Am I Just Screwed Trying To Bank Fish This Time Of Year?

[toddwchandler]

I have been visiting my parents a fair amount recently and they live very close to Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA.  This past weekend, I spent some time fishing from a public park, both evening and morning and absolutely got skunked.  Not even a bite.  My jon boat stays at the lake behind my house (not Lake Lanier) so I am relegated to bank fishing when I am up around their place.  Due to some life circumstances, I am going to be spending quite a bit more time at their house.

 

I read a local fishing report this weekend that indicated that the bass were suspending in 20-25 feet of water.  My fear is that I can't get out to those depths from the banks of these local parks that I have access to.  There are some areas with some very good cover that I can access, but I am just not getting bit around there.  I have thrown topwater, Senkos, Zoom Trick worms, and even tried dropshotting and spinnerbaits with no luck.

 

Am I simply wasting my time trying to bank fish in this area this time of year given the fishing report?  I love to fish, but man, it sucks to get skunked every time you go out.

[Catt]

Not all bass are doing the same thing @ the same time.

There are bass shallow, the are bass deep, there are bass every where in between.

[gallowaypt]

Keep trying! I bank fish exclusively down here in Tx, so believe me I feel your pain. This time of year, after multiple skunkings, ill head to a creek instead of the usual lakes or ponds. Creek fish aren't usually as lethargic as pond bass during these extreme temps in my experience. It probably had to do with the running water supplying constant O2.

[AK-Jax86]

Southern fish are stubborn during August. I think that the water temp has an affect. I think it gets too hot for the fish so they stick to deeper water. Then at night te water temp doesn't change much which will keep the fish deeper instead of on the bank. This hot weather are makin the bass lethargic which makes it worse when you get skunked in 95 degree weather

[CDobber]

I am getting skunked up here in the north as well, with varying presentations/baits/times of the day, and we have been sitting at 75 degrees most days and mid 50's at night.  Went to 2 different spots yesterday, full of appealing looking structure and such, and didn't even see a bait fish...and I've been told the 1st location normally holds bass.  2nd point was a breakwall into a lake that I'd never fished before nor read reports about.  Gotta keep plugging away and trying different or new things.

[superdak01]

I have been fishing beside and under a very small bridge that goes over a branch off the TN river in chattanooga tn, and last week i caught at least 1 bass everyday, Today i went out, nothing at all, no bites, nothing. There were storms coming in so the wind was up and water was moving fast. It seems that weather, not so much temp,  has more of an effect on them than i thought. Hope this helps.

[coryn h. fishowl]

worst day fishing >best day at office. That being said focus your efforts away from clear water (the bass will be deep) and rocky areas (absorbs more heat) and focus on murky/stained water. The murkier it is the shallower they will be, because because due to the dark coloration of the water, the first foot or so takes the brunt of the heat bearing radiation. Target weedbeds, they will posess cooler, more oxygenated water with premum cover, especially those with tree stumps in them. Those on points and near ledges are superior at this time of year. Start any trip by working jerbaits at ledges past weedbeds and their sides for those active bass most easily found during early morning /late afternoon hours and on days with low barometric pressure. Tick crankbait over the tops of weeds, (preferably a squarebill, they snag less) burn a spinnerbait over them, and (if it is early, late, at the edges/pockets of lilypads, or overcast) work topwater baits over the tops of them. Absentia any success in targeting active bass would likely mean resorting to t rigged worms, and tubes dragged and jigged through them, (preferable bright or dark colors which are more visible, and with paddletail worms/crawfish tubes which send out more vibration) t rigged jerbaits, or better yet t riggid paddletails (again, more vibration) worked over the tops of weeds, and ripping lipless cranks and reeling spinnerbait through weeds for a reaction bite. Such shoud be enough to elicit a response from all but the most lockjawed bass. Again if any weedbed posses stumps, make it an absolute priority to bang crankbaits off of stumps for a reaction bite, this often is quite successful in murky water. Good luck and tight lines

[coryn h. fishowl]

btw you can check forecast a barometric pressure (current, history, and trend) at wunderground.

[JTMONEY606]

its been rough here some too in ky and thats all i do is bank fish, i hooked a 4 pounder the other day in the river on a strike king smokey shad dinger. there not biting like they did 3 weeks ago but im starting too notice some are deep some are shallow. im not seeing as many shallow and i can see the bottom at most spots i fish its like 4 foot if that. i cant get them too touch a spinnerbait or crank its like they dont want chase down anything you have put it right on them and make them finally grab it. good luck stick with it.

[MoeC]

I am a bank fisher too and during the dog-days of summer I was getting to the lake a couple hours before sunup and fishing top water. I got some nice fish and my buddy caught two 4+ in the shallows. Once the sun came up the banks shut down.

[toddwchandler]

Tried again tonight and finally at least got a top water strike on a buzz bait but missed the hook set.

[Bankbeater]

I have not had a good season either fishing off of the bank.  It seems like the only place to catch them is down in the creek channels from a boat, and the topwater bite stops as soon as it gets light enough to see.

[jtharris3]

This time of year is no problem. You might have to scout out your spots a little harder but there are fish to be caught. I got this guy and two others on a frog and one on a fluke yesterday afternoon just before a storm rolled in.

 

[DogBone_384]

It's mid August, and here in the Northeast I've never caught many Bass, perhaps it's the heat or they're on vacation before school starts.

If you don't have a boat, you're kind of stuck on shore.  

 

If you enjoy fishing, just go.  I'm sure most members would agree that even a slow day at the pond/lake is better than a day at work…..