-15').

What tactics would you use to fish the deep spot?  What tactics would you use to fish the lily pads?  The lily pads, by the way, are in fairly small clusters.  They have matured to very thick, broad pads but are not so tightly clustered that a fella couldn't cast to openings among the pads.