I Keep Getting Skunked! What Am I Doing Wrong?

[Tugmaster]

The local lake I fish was very good to me during the late spring. 8-10 bass. Mostly all caught on a Zoom trick worm or Rapala Jerk baits.The last two weeks I've gotten ZERO bass. I'm fishing from just before sun up till about 9am. Nothing. I've tried the shallows, deeper water but nothing. I'm stumped!! Any advice on lures or tactics would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Todd

[kikstand454]

Are you in a boat?

Topwaters should produce a fish or two in the early morning like that.....at least a bite or two.

Without knowing the size/ type of lake, wheather or not your fishing from shore, and how hot your water temp is......its hard to give specific advice.

Deep water, docks near deep water and matted vegetation is general summmer stuff.

[scaleface]

Its hard to say not knowing anything about the lake your fishing. Your going to get  replies about slowing down and finesse fishing .I find when the bite is tough slowing down and finesse fishing gives the bass an extended time to study the lure. If there is a rip rap dam one of my favorite techniques is to cast 1/4 ounce prerigged swimbaits like Storms , Berkeley  ... at different depths . Let it sink to bottom. Once contact is made , start your retrieve keeping it close to bottom. The lure will follow the natural slope from deep to shallow . You may have to stop retrieve and let it settle back down . This often will trigger  the fish to bite .

[Tugmaster]

I should have been more specific. It's a large natural lake. Water temps are in the low to mid 70's. I'm fishing from a kayak. Not a lot of Lilly pads. Max depth is 25 ft. There is a dam/ spillway with allot of riprap.

Thanks, Todd

[RoLo]

Every waterbody undergoes at least 6 seasonal transitions throughout the year.

Every change in season ushers in a change in angling strategies and tactics.

What worked last month may have no bearing on this month.

 

Roger

[Topwaterspook]

When things get tough, I go back to some basics; Sluggos and Senkos, weighted to suit the situations. I've recently started using paddletail soft baits with good success as well. When weighting such lures I have been using #14 solid, copper wire cut to the desired length to sink the baits with the correct fall rate. I also have been using Megastrike scents. Good luck.

[Senko lover]

Fishing a shakeyhead is like the best-producing, monst consistent technique ever. I highly recommend it . 

[the reel ess]

The lures you said gave you early success are the same ones I do the best with in spring. Right now, in the reservoir I usually fish, those are out and deeper lures are in-fish just aren't that shallow. T-rig and Rat-L-Traps are doing it. I get almost daily reports texted to me from a (single) friend who works 2nd shift and fishes almost every day. He has done best lately with the Trap and a crappie sized bubble gum color crankbait from BPS. He said he caught one over 6 yesterday on the Trap with the pic to prove it and had another break off one of his bubble gum cranks. My buddy never fishes a T-rig even when I catch fish on it right in front of him. Just hates it.

 

I like to use Zoom Speed Craw for the T-rigs with as 1/8 or 3/16 oz bullet weight-tungsten where I fish because it's very weedy. I use black/sapphire because the water's dingy here most of the time. But it has become my overall confidence color for craws. If this works, so will the jig, but I'm less confident with that.

 

I painted two of my smallest cranks with hot pink fingernail polish, but they haven't worked as well as my bud's. Maybe because they smell like the paint. LOL

[WRB]

Keep things really simple, the bass eat and rest. You can catch them when they eating or active and it's very difficult to catch them when they are resting or inactive.

Natural lake with a dam is a contradiction, do you mean it was at one time a natural lake made larger by adding a dam? The reason I ask is natural lakes rarely have any man made structure with the exception of erosion protected areas along the shoreline, homes, etc. the bait fish in natural lakes are usually shore bound types of fish, unless this is a very large lake, several miles long.

If this lake has islands, it may have underwater islands or humps, both good places to try, less fishing pressure.

If the lake doesn't have shad or herring, stick to the color lures that are similar to the prey colors, darker greens, browns or black-blue combo's. If the lake has silvery color bait fish, like Shad or herring then use Shad colors.

Try fishing during different time periods, including nights.

Tom

[Catt]

Switch to evenings

[Shanes7614]

Keep things really simple, the bass eat and rest. You can catch them when they eating or active and it's very difficult to catch them when they are resting or inactive.

