No fish?

[Spyder7723]

What gives? I wad under the impression this was the best time of year for fishing. In October i was catching at least a few a day.  Dent get to go again until about a week and a half ago and can't even get a nibble.  Is it the wrong time of year for bass down here or is it I'm just doing something wrong?

[gbassman519]

weather changes,  have you tried spinnerbaits?, crankbaits  to search with, they are there

Edited February 18, 2018 by gbassman519

[Spyder7723]

I'll give crank and spinner baits a try. Thanks.  

[Sam]

You really need to give us more information, such as:

 

Water temperature

Water clarity

Lots of structure where you fish or flat bottom

What about blowdowns, wood, grass, pads, rip rap, piers, docks, boat houses, floating  boats, bridges

Any current

Tidal conditions

Any blue crabs in area

Boat or from the bank

Any cold fronts move through your area before you ventured out

Where are the fish in relation to the spawn

What is the major forage in your area

Did you try finesse fishing with Senkos and plastics

What baits did you throw and what techniques did you employ

Mono, fluorocarbon, braid, copolymer

What test strengths did you use

Did you use a leader

 

Now armed with the answers to these questions we could formulate some good input for you to try.

 

Otherwise we are shooting in the dark at a moving target and any input would be nothing but guesses.

 

 

 

 

 

[Spyder7723]

27 minutes ago, Sam said:

You really need to give us more information, such as:

 

Water temperature

Water clarity

Lots of structure where you fish or flat bottom

What about blowdowns, wood, grass, pads, rip rap, piers, docks, boat houses, floating  boats, bridges

Any current

Tidal conditions

Any blue crabs in area

Boat or from the bank

Any cold fronts move through your area before you ventured out

Where are the fish in relation to the spawn

What is the major forage in your area

Did you try finesse fishing with Senkos and plastics

What baits did you throw and what techniques did you employ

Mono, fluorocarbon, braid, copolymer

What test strengths did you use

Did you use a leader

 

Now armed with the answers to these questions we could formulate some good input for you to try.

 

Otherwise we are shooting in the dark at a moving target and any input would be nothing but guesses.

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday water temp was 75 if i remember right.  How that compares to typical for this time of year,  i have no idea.  To be honest i never have paid much attention to it, its just a number on the Garmin.  

 

Water clarity? A lot clearer than it was back in October when i last went fishing, still very murky tho. 

 

I usualy fish from my boat in a canal a couple miles from my house, its mostly flat bottom with a handful of depth changes and what can best be described as sand bars formed where a couple different creeks feed into it.  One of those has a dam.  Another dam going out where the canal dumps out towards the gulf.  Several small docks scattered along the canal and 3 bridges.  Also 75% of it has what i think are mangroves over hanging on each bank.  Along with a barely submerged 20 ft wide pile of rock and a few scattered groupings of grass and lilly pads. There is always a little current,  gets a bit stronger after a heavy rain

 

 

I have almost unlimited options near me, heck Okeechobee is only an hour and a half from me but i focus on this one spot cause i was thinking that limiting as many variables as possible would make it easier to get the basics down.  And out being so close o can go every day that I'm not otherwise busy, even if only for an hour or two.  That's also the same reason i almost exclusively use plastic worms, to try and learn what makes a fish bite. 

 

Last cold front we had was a month ago.  

 

 

Ive been using 12 lb mono (green in color) cause its what the salesman at bass pro suggested when i bought the rod.  Just respooled with 10 lb clear mono.  No leader, tied straight to an offset worm hook. 

 

As for blue crabs, I've never seen any but was under the impression they infest every bit of fresh water down here.  

 

Think i covered all your questions.  

[Sam]

Super. Thanks.

 

Water temp 75* - they are deep. Spawn should be over as it starts around 60 to 65*. Big ladies have probably recovered and the smaller males have moved on to attack the bluegill beds. The guys in Florida can let us know where we stand with the spawn in your area.

 

Water temperature controls the bass' behavior. Read articles about water temps to learn what the bass "should be doing" based on the water temperatures.

 

Stained water is great. Consider using moving baits with some "yellow" (Bandit yellow with blue back) or go with a Junebug plastic on a shaky head. Consider the drop shot using a 3 to 4-inch plastic shad colored swim bait, like a small YUM Money Minnow. Use a 12 to 18-inch leader below the hook. Don't forget your spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits with "white and yellow skirts."

