I can't find fish

[KellyDurhamBass]

I'm having some trouble finding fish in the small lakes in my area. These lakes range 30-150 acres. I've fished rocky points with various deep divers, shake heads, and jigs. I've also flipped into grass and flooded bushes. Nothing is really producing any quantity or quality fish. Anybody got any tips?

[papajoe222]

Have you tried fishing at night?   

The other presentations I'd recommend are drop shotting small plastics, dead sticking a shakey head with a floating plastic and burning either a lipless crank or spinnerbait with smaller willow blades (I use a RocketShad). 

My most productive presentation for daytime summer fishing is dead sticking a tube on a drop shot. 

 

 

[CNYBassin]

It's going to be slow in the summer. I would recommend trying out some night fishing. My best luck so far this summer has come on spinnerbaits, swim baits and a drop shot. I've gotten most of my fish on a regular old 3/8oz white spinnerbait that I make up myself, using a single colorado blade(size 5). Usually go out from 6:00pm till pitch black on my local small bodies of water. The fish get really active after dark. 

[BassB8Caster]

Lets eliminate the obvious first: are you sure there are fish you are targeting in there (your post hints at it but doesnt state directly you have caught some before). Second, i as well have challenges during the day. What i really notice (especially this time of year) is as it starts getting dark and early in the mornings (probably over night as well), you can find the fish shallow and in the grass/weeds. I was out last night and only found them in the junk. As dark was setting, they were really becoming active and aggressive. My game plan of finding them deeper (12-20 feet) earlier went eventless. But as it was getting dark i hit the shoreline and found them. 

Bodies of water that small (those are the sizes i fish 95% of the time) should produce something if you are putting in the effort. Are you bank fishing? Kayak? Canoe? Are you being loud alerting them of your presence? Try slowing down your retrieve...then slow down some more. 

Unless the pressure is high, small water fish should react well to soft plastics. Especially worms. Fish love them some worms! 

[blckshirt98]

If you're fishing from shore, bass in the dead center of a summertime heat wave is one of the toughest times to fish!  Take a short break for some mid-season maintenance/organization and wait for it to cool down a bit.

[iiTzChunky]

21 minutes ago, blckshirt98 said:

If you're fishing from shore, bass in the dead center of a summertime heat wave is one of the toughest times to fish!  Take a short break for some mid-season maintenance/organization and wait for it to cool down a bit.

I can vouch that it's hard in the summer months, but that doesn't stop me from going out every weekend. Even if 4 hours out only brings me 2 fish, I'm much happier doing that then sitting at home all day. 

[KellyDurhamBass]

9 hours ago, BassB8Caster said:

Lets eliminate the obvious first: are you sure there are fish you are targeting in there (your post hints at it but doesnt state directly you have caught some before). Second, i as well have challenges during the day. What i really notice (especially this time of year) is as it starts getting dark and early in the mornings (probably over night as well), you can find the fish shallow and in the grass/weeds. I was out last night and only found them in the junk. As dark was setting, they were really becoming active and aggressive. My game plan of finding them deeper (12-20 feet) earlier went eventless. But as it was getting dark i hit the shoreline and found them. 

Bodies of water that small (those are the sizes i fish 95% of the time) should produce something if you are putting in the effort. Are you bank fishing? Kayak? Canoe? Are you being loud alerting them of your presence? Try slowing down your retrieve...then slow down some more. 

Unless the pressure is high, small water fish should react well to soft plastics. Especially worms. Fish love them some worms! 

We went out today and caught them on little buzz baits and I caught about a 2 pounder on a 6xd on rip rap.

[Sam]

Bass do no usually leave their area of comfort.

However, there are bass that like to have a "milk run" and they can travel in a circle over a mile in diameter before returning to their original location.

When water temperatures increase the bass will go deep. They remain in the area but they are deeper.

You are on the right track with your bait selection so fish deeper with plastics or a deep diving crankbait. A Carolina rig or even a shaky head thrown as far out from the bank as you can cast will be more productive then fishing the bank. Wacky rigged Senkos can be productive.

The secret is to fish as far out as you can from the bank to try to get your bait into the cooler water.

Good luck.

[Todd2]

The only thing about fishing deep is your oxygen cutoff. The main lake I fish is stained and the thermocline sets up around 8-12 feet so fishing below that can decrease your odds. My understanding is lakes with a lot of flow act more like a river and a thermocline will never set up. Also, clearer water usually means a deeper thermocline.

But yeah, its slow here too. The State Creel survey guy stopped me earlier this week and confirmed what I already knew....fishing at night was the ticket.

[BassB8Caster]

I second the night fishing recommendation. The only times I'm interested in fishing now with the heat and humidity is early morning  (as early as possible to get out 3 to 5am) until around 1030 or 11. 1) my schedule limits me to less time on the water compared to 2 months ago and 2) I feel this block of time gives me the best odds of getting on the fish, and more of them (aside from night fishing, which probably has the highest odds). I also try to get out in evenings after work when possible.

Small ponds I fish in that get pretty warm (for maine at least) are still providing lively aggressive bass in shore (warmer water), just not during the day. 

[ClackerBuzz]

head to the grass, and slow down.  then slow down even more.