Help me! Can't catch anything and I want to know why!

[Casey Hatley]

I have been going  to a pond near my house after work around 6:30pm (sunset is at 8:07pm).  I live in Olive branch Mississippi.  The temperature is in the high 80s to mid 90s.  The water is a stained green with maybe a foot of transparency (Maybe less) but it doesn't seem muddy.  I do not have a boat  so I am forced to bank fish.  I measured as far out as I could and the water seemed to be about 3 1/2 feet deep. I'm almost positive it gets a lot deeper in the middle.  I've caught one fish (maybe a 1lb pound bass) on a Texas rigged senko worm (Black and blue specs).  That never worked again. Since, I've tried jigs (Black and blue, dark green/junebug/watermelon mix), chatterbait, rage blades (neon chartreuse) - all rigged with either craw or chunk trailers, crank baits, lipless crank baits, and swim baits (bright chartreuse). I'm new to the forum and I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. I figure the fish are out in the middle in the deepest water but I've also seen huge fish near the bank with my own eyes. Also every time I see a fish in the middle, it's a blow up in the middle. So if they are supposed to be deep during the heat, why are they striking at the top? I'm sure someone can clear this up. It's a loaded question and if it's not how you are supposed to do it, forgive me. Thank you for you help in advance.

[MasterBasser]

I'm new also but one thing I've been finding is that casting along the shore, not deep, is a help.  Try a wacky senko. 

[Casey Hatley]

7 minutes ago, MasterBasser said:

I'm new also but one thing I've been finding is that casting along the shore, not deep, is a help.  Try a wacky senko. 

I caught my biggest bass casting along the shore down a rock bed. I agree. But I've tried (at least I think) everything. This one single little pond out in the middle of no where is full of fish. I've seen TOADS with my own eyes. But I cannot get a single bite ever since I caught the first bass out of there. It's very confusing. Lol 

[geo g]

When things are really tough I would go with a 4" senko or stick-o in Junebug color because the water is dirty.  Fan cast parallel  from shore, out to deeper water, and only use a 1/32 bullet weight, so you get a slow fall.  Fish it slow with short jerks and long pauses.  They often hit it sitting still.  When nothing else works this usually draws bites.  Texas rig it so you don't get hung up, and you can throw it in vegetation.  If this doesn't work change locations.

[Bucky205]

Just curious what types of other fish, and bass forage are you seeing there?

[Koz]

I have a similar lagoon where I fish in SC. Once the weather heated up all of the fish we were catching within 20 feet of the bank disappeared. I could see some activity out further than a "normal" cast. Max depth in this lagoon is only 10 or 11 feet so it wasn't a deep hole. So I took out my Whopper Plopper 130 (Bone) and bombed some casts way out there and was able to get some strikes and bring them in. It wasn't as much as we were catching earlier in the year, but it was something. The Plopper lands so hard that far out it may scare some bass as well.

 

Another thing we did was work our way around the lagoon again and we found a few pockets along shore where we previously had no luck. To the naked eye most of the cover around the lagoon looks the same, but my guess is that these areas offer a little more shade or are better oxygenated than the spots where they were in the spring.

 

Occasionally we also pull out the iBobber, not to look for fish but to map out any weed beds or drop offs. But it's range is limited and I'm too impatient out there. I'd rather fish than cast that thing around and then stare at my phone.

[Bankbeater]

I would be fishing in the morning before the sun gets up too high.  Let the water cool down overnight and see what happens.

[Casey Hatley]

3 hours ago, Bucky205 said:

Just curious what types of other fish, and bass forage are you seeing there?

No forage. I don't have access to anything other than two spots on the pond due to heavy vegetation. I fan casted from the point of the shore I can reach. Maybe the lake needs to be fished in a different spot and I just can't get there. 

[Bucky205]

27 minutes ago, Casey Hatley said:

No forage. I don't have access to anything other than two spots on the pond due to heavy vegetation. I fan casted from the point of the shore I can reach. Maybe the lake needs to be fished in a different spot and I just can't get there. 

The water is really warm right now.  The bass may be hanging in any deep spots, or shade available.  Casting a weightless wacky rig to the edge of the vegetation and twitching it a couple times down the outside edge of the vegetation will sometimes entice a bite.  Couple of questions.  How big is this pond?  How deep is it where you can get too?  Are you pretty sure those were bass you saw busting in the middle?  Can you run a frog across the vegetation?

