Large Mouth Quit Biting

[The_fisherman]

Hi. I'm international student in NC. I do bank fishing. Usually, I don't have problems catching fish but for last two or three weeks I can't catch anything. Not even a single bite. Not even pan fish, bowfin, or anything else. I use junebug, watermelons /red flake lizards, smoky shad fluke, red/yellow spinnerbaits, white buzzbait. Nothing works. Same baits I used earlier with no problem. But I can see a longnose gar activity out on the pond. The water is between murky/greenish/muddy. I don't know the depth but it is not deep at all. May be up to 10 feet, which I doubt. What is the cause of the luck of biting fish? How to manage that? Thanks.

[RoLo]

Welcome to the forum,

 

It could be that the bass have shifted to a summer pattern,

which may be less accessible from your shore position.

 

Roger

[Catch and Grease]

It could be a bunch of different things... Is the water always a bit muddy? If you just had a bit of rain that caused the water to get more muddy than normal the bass could be holding really close to cover... Like nose touching the tree close haha at least that's what it seems like around here

Oh and if your actually targeting the bowfin they may be chasing little critters shallow, like really shallow, like 3 feet or less shallow

[The_fisherman]

Thanks guys. The water is always murky (more or less). How to adjust for the summer pattern for bass?

[Catch and Grease]

http://www.bassresource.com/content/search?SearchText=summer+bass+fishing&SearchButton=Search

Here this will get you started

But like mentioned above summer isn't the ideal time for bank fisherman, but there will always be some bass catchable from the bank

[The_fisherman]

... but there will always be some bass catchable from the bank.

I hope so

[RoLo]

Before wetting a line, you might want to walk the shoreline in search

of the healthiest and deepest weed-beds within reach of shore.

The outer weed-line is the most important, but it's usually out-of-reach of the shorebound angler.

However, the outer weed-line can sometimes be reached from an outer point

in a bay or cove. It may also be accessible where the weed-line swings inshore

to form an open lane, or where there's a ditch or tributary stream.

 

Roger

[The_fisherman]

...you might want to walk the shoreline in search

of the healthiest and deepest weed-beds within reach of shore.

and this is a problem because there is no weed nor near the shore neither somwhere also. Occasionlly I can find some underwater weeds ( not a lot). What we do have here are trees, stumps and  a bunch of small islands. I did fish all the trees but as I said earlier, last two - three weeks no bites. The only fish I cought was a single bowfin. BTW, could those gars spook the bass?

[RoLo]

Stumps, blow-downs & brush all serve as excellent bass cover, especially in the absence of weed-beds.

 

 

"BTW, could those gars spook the bass?"

Well, large alligator gar are known to eat bass, but not the run-of-the-mill gar.

Those skinny, snake-like gar are likely fearful of bass (or should be).

 

Roger

[nascar2428]

As a bank angler, I only fish in the early AM(5-9) or early evening(8-11) in the summer. Of course if there is cloud cover those times can be adjusted. 

[PersicoTrotaVA]

Welcome to the dog days of summer in NC.  Its hot, its humid and fish are lethargic as can be.  Use big slow moving baits and fish deeper water ledges and structure.

[The_fisherman]

Will any other fish bite during these dog days or it doesn't make any sense to fish during the summer?

[Catt]

One word "NIGHT" 

[The_fisherman]

It seems to be the only solution. Thanks to everyone.

P.s. I almost believed I'm a bad fisherman

[EmersonFish]

Summer bank fishing can be tough, particularly during the day. Ideally you'd fish early and late; but if you are like me, you realize, the best time to fish is "whenever you can." Some times, that will be with the sun straight up in the sky. If you are out there at those times, don't expect to be able to catch them like you did in the Spring, or will in the Fall, or even like you will in the morning or evening.

 

On hot days, I try and fish tight to cover, the thicker and shadier the better. Places that look like a cool area to rest. And I fish theses areas SLOWLY. Try a shaky head on the outside edges. Maybe pitch a jig that's less likely to get hung up into the thicker stuff. Let it fall and twitch it. If you have to work harder to get to certain spots to fish them, it's probably a better place to fish and worth it.

 

If you can locate some weeds or structure in the deeper water you can reach from the bank, fish that as well. If there is some current or water moving into the area from a creek or even a drain, pay attention to those areas. If there are steeper areas, where fish can move to deeper water without moving far, try those areas. Concentrate on these areas in the daytime. Don't waste time in open water.

 

Morning and evening time, there are a lot more options for you

[The_fisherman]

Last time I was fishing I used junebug trick worm on carolina rig. I worked it so slow that almost fell a sleep and still didn't get a single bite.

EmersonFish, what trailer do you use for your shaky head?

[CDobber]

Many on here won't agree, but if I get in a funk from shore of not catching anything, I'll take some good ol' fashioned nightcrawlers and use them on my drop shot rig.  Catching fish is better than not catching fish.....even that wasn't working the other day, and I suspect the time of day and clarity of water has the bass very cautious and lethargic.  It was overcast today and went to the exact same spot I was yesterday in bright sunshine and caught 4 bass in less than an hour, a couple with crawlers and a couple with senkos nose hooked, all on my dropshot rig.  It was a good learning experience for me, really concentrating on the bite and using more of a sweeping hookset versus a more violent pull up to 12 o'clock hookset.  I was setting the hook a bit sooner today as well, all valuable lessons and also helps the confidence when the bite at this particular quarry has been non-existent for a few weeks for myself and most others I've talked to on the banks.

[EmersonFish]

Last time I was fishing I used junebug trick worm on carolina rig. I worked it so slow that almost fell a sleep and still didn't get a single bite.

EmersonFish, what trailer do you use for your shaky head?

I keep it simple. Typically I'll use Zoom Shaky Head Worms, Finesse Worms, or Trick Worms. I also like to use crawdad baits with a thin profile that stand up well.

[rchiuz]

I am a bank fisher too. Since summer started I have been dry. At least I know that I am not the only one.

[The_fisherman]

I am a bank fisher too. Since summer started I have been dry. At least I know that I am not the only one.

I caught a small bass few days ago. But it is the first one within probably 5 weeks.

[boostr]

If you have frogs try to hit the Lily pads and weed mats. Bass will be in there staying out of the Sun.

[ZRT-42]

Same here, the bites gone dry from my bank fishing spot where before I'd catch seven or eight bass in an hour and now nothing. I've thrown everything I have in my tackle box and on several occasions almost my tackle box and rods lol

[boostr]

You don't have any access to ponds or lakes with any kind of matted weeds or Lily pads? If you do use a top water frog. That's what gets me thru these dog days of summer. I don't catch allot, but I'm catching some nice ones.

[The_fisherman]

You don't have any access to ponds or lakes with any kind of matted weeds or Lily pads?

We don't have any vegetation on the surface. We have a lot of underwater trees and stumps, but I didn't have any luck with it.

[FrogFreak]

How about a Kayak or a float tube? You can get into a pretty good float tube for around $100-$200 and a Kayak can be had for $200 and on up.