 

Hit all structure you can find. The dam and bridge areas are great places to fish. Bass like places to "hide" and with so few in your area they have to be under bridges and the sparse piers. Hit both with a jig or a Zoom Junebug Trick Worm on a shaky head presentation.

 

Remember, plastic worms are great. Try them on a Texas rig, a drop shot, a shaky head and a Carolina rig. The Ned rig will work on flat bottoms without much wood or bottom debris. Senkos, rigged wacky, should produce.

 

You have to pitch and flip your plastics many times at the same target. Go around the target as many times as you can.  Don't throw two or three times and give up. Keep pounding the target with at least 10 to 20 casts.  You will think you are crazy to do this but this is pitching and flipping plastics and sometimes you have to aggravate the bass to hit your bait.

 

Go to an 8-pound test fluorocarbon if you have a spinning rig.  Otherwise, check out your rod's parameters and average the low and high line test and use that test on your baitcaster. You have the option of using the lowest test the rod is rated for and balance it with your reel's lowest line test if you are using a baitcaster.

 

Any crabs in the area go to a "blue" colored or enhanced plastic, such as a Moccasin Blue. The bass may be feeding on small blue crabs and the blue will attract them to your bait.

 

You are starting your bass fishing adventure which is outstanding. All of us on the Forum were in you shoes. So read, read and read plus ask your questions. We are here go help you in any way we can.

 

And consider subscribing to various bass magazines, add BassResource.com to your Facebook page, and go to your favorite pros site and read any articles they have penned. You may want to check out Woo Daves' web page and see the articles he has for all to read.

 

Good luck and be sure to post some pics of your catches for us to enjoy.

[Spyder7723]

You say to use a leader.  Do you you tie directly to the main line or do you put a swivel between them? 

 

Also can you clarify drop shotting.  Isnt that where you put a weight at the end of the line to hold the bottom, and about a foot or so up the line you tee in another 12 inch line with the hook and lure/bait?

[Spyder7723]

O.k.  I'm excited again.   This afternoon my 10 year old daughter caught the biggest bass I've seen in person.  Unfortunately it ripped out of my hands and broke the line lifting it from the water.   Lesson learned, start using that darn net every time.   Hope he is able to spit the hook out on his own, its funny but i feel kinda bad about that.  Based on how it felt in my hands vs others i have weighed it was easily 5 lbs and probably closer to 6.  Nothing to write home about for experienced fishermen but for a couple newbies that was cool as heck. 

 

 

Also confirmed water temp.  It ranged from 74.1 to 76.3 warning as we went upstream.   

[Sam]

12 hours ago, Spyder7723 said:

You say to use a leader.  Do you you tie directly to the main line or do you put a swivel between them? 

 

Also can you clarify drop shotting.  Isnt that where you put a weight at the end of the line to hold the bottom, and about a foot or so up the line you tee in another 12 inch line with the hook and lure/bait?

Tie to main line, direct.

 

Drop Shotting is exactly what you penned.

 

Check it out on YouTube.

 

Have fun!!!!

7 hours ago, Spyder7723 said:

O.k.  I'm excited again.   This afternoon my 10 year old daughter caught the biggest bass I've seen in person.  Unfortunately it ripped out of my hands and broke the line lifting it from the water.   Lesson learned, start using that darn net every time.   Hope he is able to spit the hook out on his own, its funny but i feel kinda bad about that.  Based on how it felt in my hands vs others i have weighed it was easily 5 lbs and probably closer to 6.  Nothing to write home about for experienced fishermen but for a couple newbies that was cool as heck. 

 

 

Also confirmed water temp.  It ranged from 74.1 to 76.3 warning as we went upstream.   

Your daughter rocks!  Congrats to her on a fantastic catch.

 

And it counts. Daughter 1  Spyder 0

 

The hook will rust away. Don't worry about it.

 

Any bass over four pounds is something to write home about.  Be sure to have your cell phone with you so you can take pics of your next catch and share it with us.

 

At 74* the bass should be active an feeding. 

 

Keep up the good work. Being a good bass fisherman means you have to be on the water. Consider keeping a log of each trip in a three-ring binder. You can find a copy of a fishing log under the Tools link at the top of the page.

 

Also, please note the articles in the Fishing Articles section, too.

 

Tight Lines!