Natural lake with a dam is a contradiction, do you mean it was at one time a natural lake made larger by adding a dam? The reason I ask is natural lakes rarely have any man made structure with the exception of erosion protected areas along the shoreline, homes, etc. the bait fish in natural lakes are usually shore bound types of fish, unless this is a very large lake, several miles long.

If this lake has islands, it may have underwater islands or humps, both good places to try, less fishing pressure.

If the lake doesn't have shad or herring, stick to the color lures that are similar to the prey colors, darker greens, browns or black-blue combo's. If the lake has silvery color bait fish, like Shad or herring then use Shad colors.

Try fishing during different time periods, including nights.

Tom

Does this include dams they make in natural rivers to divert water into some kind of power plant used for cooling as well?

[Ozark_Basser]

I had the same problem myself on a particular pond this year. I was killing them in the spring with anything texas rigged when the pads and algae weren't as thick. As the pads and algae got a little thicker around post spawn, the frog couldn't be beat for about two weeks, then the bite absolutely shut down. I'd catch a dink here and there, but nothing over three pounds, and nothing like the toads I was catching in the spring.

After a couple more weeks the pads and algae became very thick making it even more difficult to fish. I could still see some big swirls every now and then up shallow, even in the middle of the day, so I figured the shallow bite could still be there, but I just hadn't figured them out. I tried punching the pads with a 1 oz t rig but pulled up too much grass, algae, etc.

The thought of fishing pressure definitely popped in my head due to the fact I had been hammering this pond every weekend and sometimes during the week since early March, and the thought that maybe I had already caught all of the big ones considering I've caught two different four pounders twice from the same general area, a couple ~6 lbers, and a 24" long 15" girth toad all in a 5 acre pond. But I still think there is a bigger one.

I decided night fishing might be the ticket, which it might be, but I've only went once and caught a 15" smallmouth, weird. Also, this pond is the home of a cottonmouth with the head the size of a tennis ball, which I came within about three feet of, so night fishing is on the back burner, so to speak.

I took the canoe out to probe the outer pad field edge only to find grass so thick you couldn't pull a bait through it without pulling up a pound or so of wet grass, so i gave up on that fairly quickly. There probably is some bigger fish out there though I would guess.

Then I decided to try weightless plastics. I tied on a paca punch with a 4/0 hook and fished it in every hole I could find in the pads. The bite finally started to pick up. Lots of smaller ones and a big one that broke me off at the knot with a 16# fluoro leader. Probably user error, but at least I'm onto something haha.

[WRB]

Does this include dams they make in natural rivers to divert water into some kind of power plant used for cooling as well?

Did he say river or lake! Try adding something positive instead being a negative critic.

Tom

[Shanes7614]

So can't the same type of structure be built on the side of an existing lake? I think yes.

[Fin Stalker]

Like Catt and Tom said move to or try to find areas that get less pressure and fish at night. I would set up my next trip to where I hit the water about an hr before sundown and fish for about 6 hrs. just to give yourself time to get some fishing done. Think Top, Middle and Bottom. I like to start at the top of the water column and work my way down but if it has been exceptionally hot I will work in reverse (sometimes fish treat hot weather just like the cold it's about extremes). Use proven search baits like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, toads (not frogs) and bladed jigs to see if you can get some bites. I'm not trying to contradict myself but fish low and slow too using large profile baits might draw some strikes. I'm pretty new to this forum but I'm sure if you searched for tips for newbee bass anglers you can get a ton of info on particular baits and places to start fishing that may come in really handy.

[Tugmaster]

Thanks for all the great inputs!!! FWIW, the lake is a natural lake with a manmade dam to maintain the water level. I think the next time out I will try some shakey head rigs and maybe some dropshot rigs too.

I will be fucusing on the drop offs. I do have a fishfinder which should help me find the transitions from shallow to deep.

Thanks again, Todd

[Raul]

The local lake I fish was very good to me during the late spring. 8-10 bass. Mostly all caught on a Zoom trick worm or Rapala Jerk baits.The last two weeks I've gotten ZERO bass. I'm fishing from just before sun up till about 9am. Nothing. I've tried the shallows, deeper water but nothing. I'm stumped!! Any advice on lures or tactics would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Todd

 

Bass haven´t checked in yet pal, 9-5 job, maybe by 9.30 they´ll be at their workstation.