johnnylots

I've had pretty good success fishing around a particular dock at a local lake. Because the dock floats on the water, I cannot get lures under it and pretty much have to get as close to its perimeter and the vertical poles. Evidently, there are certain times - like most of the day - that the fish won't leave the protection of the dock. I know they are there but I can't get them to strike. Any advice? Thanks

Im trying to figure out where the fish might be located right now. I attached an aerial of my local lake. There is a channel that runs throughout the center of the lake - probably 20 feet deep - and there is a rocky dam on the lower right side with greater depths. The rest of the lake is relatively shallow under 10 feet. I fish from shore and there is no descent structure to work except the docks. The bass don't seem to be hiding under the dock yet and plus Im bored of focusing solely on the docks. But I cannot figure out where the fish are... I thought the fish would have moved out of the deepest water by now to the shallows but with little structure to fish on the bank, not sure where to go. Is time of day an issue? Ive tried fishing the dam but not really sure how to fish it - depth, size, color, etc... I also seem to lose lures on the rocks around the dam. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I feel your pain. This is my 4th season and each year has been frustrating for various reasons. However, Ive gotten substantially better through trial and error but mostly from reading everything I can about bass fishing. The resources on this site are top notch but I also bought some books and watch youtube videos. My advice is as follows: Find a spot on the lake where the fish are likely to be located. I am not being sarcastic. While water color, season, weather, water temp, etc are all considerations, I would focus on finding good structure. Figure out all of the other things as you go along. Fish during the times of day when the fish are supposed to be most active. I downloaded a few phone apps that supposedly track moon conditions and provide some guidance. They might help. Once you think the fish are within reach, begin to experiment - different colors, speeds of retrieve, presentation, etc... I still do not have a handle on color selection but change it up frequently until something works and then Ill use it until it no longer works. Ive spent thousands of dollars on lures but eventually learned what works for me. I caught tons of fish on small Mepps lures but they were all smaller in size. You might want to start out with some of them as you progress. I then graduated to the jigg which worked well only at the beginning of last season and I haven't had much luck with them this year - but Im still trying them out. Ive caught most of the best fish on regular spinner baits but I can seem to see a pattern on color selection. I just start with dark ones and work my way towards lighter colors. Retrieve speed is critical - my lake requires SLOW retrieve almost all year for whatever reason. Lastly, I resisted the senco set-up because I didn't have much luck at first and its boring when your not catching anything. However, I read up on the senco advice on this site and have been catching some good fish. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the relies. I will try it all out and post back with results.

Im hoping for some suggestions. I started fishing a local lake a few years ago simply out of convenience. I'm rather new to the sport and have been focused on learning everything I can about conditions, structure, fishing various lures, action, retrieve, etc - with many great lessons from this forum! However, the fish behavior seems to defy all rules of thumb and general fishing logic. There are bass in this lake but I cant get them to bite. Ive fished other lakes with relative success so I know its not just that Im a newbie. Now I am obsessed with trying to figure it - I'm on a mission. Here's the story: The spring started off ok with a bunch of small guys. Then I began to use a booyha rattle jig for the first time with a crawdad attached. Boom, boom, boom I started pulling fish twice the size. Great. Once the water warmed up its been god awful. While its safe to assume that the fish ran to the deep water for the most part(which is hard to reach from the docks) I know they come shallow since I see them jumping not far off the dock. The water is stained to muddy and there are tons of bait fish. I've tried every crank bait, lipless cranks, 5" senko weedless, spinners, in-line spinners, the jigs - big and small in every color and presentation imaginable with little success. What is the deal and what would you do - besides use a boat? I have been using a slow to very slow retrieve will all lures, is that correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I've became addicted to fishing about 3 years ago and am still learning about matching lures color, size, speed, etc to water color, weather conditions, temperature, etc... I've made a lot of progress and continue to learn. That said, the lake closest to my house continues to defy all logic, rules of thumb, and universally accepted principles of fishing. I am on a mission to master this lake and need some help. Here's what I'm looking at: Its a man-made lake of about 120 acres and very little structure. I would classify the water as stained to muddy with less than 1 foot of visibility. Its a narrow lake that is shallow (1-5 feet) pretty much all around but drops to 10+ feet in the center and around 30 feet near the dam. Oh, and I fish it from the bank. The only real structure are the rocks that make up the dam. I've caught some decent fish in there but with no consistency. To start off, I have to figure out where the fish are likely hanging out right now. Right now while the water is still cold, I would expect that the bass would be found around some kind of structure in the shallower water trying to get the sun...? Next, lures: I've only caught fish here on smaller spinner baits like Mepps and Fire Fox. Last spring the Mepps #2 or #3 with dark skirts did the trick then its was the Mepps with no skirt and blue/silver Fire Fox in the summer. I did try every lure in my box in every size and color - large spinners, top waters, crank baits, etc with nothing. There are a lot of rocks on the bottom and losing lures is an issue as well. I've had the greatest success "dragging" the mepps on the bottom - much like how I would fish a plastic worm - slow, stop and go. This year I'm thinking of focusing much more on soft plastics and use the Senko technique that has been cirulating this forum. I just dont know what colors to try out. So, any advice would be greatly appreciated: 1) Where are the fish likely to be found at this time of year? Deep, shallow, middle? 2) What are some good basic go-to lures and plastics? 3) What size and colors? 4) Retreive speed or techniques? Ill try anything and will follow up with feedback! Thanks

