Tons of Bass in this lake, no bites though in a YEAR!!!

[Keith.Bass03]

There is this lake Ive fished for a while, good lake. Tons of bass, huge ones. They give you this big adrenaline rush because they will just hit the surface all the time, no longer than 5 mins per hit. Sometimes three in a matter of seconds. They're huge too, sounds like a human jumping in. My problem is, they don't bite nothing.....Its so confusing, i have tried almost everything. Live bait such as minnows which i tried all different sized minnows. Nightcrawlers. Lures such as topwater baits(jointed minnows, original floating rapala, poppers, walking, jitterbugs, frogs, etc, Soft plastics, deep lures.....Ive tried a lot of things. I go every weekend, I bank fish in this cove. Warm water, never cold, pretty clear lake that is pretty big.It is a power plant lake. I see a lot of baitfish,  schools of little baitfish. I just dont know whats going on. People say there aint no bass in there but there wrong. they just dont take the time to realize the opportunity to see this lake has rewarding fish in it. Most places i would not go back, but there is something about this place that makes me go back every single weekend. What do yall think???

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

When considering the information you've provided - I'm inclined to believe that these fish you see may not actually be bass.

Some supplemental info could help . . . Where (state) is this lake ?    What do you think the bass there are eating ? 

Are there other game fish in the lake & have you caught them ?

Have you seen bass spawning in the shallows ?  

A-Jay

[S. Sass]

1 hour ago, Keith.Bass03 said:

Tons of bass, huge ones.

OK well we know they eat or they never would have made it to huge or to the number "tons". So all that is left is the same exact same thing every guy has to do. 

1. Find the fish
2. Find the correct bait
3. Offer/present the bait in the correct manner
4. Know what a strike feels like
5. Set the hook 

Get these simple steps right and you will catch them. They are eating something or they wouldn't be "huge" nor would there be "tons" of them. Power plant lakes are usually decent fishing from my experience. 

 

 

[curtis9]

Sounds like you may be seeing grass carp hitting the surface

[scaleface]

Bass dont flop . Carp flop .

[MassYak85]

Sounds more like carp behavior to me. They do get your heart pumping until you realize what they are. 

[wnspain]

yep, sounds like carp to me. If legal in your state, take some corn and thread a few kernels on a 1/O. if the carp are that plentiful, won't take long. Can be fun but then you have to tell all the members here the story... 

[Keith.Bass03]

I never said the flopped. I know what a carp is, I fish for them too. Its definitely bass, I just know, and when i mean huge i dont mean 12 15 pound bass, but very good sized ones. Why no bites on live bait? doesnt make sense either

[Onvacation]

Carp behavior. You haven't caught a bass there in a year. People say there are no bass in the lake.  Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with the folks saying that you might be mistaking carp for bass.  I fish a lake that has both and when the carp are swimming in the shallows, it is sometimes tough to tell them apart from what would be an awesome bass.  

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, Keith.Bass03 said:

I never said the flopped. I know what a carp is, I fish for them too. Its definitely bass, I just know, and when i mean huge i dont mean 12 15 pound bass, but very good sized ones. Why no bites on live bait? doesnt make sense either

 

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Some supplemental info could help . . . Where (state) is this lake ?    What do you think the bass there are eating ? 

Are there other game fish in the lake & have you caught them ?

Have you seen bass spawning in the shallows ?  

A-Jay

^^^^^^^

Anything here ?

A-Jay

[WRB]

Carp have forked tails, bass don't.

LMB have a distinct dark lateral line that is easy to see when they are swimming by you, carp don't.

It's possible to fish a year without catching any bass. Try fishing at night with a T-rigged  black blue 7" or 10" ribbon tail Power worm and at dusk try your jitterbug.

Try a split shot rigged tail hooked large 8" night crawler, bass can't resist a large live tail hooked night crawler.

If none of that works, you are seeing carp, not bass.

Tom

[Fish the Mitt]

2 hours ago, Keith.Bass03 said:

I never said the flopped. I know what a carp is, I fish for them too. Its definitely bass, I just know, and when i mean huge i dont mean 12 15 pound bass, but very good sized ones. Why no bites on live bait? doesnt make sense either

I'm confused. You seem so sure but have nothing to base it on.

At this point, can you tell us what body of water this is? Perhaps that might help clear things up. 

[Fish4bigfish]

How many hours have you fished this body of water without a catch?

[scaleface]

Hello Keith , no one is tyrying to be disrespectful . The way you describe it in the opening post     "  Tons of bass, huge ones. They give you this big adrenaline rush because they will just hit the surface all the time, no longer than 5 mins per hit. Sometimes three in a matter of seconds. They're huge too, sounds like a human jumping in. "  it just doesnt sound like bass behavior .  They might be , were just slightly skeptical .

[wnspain]

if I had thrown every thing in the book and still hadn't caught a bass in a year, I'd be hunting another place to fish.  I can say that for a fact!!

[Jar11591]

These are carp, not bass. Does get the adrenaline going though to have a huge fish bust the surface close by, carp or not.

[B1gD4ddy]

Jar11519 you are so right, a fish exploding out of the water give you the feeling like you only get fishing..  

Keith I feel your pain I have been getting skunked these past few weeks no matter what I throw,  the bass have been feeding on the surface so I work top water or shallow cranks to try and draw a strike but have been getting nothing...  when they are not feeding on the top I have been trying deep cranks Trigging  senkos fishing grubs and nothing but it's part of the fun trying to get the bite... wish I would hurry up and figure it out though...

I've been watching all kinds of videos but the problem I think is the guys I'm watching are all fishing from Texas and Ontario water is a lot different then the water in texas similarities obviously they are bass

[Master Bait'r]

If I went a year without a bite I think I'd jump in after them with a broken bottle and a heart full or rage haha

[everythingthatswims]

When I find bass doing that, I use a carolina rig with corn. Gets them every time!

[Fishinthefish]

That definitely sounds like carp behavior and if they're doing it in the shallows it's probably the spawn behavior you're talkint about. A sentiment I agree with that I once read on here, you can walk up and kick a spawning carp easier than you can get it to bite a lure.

[Red Bear]

39 minutes ago, Fishinthefish said:

That definitely sounds like carp behavior and if they're doing it in the shallows it's probably the spawn behavior you're talkint about. A sentiment I agree with that I once read on here, you can walk up and kick a spawning carp easier than you can get it to bite a lure.

I finally witnessed this spawning carp thing for the first time this year when at Smith Mountain Lake, they were rolling everywhere in large groups and typically close to the bank. though i did see some rolling in really deep water in front of a dam. my only regret was not throwing out a weighted treble hook and snagging a couple to use for cutbait for catfishing the nights i was there, and freezing the rest for later use...

[Ratherbfishing]

Carp.