Lazy Bass!

[Spotswood]

I fish a large pond in southern Manitoba. The water is very clear, gravel bottom, lots of sunken logs and such. Average depth is around 5-10 feet, but is as deep as 35 feet in some places.

There are large bass slowly cruising along the shorelines, every so often stopping briefly at shallow structure like logs. But they just will not bite! I have had very limited success with a chigger craw and a grass pig, but for the most part they are entirely ignoring my presentations.

What's going on?

[Bassn Blvd]

How clear is clear? At 5-10 feet, I assume you can easily see the bottom?

My first thought is that the bass can see you which is making them cautious.

Are the bass pressured by other anlgers?

Where clothing that blends with the background/sky. (many anglers belive in that theory and many don't)

I would use as light as mono as possible, maybe even flouro.

Stand back from the shore line (if you're fishing from the bank).

Make long casts.

If you're targeting a certain log/stump, then stay way back when casting to it.

Cast beyond your target, maybe 5-15 feet past. Don't be affraid to cast your worm or jig onto the bank and then drag it into the water.

You don't need to see the fish to know they are there or to catch them.

Remember. If you see the bass, then they see you. The small ones might still bite, but the big ones are smart and know something is up.

Remember. If you don't see the bass, then they can still see you.

[Spotswood]

How clear is clear? At 5-10 feet, I assume you can easily see the bottom?

My first thought is that the bass can see you which is making them cautious.

Are the bass pressured by other anlgers?

Where clothing that blends with the background/sky. (many anglers belive in that theory and many don't)

I would use as light as mono as possible, maybe even flouro.

Stand back from the shore line (if you're fishing from the bank).

Make long casts.

If you're targeting a certain log/stump, then stay way back when casting to it.

Cast beyond your target, maybe 5-15 feet past. Don't be affraid to cast your worm or jig onto the bank and then drag it into the water.

You don't need to see the fish to know they are there or to catch them.

Remember. If you see the bass, then they see you. The small ones might still bite, but the big ones are smart and know something is up.

Remember. If you don't see the bass, then they can still see you.

Thanks for the advice.

Not many people fish specifically for bass at this pond, but there are a lot of people that regularly go to it. You can easily see bottom in most of the pond. Now that you say it, I can see how the bass were probably seeing me and that's why they weren't biting, for some reason I was thinking if they don't swim away, they don't see me.

[AK-Jax86]

Maybe they just aren't hungry when you see them

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/11664-warning-you-might-get-your-arm-broke/

[WookieeJedi]

When you see cruisers like you described, they can be a really tough bite. I have used senkos and tiny craw lures with some success, but the best way I found to catch them is on live worms. I hook one or two on a light hook and put a rubber core sinker about two feet up from the bait. Sometimes I need to inject a little air into the worms to get them up off the bottom a little. I just cast into the area and wait. It isn't exciting and sunfish can be a problem, but I haven't tried anything that works better.