Not catching bass. Help me understand why...

[YaknBassn]

I struggled all last year, but finally realized that I wasn't really taking time to properly fish an area.  So I picked out a stretch of water that has a little bit of everything so I can attempt to break it down and fish effectively.  There's lay downs, humps, cover, and it meets the river channel with a steep drop off.  

 

This the area I fished yesterday and today:

 

The water in the shade was around 66°, Water was slightly stained with visibility around 3-4', and max depth was around 8'. I started with a Chartreuse/White spinnerbait.  I worked in down the bank, hitting isolated bushes, etc.  Nothing.  Then I thought the Chartreuse may be too much, so I swapped to a Bluegill pattern.  Nothing.  

 

Swapped over to a Black/Blue flipping jig.  Worked it down the shoreline, into bushes and laydowns, fished some submerged timber and stumps.  Nothing.  

 

Switched over to a dropshot, fished the same stretch of timber and got nothing.  

 

I need some direction.  Im at a loss and it's getting frustrating.  I guess it could be that they didn't want to bite, but the only consistency is me not getting bites.  

[CroakHunter]

19 minutes ago, YaknBassn said:

I struggled all last year, but finally realized that I wasn't really taking time to properly fish an area.  So I picked out a stretch of water that has a little bit of everything so I can attempt to break it down and fish effectively.  There's lay downs, humps, cover, and it meets the river channel with a steep drop off.  

 

This the area I fished yesterday and today:

 

The water in the shade was around 66°, Water was slightly stained with visibility around 3-4', and max depth was around 8'. I started with a Chartreuse/White spinnerbait.  I worked in down the bank, hitting isolated bushes, etc.  Nothing.  Then I thought the Chartreuse may be too much, so I swapped to a Bluegill pattern.  Nothing.  

 

Swapped over to a Black/Blue flipping jig.  Worked it down the shoreline, into bushes and laydowns, fished some submerged timber and stumps.  Nothing.  

 

Switched over to a dropshot, fished the same stretch of timber and got nothing.  

 

I need some direction.  Im at a loss and it's getting frustrating.  I guess it could be that they didn't want to bite, but the only consistency is me not getting bites.  

Maybe they aren't there? You can't catch em if they aren't located where you are fishing. My only advice would be slow down and/or dead sticking a drop shot, small worm, or small craw style bait

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Sounds like your already fishing slow, try a faster bait/retrieve. I have a river I fish a good bit and the bass don't want a slow presentation, they want to chase something. 

 

Try burning a crankbait, jerkbait through there, or burning a buzzbait. That don't work try the small slow finesse baits croakhunter suggested. 

[Log Catcher]

I would throw a baby brush hog or a crawdad style bait. If that doesn't work then try a 6" to 8" worm.

[lo n slo]

move on til you find them

[jbmaine]

This may sound overly simplistic, but it sounds like you've fished every where you think they should be, try fishing all the areas you think they couldn't be.

More than once I've run down a bank or drop off, doing everything right with no joy. My wife will lob a Senko out in the middle of nowhere and hook a nice one. I have no idea what it was doing out there, but there it was.

[burrows]

Reminds me of the interview Glenn did with takahiro Omari a few years ago he said your not gonna catch fish if their is no fish in their. 

[roadwarrior]

 

[burrows]

Can’t catch fish in a swimming pool.

 

[All about da bass]

When I fished North Alabama, the fish were just getting in the backs of the creeks. I was catching my fish on a t rigged watermelon lizard, a t rigged electric blue zoom curly tail and slow rolling a spinner bait through the lay downs.. We could catch them out on the points coming into the pocket but they just weren't any size. These lay downs we were targeting weren't in more than 6 feet. We caught a good limit off of a submerged tree on our graphs in about 5.5 feet off of a rock wall, so it was a steep bank with some trees underwater and there were fish in the backs of the creek that helped us cull some fish too. Good luck bro, hope you jack them up when you figure out where they are. Btw that was 3 weeks ago.

[scaleface]

 Just keep at it .  Eliminating water , lures...is a skill that gets better with experience . If you like fishing you can live with the frustration , knowing that things will get better .

17 hours ago, YaknBassn said:

I need some direction.  Im at a loss and it's getting frustrating.  I guess it could be that they didn't want to bite, but the only consistency is me not getting bites.    Bass fishing is a lot of elimination .

[WRB]

It's still the spawn cycle in a lot of places and that is where you should concentration your efforts. If you don't see any beds, even old beds or bluegill beds, move further back into wind protected areas and target the secondary points.

Tom

[Ratherbfishing]

Sometimes you eat the b'ar and sometimes the b'ar eats you.

 

[basscatcher8]

You got more patients than me. I need to go through with something fast first either a top water or square bill. They have to show themselves to me first before slowing down. Otherwise I don't want to spend the time in the area. I'm sure its missed opportunities but only so many hours in a day.

[BobP]

You can’t catch them if they aren’t there.  If bass are bedding and that’s what you want to fish (personally I don’t when there are other options) you want to see beds with fish on them before you fish.  If you want actively feeding fish, check points and wind blown banks or anywhere you can see baitfish present.  I thing bedding is winding down now in most of the South so I’d be fishing deeper or fishing cover most days to find the more active fish.  And if I don’t get a bite to begin putting together a pattern in about 15 minutes, I move on to a new area.

[YaknBassn]

Thanks for all the input.  I guess with the frustration, I never even stopped to think that they weren't there.  

 

I need to learn to be more versatile and stop dialing in so hard on unproven water.  

[nighthawk25]

11 minutes ago, YaknBassn said:

Thanks for all the input.  I guess with the frustration, I never even stopped to think that they weren't there.  

 

I need to learn to be more versatile and stop dialing in so hard on unproven water.  

Im kinda new at bass fishing too and I have this same problem. However I now throw a Ned rig when I think there should be fish where Im at. If I don't get bit I'll move on. The ned rig will also catch other species so I know what the fish are that im marking.

[Boomstick]

I fished a spinnerbait and chatterbait all day today, thought it was the perfect conditions plus time of year, but got nothing. Finally I switched to a crank and landed a nice 5 pounder when I ran it through a weed bed (actually missed him then got him on a follow up cast).

 

I am going to assume there may be lack of shore access at the lake, so packing up and moving might not be an ootion, so maybe try a crankbait then a paddletail swimbait and if that didn't improve, maybe try some soft plastics or a NED rig or dropshot. It's possible they're just not chasing, or they're just not there.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Don't forget why your there in the first place, to have fun and figure out the bass bite puzzle for that day.

 

Don't over think it, throw confidence baits and keep moving. Get a few hits slow down some, then move along some more!

[LCG]

Don't take it personally. Your doing the right things in what sounds like the right place, but my guess is that there wasn't fish there at that time. Think of it like your home, your comfortable there, you live there, but your not always at home. Same concept