I Threw the Whole Tackle Box at Them, but They Still Didn't Bite...

[The Pond King]

I'm just kidding, I actually did catch a couple.

 

So here's what happened today:

 

I've been looking for work as of late because I got laid off at a big tech company, and believe it or not, even though I'm not working, I've been super busy with interviews. I've literally been having interviews all week. I had an in person interview on Monday, had a phone interview on Tuesday, had an in person interview today, I got four phone interviews tomorrow (all separate companies), and I got three more phone interviews on Friday! It's nice to be high in demand! 

 

After today's in person interview which I did well, but it was still grueling nonetheless; I decided to blow off some steam by going fishing. At first, I found some algae on some parts of the pond near the shoreline. I was so mad I didn't bring my frogs. The KVD Sexy Dawg worked fine when casting out far into open water, but as soon as it got closer to shore where the algae was, it was getting gunked up. I got tired of this, so I decided to switch areas.

 

When I got to another part of the pond next to a tree with some shade. I saw a school of bass literally right next to me in shallow water. Like, at my feet! I switched out the topwater stickbait to a Fat Ika. I kept throwing the Fat Ika a little bit past the school, and eventually, worked the lure slowly through the school several times, but the fish didn't seem interested. It appeared that even one of the smaller fish in the school got a little spooked, but for the most part it was just ignored. 

 

So I decided to switch out to a senko. Again the school of fish did not seem interested at all, but it was super fun seeing the fish through gin clear water. It's like a window to an underwater world. Regardless, I still kept working the senko, and I was able to finally get a bass to commit and caught him. It was a 2.17lb bass, one of the smaller ones out of the school. I kept working the senko again but to no avail, so I switched out to a smoke salt and pepper colored Kalin's grub rigged on an 1/8oz pea head jig. I kept working that lure, and at one point, I got the attention of the two biggest bass in the school as they both chased it but didn't commit. That was sight to see. I can't say for sure how big these bass were, but they were huge! These things had some shoulders. Probably 8lb+. Not kidding. It was a sight to see. Anyways, I kept working this grub and finally got another 2lber. 

 

I didn't catch a lot of fish today, but the visual appeal of it all is what made it so fun. I'm quite lucky to fish in a pond with clear water. Around my area, most spots have stained water, so these ponds are special. 

 

My questions to you guys are..

 

1. Which lures have produced the best for you when you see a school of bass? Like sometimes you can throw the whole tackle box at them, but they don't seem to be interested. Which lures do you throw in those types of situations that you've had the best success on?

 

2. In the same scenario, which lures are best for getting the bigger fish in the school? I don't want to catch the smaller fish out of the school, I want the big ones!

 

I've encountered these types of situations before but was using live night crawlers. Don't judge me. I'm an avid lure fisherman, but sometimes, I use bait every now and then. But let me tell ya, when I used the night crawlers, it started a feeding frenzy! I was hooking bass left and right including the bigger ones out of the school. It started getting the fish to compete with each other! I literally kept catching bass out of that school until I ran out of bait! There's nothing in terms of lures that has outperformed this, but I'm curious to know if there might be. I wonder if there are some lures that could come close to producing results like this. 

 

Anyways, I'd love to hear your guys' opinions on this! Thanks!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BankBasser]

I had a day like that earlier this week. They weren't biting anything I was throwing. So, I grabbed my "backup plan"... my ml/f 7' spinning setup and threw a ned rig. It was one bass after another until I had to leave. They weren't huge, but it was fun and I didn't get skunked.

[TOXIC]

Fluke or more specifically, a Yamamoto DShad is what I would have thrown.  Especially if I could see them.  2nd would bee a dropshot so that it was in their face for an extended period of time.  

[lmbfisherman]

I already see the problem.  You're supposed to use baits/lures to catch fish, not your tackle box silly.  I know, I know I'm pure genius.  

 

To answer your question, I always seem to go to the drop shot, I use a powerbait minnow 2" in pearl white and my other favorite is the Zoom Finesse Worm in Green Pumpkin.  If I don't have either of these on me, I pack it up and leave.  j/k  I'll use anything that I have similar to those two baits.  My backup ones are Havoc Bottom Hopper Jr.  (seems you can't get them anymore!) or a smaller fluke.

[SJex]

I'll dropshot a worm, ned rig (TRD, Finesse worm or Tubez), or toss a shakey head worm. They probably weren't hungry or were highly pressured. Make a few casts, if nothing bites take off and come back later. Hopefully they become active. You could also try to anger the fish into biting by making repeated casts to tick them off. But I usually leave and try to find more active fish.

[Looking for the big one]

Normally when I'm in clear water and I can see the bass, they'll rarely bite. Switching up lures to a finesse bait helps but when the fish know that you're there it's almost impossible to get bit. Even small bass are finicky in clear water, big bass are even harder to fool.