Tired Of Just One Or Two

[der Fischer]

Hey BR community!

 

It's been almost a year since I started bass fishing again.  I primarily fish Lake Perris and I don't have a boat, so I'm bankfishing from rocky points on the "north" side of the lake, and these points have more areas with bushes "blocking" you than open areas where you can cast, so they're not ideal points (unless you're on a boat).  And, you're pretty much casting into rocky areas.  It's a 30-40yd descent through rocks of all sizes to the shore, so once you're at the shore, it's inconvenient to move around to other parts of the point.

 

I'm more into dropshotting, and I use Robo worms and BPS worms, and just started trying Zoom worms with chartreuse tips, which I don't think work too well.  I've got junebug, watermelon, green pumpkin, margarita mutilator, other purple ones, pink ones, red ones, etc.

 

The problem I'm having is I'll catch 0-2 fish every time.  My best day was landing four fish on five bites.  Second best was three fish in 10hrs ( with a rental boat at Diamond Valley).  Both were last summer. 

 

Last weekend, caught two in two hours, then 15 minutes later, BAM; felt a BIG bite!  After fighting for a while, it finally came up from below and was visible at about seven feet away.  Then, it dove below towards some rocks to the right of me and ended up snapping my line.  Not sure if the rocks had anything to do with it, or if it was just the sheer power/torque of the fish.  It was easily 6+lbs, when my best is 3lbs, which was caught my first day this year, five weeks ago.  It's my fault for thinking I can land fatties with an UL rod and 6# line, and, my drag wasn't set properly, though I thought it was (and was immediately loosened!).  I was EXTREMELY heartbroken!!  I blame the youtube vid of the guy (at Lake Perris) catching a 10.6lber on 2# line.  Of course, he was fishing for bluegill.

 

I'm not saying it was a 6lb fish because it snapped my 6# line, but when I saw it, my jaw dropped, remembering a 6lber someone else caught last summer, which was the biggest largemouth I've ever seen, until I saw the fish I lost.  After losing it, it was another two-fish day; the two I caught before.  Nothing after.  Not sure if my being delated after losing that fatty had anything to do with no more catches for the day.  The next day, skunked; not even a bite.  I went again yesterday, and caught two.  I've had days where I catch on my second or third cast, but then nothing for hours or the rest of the day.  Sometimes I'll go hours before I get my first.  Of course, there's sometimes the "day of zero"! 

 

Other fisherman have told me stories of them catching 7-10+ fish in just a few hours or for the entire day, and they too were bankfishing.  I would LOVE a day like that!

 

What am I doing wrong?  Or are these numbers typical of fishing from a (rocky) point (into rocky terrain)?  I'll catch fish at one part of the point, then after hours of nothing, move to another part of the same point, and hopefully get a second.  Are the fish spooked after I catch the first?  Though on my best (four-fish) day, I caught three in a span of 45 minutes from another point at the same lake, in 102 degree weather, with boats/seadoos galore, creating lots of waves. 
 

Is that another problem; too many waves from so many high speed boats/seadoos?  As the weather gets warmer and warmer, it means more people on the water, hauling it.  Since I don't have a boat, my only option of avoiding constant big waves is to fish the cove where the marina's at, since the docks eliminate the waves, but that area gets too much pressure.  Have avoided the marina/cove this year; last five weeks.

 

I'm not sure what the water temp has been, but the weather's usually been in the high 70s-high 80s in the day and high 40s-low/mid 50s at night.  Last Sunday's zero catch day was on an unusually cloudy/really windy day.  Not sure that had an affect on the fish. 

 

Regarding other factors, I wear grey/tan clothing to blend in with the rocks and bushes.  I'm not making loud noises or stepping hard, or trying not to.  Is my problem that I'm pretty much only dropshotting?  I've used other lures but have had little success, so I end up dropshotting and end up catching one or two.  Last Sunday, I did try a crankbait, but nothing.  Maybe it was just a slow day for everyone on that cloudy/windy day, regardless of the lure.

 

I know this post is super long, but thought I'd be detailed, to give a better understanding of what I'm doing.  Any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated.  If it helps, I can post a topo map of the lake. 

 

Thanks in advance!

[BassMan85]

Hey, I am there with you. I have to fish from the banks all year around and I live in GA where air temps get into the low teens at times. I am different from you because I do NOT dropshot and I know it's a good technique but I just don't use it hardly at all.

