My Urban Pond Delima Yesterday....!?

[LApanic]

So, I went to a friends neighborhood's 5-6 acre pond yesterday....Here's a little info about it.  It was cleaned out, enlarged and stocked about 3-4 years ago with tiger bass.  You can bank fish all the way around the lake, which I do out there.  It has sparse vegetation around the banks in 2-4ft of water and it drops, gradually, all most all the way around the pond to 15-20ft. I've caught 1-2# fish all day last summer up until late October or so, and haven't been back out there.  So...we went 2 Sundays ago to the only point with a shallow bar and caught 15 or so 2-3# fish chunking and winding an XR50-Rayburn Red & Spinnerbait, they were on fire on this bar!

 

So.....I go out there yesterday hoping to do the same or see some bedding fish, etc.  The pond was super clear, and right of the bat saw nice fish, some singles some in schools, roaming every bank in 2-3ft.  Even saw a couple 3-5 lbers, but didn't catch a single fish all day!!!

 

WTH is up???

 

My approach with the high sun a warm weather was to stay a good piece of the bank and fan cast a rattling bait, spinnerbait, jerk bait, etc.  After seeing literally a hundred fish roaming the banks, I spent three hours out there with not the first bite.  Again I threw a rattling bait(copper red-eye shad, rayburn red xr50, spinnerbait, jerk bait, chatter bait, square bill, t-rigged worm, dropshot...but nothing!!

 

Can someone help explain WTH was going on, what I might have been doing totally wrong, etc.  I lost sleepover it!

[Jar11591]

I hate when that happens. Makes me question everything from my lure choice to maybe my scent is somehow spooking them. It feels like I am doing something to turn them off. But when fish aren't biting at all, I usually downsize my lure. I'll switch from a 5" senko to a 4" one, or use a really tiny crank or jerkbait, just to entice a bite from anything. If nothing is hitting the tiny stuff then you know the bite is off.

[LApanic]

I hate when that happens. Makes me question everything from my lure choice to maybe my scent is somehow spooking them. It feels like I am doing something to turn them off. But when fish aren't biting at all, I usually downsize my lure. I'll switch from a 5" senko to a 4" one, or use a really tiny crank or jerkbait, just to entice a bite from anything. If nothing is hitting the tiny stuff then you know the bite is off.

I had so much crap running through my head yesterday and still do!  I tried finnese t-rigand dropshot (didn't try a weightless senko, but should have)   The would not move an inch at anything even being 1-2ft in front of their face.  I think they saw me and it was over then, but again...i'd back way off too.  a good bit of the bass were locked into one spot or area, but not beds.  I saw 2 beds with nothing on them, but fry near the bank with small males "watching"......

[Jar11591]

Was there a recent temperature/weather change? Even a change in wind direction or speed can turn the bite off. Another thing you might want to try is trolling with tiny cranks to see if you can locate fish who are actually feeding. When you get a strike, post up and drop a small senko or dropshot rig. It could be possible as well that because the bright sun/clear water and the sparse cover that they were inactive.

[LApanic]

Was there a recent temperature/weather change? Even a change in wind direction or speed can turn the bite off. Another thing you might want to try is trolling with tiny cranks to see if you can locate fish who are actually feeding. When you get a strike, post up and drop a small senko or dropshot rig. It could be possible as well that because the bright sun/clear water and the sparse cover that they were inactive.

It has been on a warming trend high 60,low 70s in the afternoon for the last 2-3 days, wind was calm to 0-5mph on occasion.  Im just gonna chalk it up to your last sentence

[gripnrip]

Sometimes it's tough catching roaming bass.  They are in their own worlds during this time.  I went Thursday to a watershed pond in town.  I've caught bass every time I've went.  It was my first skunk.  The only thing I regret is that I didn't try a jerkbait.  I didn't have the setup for the proper presentation but I still could've tried.  

 

I always think of things after the fact!