[Casey Hatley]

1 hour ago, Bucky205 said:

The water is really warm right now.  The bass may be hanging in any deep spots, or shade available.  Casting a weightless wacky rig to the edge of the vegetation and twitching it a couple times down the outside edge of the vegetation will sometimes entice a bite.  Couple of questions.  How big is this pond?  How deep is it where you can get too?  Are you pretty sure those were bass you saw busting in the middle?  Can you run a frog across the vegetation?

The pond I can reach goes from bank out to about 4-5ft deep. I'm measuring with my line a few feet from shore. I know by fall rate it gets deeper. How deep I can't tell for sure but it's at least 5ft or deeper. The pond is decent size. (About 10 swimming pools for reference). I saw one blow up in the middle and I spooked a nice bass walking up as I got there for the first time a week ago. I ran a popper frog near the bank because there isn't any vegetation in the water. There are a few trees hanging over I also fished. There are some points that stick out and some shade but again, I can't get there due to so much thorns, weeds, and high grass (on land). The only other place I can get too is a big concrete structure and that's also where I saw fish. I feel like the fish are in the spots I am fishing and they are seeing me cast out to the middle or something lol which is spooking them. I spooked big fish at each spot. 

6 hours ago, Koz said:

I have a similar lagoon where I fish in SC. Once the weather heated up all of the fish we were catching within 20 feet of the bank disappeared. I could see some activity out further than a "normal" cast. Max depth in this lagoon is only 10 or 11 feet so it wasn't a deep hole. So I took out my Whopper Plopper 130 (Bone) and bombed some casts way out there and was able to get some strikes and bring them in. It wasn't as much as we were catching earlier in the year, but it was something. The Plopper lands so hard that far out it may scare some bass as well.

 

Another thing we did was work our way around the lagoon again and we found a few pockets along shore where we previously had no luck. To the naked eye most of the cover around the lagoon looks the same, but my guess is that these areas offer a little more shade or are better oxygenated than the spots where they were in the spring.

 

Occasionally we also pull out the iBobber, not to look for fish but to map out any weed beds or drop offs. But it's range is limited and I'm too impatient out there. I'd rather fish than cast that thing around and then stare at my phone.

I'm glad you posted this because I've been dying to find this out.. how do you like the ibobber? Is it worth the money?? I want to get one really bad if it works good. 

Also guys, should I trim my jig skirts? 

[Koz]

10 hours ago, Casey Hatley said:

 I can't get there due to so much thorns, weeds, and high grass (on land). 

 

 how do you like the ibobber? Is it worth the money??

 

Simple solution - go buy a machete. We have the same issue here with dense growth making many parts of our lagoons on a defunct golf course inaccessible. It's not fun to be out there in the blazing heat hacking away and I always have to be on the lookout for gators in the brush, but it has helped open up some spots to fish.

 

As for the iBobber, I'm on the fence. Here are a few pros and cons:

 

Cons

• Attracts alligators like crazy. It hits the water hard (probably scares some fish) and the gators go full speed at it. This is the main reason why it's seen limited use when I fish. Very frustrating.
• Limited 100 foot range so it's hard to see the structure and fish out in the middle of the lagoons where bass may be gathering in the summer heat.
• Since most of our lagoons are only 5-12 feet deep the sonar cones is fairly narrow if you're trying to live target fish.

Pros

• Less expensive than the other portable units.
• When you use the function to map the bottom it does a good job of showing depth changes, drop offs, depressions, channels, and weed beds. Knowing where the drop off was on one lagoon gave me a target area to cast and I landed a 4+ pounder in that very spot. I can't say about rocks or other structures because we don't have those features in these man made lagoons. Just remember that with the narrow cone in shallower ponds and lagoons you're going to need to do a lot of casting to get a complete picture for one section of a pond or lagoon.

You can take a snapshot of the sonar maps that you create and I probably need to do that more and tag the information in the app to recall it later. It seems to do a pretty good job, but the truth is I just haven't used it enough. I'd rather be fishing than casting that thing out and watching my phone screen and I got tired of having to reel it in quick so a gator wouldn't eat it.

 

A few times we put it out there on a spare line and tried to fish around it but it got to be a pain because it was breezy that day. I also didn't have the patience to keep looking at my phone while trying to fish. A better solution might be to bring a tablet and then set the tablet up on a tripod with a hood so you can fish and glance at the screen.

 

I think that if you're willing to put in the time and effort it can be a useful tool, especially for mapping out the ares that you fish. But I found it to be a pain to have to dig into my pocket, grab my phone, and try to live target fish at the same time.