 

My most productive lures are topwater in the morning and evening in the Summer, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and shakey heads. The best advice I would give you is to do your research on your body of water from local guides. Go to fishin.com where you click on Fishing Reports at the top of the page, find your state, then your body of water. This is professional advice and It tells you about water temps, productive lures for each species, etc.

 

Dropshots WILL get hung up around rocks and things especially if you do not use "drop shot weights" that pull off the line when snagged. Ive tried split shot and tie on weights for dropshot rigs when I do use the rig which is hardly ever and they do get caught.

 

I am sorry you lost that fish but know that even pros lose big bass at times. I would say to use jigs, weedless worms, spinnerbaits, topwaters, and crankbaits especially around rocks and rip rap. The crankbait will hit those rocks and don't just cast out and reel it in. Cast the crankbait out and as you reel in, twitch the rod and you will feel a vibration which is the crankbait emitting an erratic movement that really attracts bass. Let your crankbait hit the rocks and bounce off too because that will entice bass to bite as well. Also, sometimes you can let your crankbait hit the rocks and then stop the retrieve then start it back....this will also entice the bass to bite because it thinks its an easy injured meal since it hit that rock.

 

I hope this helps and I feel you about those pesky bushes and small trees. Ive felt like taking my machete and cutting them down at times then throwing them into the water to attract bass to the brush if I knew the cops wouldn't get me.

[der Fischer]

On 4/23/2013 at 7:12 PM, BassMan85 said:

Hey, I am there with you. I have to fish from the banks all year around and I live in GA where air temps get into the low teens at times. I am different from you because I do NOT dropshot and I know it's a good technique but I just don't use it hardly at all.

 

My most productive lures are topwater in the morning and evening in the Summer, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and shakey heads. The best advice I would give you is to do your research on your body of water from local guides. Go to fishin.com where you click on Fishing Reports at the top of the page, find your state, then your body of water. This is professional advice and It tells you about water temps, productive lures for each species, etc.

 

Dropshots WILL get hung up around rocks and things especially if you do not use "drop shot weights" that pull off the line when snagged. Ive tried split shot and tie on weights for dropshot rigs when I do use the rig which is hardly ever and they do get caught.

 

I am sorry you lost that fish but know that even pros lose big bass at times. I would say to use jigs, weedless worms, spinnerbaits, topwaters, and crankbaits especially around rocks and rip rap. The crankbait will hit those rocks and don't just cast out and reel it in. Cast the crankbait out and as you reel in, twitch the rod and you will feel a vibration which is the crankbait emitting an erratic movement that really attracts bass. Let your crankbait hit the rocks and bounce off too because that will entice bass to bite as well. Also, sometimes you can let your crankbait hit the rocks and then stop the retrieve then start it back....this will also entice the bass to bite because it thinks its an easy injured meal since it hit that rock.

 

I hope this helps and I feel you about those pesky bushes and small trees. Ive felt like taking my machete and cutting them down at times then throwing them into the water to attract bass to the brush if I knew the cops wouldn't get me.

I guess east of California, lakes have more structure/cover than what we have here.  That's what I was told by a BPS rep, who's originally from the Midwest.  I wish we had lakes with stumps, fallen trees, lily pads, etc, like I see in all these other videos.  That's probably why you don't dropshot, because you can actually use everything else where you're at?  I've been told that I shouldn't even bother with a lot of lures because I use spinning setups.

 

Never used a jig, but last year, I did use crankbaits and topwater lures a lot, and caught only one fish with a crankbait and one fish with a popper, and I also have a spook and jitterbug.  My prior personal best was a 2.5lb bass on a popper, but altogether, I only caught two fish with those kinds of lures.  I would always switch to dropshotting and catch fish.  This is why I gave up everything and only went with dropshotting.  I have crankbaits I have used once, but I will give them another go this weekend.

 

Yes, so many (tall and wide) bushes!  I guess they were great for cover when the water lever was much higher, but they lowered the level many years ago, like over 12 years, because of issues with the dam, and I don't think they're ever going to raise the water level back to what it used to be, so I wish they took down some of the bushes.   It would be so awesome if I had a magical silent motorized saw and went to town on those bushes at night, hehe.

 

And I lost that fish two Saturdays ago and still think about it all the time.  Was so deflated afterwards.  I've been hoping for the day I caught a 5+ pound wish (with my limited skills and coverage of the lake), and that was it.  Now I wonder when that day will come again, if ever.