[camovan]

My go to bait in that  situation is a buzzbait.  It seems to annoy them into biting.  I've thrown it 20x at the same fish and eventually they just can't take it anymore.  The other one is a Fat Ika, I will basically rip it as soon as it hits the water so it creates a big entry noise (like skipping backwards) and kill it.  I use these presentations when the fish fail to bite a smaller bait and they are not spooky.  Kinda snaps them out of the zone and makes them reaction strike.  Sometimes even that fails though and they are just not catchable.  Prespawn though, you should be able to snap them out of it by making some noise on the water surface.

[Dead River]

if they really are f1 tiger bass they should be aggressive. I wouldn't have them if I owned  pond unless it was female only because of outbreeding depression in their offspring

[Grizzn N Bassin]

X2 on throwing something to get then irritated. Buzz bait id,go small like,a 1/4 oz

[Wbeadlescomb]

I can tell you how to catch them but you may not like it. We used to be members of some ponds that had f-1's stocked. Some days they would just shut down after the first hour or two of daylight. The trick was to catch several bream slightly smaller than your hand keep them alive in a cooler take a pear shaped cork about the size of an extra large egg and about 3 foot down the line put a 5/0 circle hook thru the breams back and toss him out. May not be the way you want to catch them but sometimes you've got to do what it takes. We caught 12 over 6lbs one day doing this.

Heck come to think of it that bass from japan that tied the world record was caught like that.

[buckeye_bass66]

When in doubt, jig your way out

[boostr]

I can tell you how to catch them but you may not like it. We used to be members of some ponds that had f-1's stocked. Some days they would just shut down after the first hour or two of daylight. The trick was to catch several bream slightly smaller than your hand keep them alive in a cooler take a pear shaped cork about the size of an extra large egg and about 3 foot down the line put a 5/0 circle hook thru the breams back and toss him out. May not be the way you want to catch them but sometimes you've got to do what it takes. We caught 12 over 6lbs one day doing this.

Heck come to think of it that bass from japan that tied the world record was caught like that.

 

There is nothing wrong with that, Its what saltwater fishermen do.  I'ts called chumming.

[Jay Ell Gee]

There is nothing wrong with that, Its what saltwater fishermen do. I'ts called chumming.

You may want to do a little research on the term "chumming."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming

Regardless, live bait fishing is effective. I have been know to do it when inshore fishing if my artificials are getting outfished.

Shooting the OP a Pm

[boostr]

Never mind, I know what chumming is.  You meant using live bait. I was totaly thinking something else.

[Wbeadlescomb]

Never mind, I know what chumming is.  You meant using live bait. I was totaly thinking something else.

Yeah basically fishing like you would In the salt. Carolina rig or free lining work also. Biggest thing is letting the bass run with it long to get the bream in his mouth a good 10 count is what I do

[aharris]

If more than one bass are roaming together, you should be able to catch one of them. Try a weightless senko wacky rigged. That's usually my go to bait if I see them roaming around.

[Scott F]

What are tiger bass?

[Wbeadlescomb]

What are tiger bass?

They are still largemouth. Somehow they cross breed northern and Florida largemouth to get a faster growing more aggressive fish somehow

[CayMar]

Tiger Bass? I would love to check it out with you some time Panic.

[LApanic]

Tiger Bass? I would love to check it out with you some time Panic.

Yep, we'll have to go hunt some tigers sometime!

[coak]

I hate days like that.....usually use a buzz bait even in blue bird skies, as long as I can make Long casts. If you can see the fish, they too can see you---especially if the sun is over your shoulder casting a shadow on the water.

[bankbassassin]

Had a few hours like this today at the first 2 ponds I stopped at. Must have seen 8-9 beds and 15 or so fish around them, threw the whole tackle box at me and not a bite. It's been "cold" in Tampa the last few days, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

[roadwarrior]

Maybe this will help:  http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

[RipSomeLips]

Most bass throughout the central us are a hybrid of Florida and northern strained bass. Y