 

What they really need to do is pair the app with Google Glass. That would be an interesting combination.

[questionfear]

I'm a total newbie and often have a similar issue at the spots most convenient to me. What helps me (as weird as it might sound) is to keep a few small hooks and Powerbait (crappie nibbles in the chroma glow colors) around. If I'm not even getting so much as a nibble, i toss on the small hook and the powerbait and see what I catch-if nothing really emerges, I know there's zilch in the area and move on. If I get hit 3, 4, 5 times catching sunfish, I know there's fish around and I try a few other lures or move to a new angle. 

 

Now, having said that, I'm fishing highly pressured parts of NJ, so I've caught all of two decent size bass, both of which I lost while reeling them in, but I still like the Powerbait method as a way of figuring out if the fish are even hanging out where I am. Also, it takes the sting out of being skunked if I can at least snag a few sunnies. Plus it entertains my son when we can pull SOMETHING out of the water (besides weeds).

[thebillsman]

Try smaller crawfish plastics.. Keitech Crazy Flapper and Baby Rage Craws. Slowly bump them and let them stand up for a few seconds. I rig them on a 1/8oz ultrahead and my go to colors are Pumpkin Chartreuse and Watermelon meat. 

 

In the winter when the bite is super tough I'll rig them on a mini chatterbait without the skirt to create some vibration in the water. 

 

Trust me 

 

[James Janousek]

My thoughts on why you aren't catching anything:

1. You and/or your friends are making too much noise, thus spooking the fish.

2. You are using the wrong gear.  Medium to ML spinning gear with light line (8lb or less) is all you need.

3. You are using way too large of a lure.  Small pond = small fish = small bait.  

4. The large fish you are seeing might not be bass.  They could be carp.  Carp love getting in the shallows and are notorious for jumping out of the water for no apparent reason.  Not all big fish you see are bass, actually, most aren't.

5. You are fishing too fast.  Slow down everything, and when you think you are going slow enough, go slower.

 

Here's what I would try:

 - Go alone and be as quiet as possible.  

 - Downsize.  The majority of bass in there are probably <12"  Target those first before thinking about getting anything with some size. 

 - Ned Rig - Green Pumpkin Z-Man T.R.D., 1/10 ounce mushroom head. Or Green Senko, cut in half, 1/8 - 1/16 jig head.  Find areas where it won't get hung up in weeds or snagged.  Twitch it off the bottom.  Alternatively, cast out as far as possible, slow steady retrieve, 1 foot under surface.

 - Zoom Salty Super Fluke - White Pearl or Watermelon Seed - Regular size but don't sleep on the jr. if you can find it, 4/0 EWG, Texas rig, weightless.  Twitch, twitch, pause, jerk, pause, etc. Mix up the retrieve but make sure it's not always up on the surface. It has to look like a wounded baitfish.  Weedless and works the top 2 feet of the water column. 

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

I'm not sure whether this is feasible in your situation but, in my opinion, @Bankbeater and @MasterBasser have made great suggestions. I fish a couple of lakes under similar conditions and although the temps aren't as extreme as yours, the bass seem to behave similarly. I always find I have better results in the evening from dusk to dark and in the early morning. I also try to fish the area in front of me, then wade out into the lake a few feet and cast parallel to the bank. Then I continue wading parallel to the bank, fan casting from shallow to deep, focusing on overhanging brush and trees. Bass do seem to like shade. (Pay attention to any cuts or points no matter how small - they can represent structure to a bass.) Even being five or ten feet from shore gives you access to a lot of water that other bank fishermen can't reach. Sneakers and swimming trunks are recommended, or waders if you are squeamish about an occasional leech finding you. Also, plan your attack and take one small waterproof tackle box tethered to your belt and fill it with a small assortment of your favorite confidence baits - maybe take a few plastics with terminal hardware, a couple of spinnerbaits or chatterbaits, and a topwater lure or two and really work them.

 

A couple of final thoughts:

 

Safety first! Know the bottom along the shore! Avoid muck or extremely rocky bottoms. Move slowly. (I may look silly, but if I don't know the lake/pond, I'm not too proud to wear a PFD!)

 

When you cast, note where your casts land, then, after completing a series of cases, wade to the location where your lure landed and repeat as necessary. 

 

In my opinion, wading along the shore gives me access to a lot of water not fished by others. Seems to pay off. Hope this gives you something to consider to expand your bank fishing experience.