 

Thanks for taking the time to offer some help!   

[BassMan85]

Okay, so I didn't realize that you didn't have a lot of cover to use; however, you still have the structure of the lake. Since  you only use spinning gear, there are alot of great options for catching that big bass again and it's called finesse fishing.

 

I caught a 4 lb bass on a Zoom trick worm in Green Pumpkin on a 3/16 oz shakey head rig. These are 6 inch straight tail worms that worm really good for finnicky bass. I have a baitcaster and I still use my spinning gear more than my baitcaster simply because a lot of my fishing is finesse style and Ive caught the biggest bass that way.

 

Also, sometimes it's good to go with an 8-10 inch worm because bigger baits mean bigger bass. Sometimes even the small bass will eat the bigger worms more than the smaller ones. All depends on their metabolism at the time and the season.

 

Try these other finesse fishing tricks:

* Shakey head straight tail worm

* Weightless senko

* Texas rigged straight tail worm in clear water

* shakey head imitation craw....try a Creme Same Thing craw in your craw forage color

* Texas rigged imitation craw....same as above

 

If you have stained water, you may want to use a brighter color like a blue or red; however, even the black or green pumpkin works. You will want a good sensitive rod to feel everything if you Texas rig the worms or craws because you will want to try a dragging presentation as well to get the bass' attention. Also, in stained water you will want to use a garlic scent attractant. This will ensure you are enticing all the bass' senses instead of just sight and feel. Let me know if you catch that big one!

[der Fischer]

On 4/27/2013 at 0:13 AM, BassMan85 said:

Okay, so I didn't realize that you didn't have a lot of cover to use; however, you still have the structure of the lake. Since  you only use spinning gear, there are alot of great options for catching that big bass again and it's called finesse fishing.

 

I caught a 4 lb bass on a Zoom trick worm in Green Pumpkin on a 3/16 oz shakey head rig. These are 6 inch straight tail worms that worm really good for finnicky bass. I have a baitcaster and I still use my spinning gear more than my baitcaster simply because a lot of my fishing is finesse style and Ive caught the biggest bass that way.

 

Also, sometimes it's good to go with an 8-10 inch worm because bigger baits mean bigger bass. Sometimes even the small bass will eat the bigger worms more than the smaller ones. All depends on their metabolism at the time and the season.

 

Try these other finesse fishing tricks:

* Shakey head straight tail worm

* Weightless senko

* Texas rigged straight tail worm in clear water

* shakey head imitation craw....try a Creme Same Thing craw in your craw forage color

* Texas rigged imitation craw....same as above

 

If you have stained water, you may want to use a brighter color like a blue or red; however, even the black or green pumpkin works. You will want a good sensitive rod to feel everything if you Texas rig the worms or craws because you will want to try a dragging presentation as well to get the bass' attention. Also, in stained water you will want to use a garlic scent attractant. This will ensure you are enticing all the bass' senses instead of just sight and feel. Let me know if you catch that big one!

 

Thanks for all the tips!  Yeah, there is no cover except for weed beds, on the opposite side of the lake, and I can't access those areas on the other side because I don't have a boat, hehe. 

 

The side of the lake I'm on, there is some weed beds, but there's so much pressure.  There's also the docks at the marina, but again, lots of pressure.  So this is why I fish the not-so-great points that I do.

 

When I see videos, and the experts are talking about "punching grass", I'll think to myself, "well, can't do that here" lol.

 

I know what you mean about small fish going for big worms.  I was using a 4.5" roboworm last summer, and caught a 5.5" or 6" bass.  They were almost the same length; worm and fish lol.

 

This past week, I found out about Megastrike.  I'm definitely going to be getting one or the other, or both.

 

I've looked at them as "cheating", but that was last summer/fall, when I thought I'd be catching more fish by now.  At this point, I'll do whatever I can with baits to attract more fish.

 

Thanks again, and I hope to post a picture of monster one day!

[der Fischer]

Also, I've been using a foot long leader when fishing these rocky structured points.  Do you think I should increase the length to 1.5' or 2', or longer?  Maybe the fish will see the bait a little better, since it'll be floating a little higher above the rocks/boulders?

 

Last year, I always kept the leader length, at the shortest, 1.5',  For some reason, went shorter this past month.  Maybe it's because I had a thought that since they're spawning, I should go shorter.  Don't know why, since I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to fishing during the spawn.