Thanks All. The trip was excellent. We had a condo that was clean and all we needed. They screwed up booking the guide that was initially recommended so we had guide from...Slim's Marina who fills-in often. He was a really nice guy but was dead set on sticking to shiners when we really wanted to learn more about fishing artificials. Im not sure what his deal was - it was really windy and maybe he wanted to just ensure we caught fish and didnt spend the day untangling line. It bacame a joke as he blew me off every time I mentioned plastics. The lake is huge - 35 miles across from the marina - and you cant see the other side. At the same time, its probably 3 feet deep on average. We were there to catch bass but were excited when anything hit the line. I caught a lot of mud fish on the first day - I hooked one that the guide thought had to be 15 pounds. It was just a huge nasty fish. He told me not to bragg about it at the marina since everyone hates them. I didnt care, I just wanted to catch some fish. Aligator gar were awsome to catch just because I never saw one in person. We did catch a lot of bass that ranged from 3.5 pounds to 6 pounds and were very happy with that. We fished from about 6 am until noon then from about 3 to dark. So by the end of the day, I was sun burnt, tired and ready for a few cocktails at the tiki bar. Food was fine for the two days but I really had enough burgers and fries for a while. I would recommend the Martin Marina to anyone and I cant wait to go back. Next time I will ensure we get the right guide who will let us use artificials. Again, thanks to everyone and keep me up-to-date on other experiences there. Picture attached is one of the larger guys I caught.

A buddy and I are going to Roland Martin's marina next week. We hired a guide for 3 days and hear they have been having a stellar season so far. We're both...intermediate-level fishermen from Bucks County PA looking to advance skillset and have some fun - out of this northeast weather. First question, is this an opportunity to learn on a baitcaster or should I just do that on my own time? Second, anyone know if the rooms are clean or should we stay elsewhere? I dont need the Ritz but cant take filthy. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated from all. Thanks

Here's that post. I laugh every time I read it. Poor guy. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1286119209

This post was almost as funny as the guy's post a few weeks ago who lost $70 worth of lures, a rod, and had a tree limb fall on him. I don't understand?

I'm looking for an older post that discussed one of the best techniques for fishing a senko. Its been referenced several times in other posts but I cant seem to find it. Can anyone direct me to it? Thanks

I feel your pain! I've been at it for two seasons now and am an addict. I've learned how to catch every small bass in the lake - I mean tiny tiny guys. I've lost hundreds of dollars worth of lures this year but have recently figured out how with through snags without losing the piece. This is how - assuming you can tell very quickly that it's a snag and not a bite - stop reeling immediately when you feel snag NEVER try to yank the lure loose with the same motion you would to set a hook. First attempt - let enough line out that you can set the rod down next to you. Pull the slack out with with your hand until the line is rather tight then let it go shooting the line back towards the lure - like shooting a rubber band. Many times it provides enough pressure backwards to free the lure. Try it a couple times. If that doesn't work, wrap your line around your hand and pull the line towards you slowly but hard to try and pull it free. You can pull hard until the line breaks since worst case is losing the lure anyway. Just try not to cut your hands all up with the line in the process. Other than that, use this forum as a resources as much as possible. Ask specific questions and these guys always respond with great information. I've done the same and have begun to catch larger fish with their advice. When I get a minute I'll follow up with a few other things that have worked well. Good luck.

I had a lot of luck at core creek park last year but this year no one seems to be having a good season in bucks county. Just recently my luck is changing and Ive been catching some larger fish as I moved to a new spot on the lake. The concensus is that a boat is really required to have some better chance at getting to the fish. Im looking into buying a small cheap jon boat and will start trying different lakes. Let me know if you find any good spots and Ill keep you informed on my end. Feel free to send me an email directly. jmastrosimone@comcast.net

Im wondering if someone could advise on how the angle of the sun may impact fishing strategy. Thought about it early this morning as the sun was rising and brightly reflected off of the water. Im curious, does it matter if I cast towards the sun or perpendicular? Do the fish turn towards the sun or away from it? Thanks

Should I throw the senko weightless or not? Im thinking that I need a little weight in order to get it out into the deeper water and retreive it back through the shallow. Im familiar with the weedless rig, but not sure how to add the weight. Splitshot? Also, what are solid colors for this time of year? Thanks