Dumb beginner questions

[teabag259]

 I apologize for starting a new thread if many of these things here have been covered.   My son and I are trying to learn and I figure the best way to do so is to ask questions of those who are experienced and knowledgeable. 

 

 We started out with a little bit of success fishing simple split shot rigs with nightcrawlers. And we also had a little bit of success fishing live minnows. But to this point we have had zero success with lures.  The last five times we’ve gone out I don’t think we’ve had a single bite.

 

Lake Pinchot is more or less permanently stained 2-3 feet?) so I have tried a variety of lures.  We have tried  spinners (white and chartreuse), chatterbait (Green pumpkin and chartreuse) and crank bait. Nothing. I talked to a guy who is a lifetime fisherman of this lake and he says that normally chatter bait and crank bait do really well there. Is there more to chatter bait and spinners then just casting it out and retrieving it at a solid steady pace? Are we missing something?

 

I have watched a bunch of beginner videos and probably some that are geared towards a few more experienced fishermen and I have tried a variety of colors of zoom trick worm’s. I have learned to Texas rig them. I feel like I am rigging the worms correctly.   I’ve tried the past two days with a white trick worm on a shaky head. I tried to follow instructions of a video on this site on how to bounce it off the bottom taking 3 to 5 minutes to finally reel the line all the way in. Still haven’t gotten anything.  I’ve tried casting out to the middle, I’ve tried the grasses and seaweed areas, under trees, and the rocky areas not too far from the shore.  Without success. Is this Texas Rigged trickworm considered a difficult fishing tactic for beginners? Pinchot Is considered by many people I talk to a good place for bass fishing.

[ratherbfishin1]

I would try and Texas rig a green pumpkin senko weightless and fish that. You want to do like 3 pops with your rod and let it sink for like 5-10 sec and repeat.  You should be able to get bites that way. Also, it is getting colder now so you probably will have to start fighting for bites.

[scaleface]

Are you fishing from bank or boat ?

[WRB]

You can use soft plastic worms in lieu of live nightcrawlers using spinning tackle, if that is what you have.

1. Split shot rig uses #4 or 1/8 oz round split shot clamped about 14"-18" above a size 1 or 1/0 plastic worm hook with 6 lb to 8 lb mono line. Recommend 4 1/2" to 6" curl tail

plastic worms.

2. Drop shot rig uses 1/8 to 1/4 oz drop shot weight with the same hook used in split shot or a drop shot hook tied about 8" to 12" above the weight.

Search "split shot" and "drop shot" rigs on this site.

Split shot soft plastic worms are hooked weedless and drop shot worms can be nose hooked.

Cast and slowly drag the split shot along the bottom. 

Cast and jiggle the drop shot rig, let sit, drag it a foot and repeat.

Good luck,

Tom 

[the reel ess]

The T rig is the bomb for beginners. If you're fishing public waters from the bank, that can get tough. The fish can be pressured and get shy of artificials. You could also not be reaching any bass from limited access. My advice to noobs is to find yourself a place that isn't getting pressured. For me that meant finding private ponds and asking permission. Most people, myself included, don't like to approach strangers asking for something. But you'll be surprised how many will say yes. And most private waters are underfished. A private pond with a lot of hungry, "uneducated" bass is just the ticket to learning techniques and gaining confidence. I have one such place that belongs to my friend. He wants me to fish it and remove as many small bass as possible. And that's almost all he has. You can always try to use big bass baits to cull the dinks. 

[Catt]

Your lure selection is fine

 

Next would be location, Lake Pinchot Pennsylvania correct?

 

Y'all pretty much headed to winter conditions?

 

Cold water I head for deeper water & slow down. 

[Mobasser]

As others have said, your lures are good. If it's gotten cold in your area, this might make it tough. Fish at the warmest time of day, and continue fishing slow. Your on the right track. Texas rig and shakeyhead can both be good.Keep at it. It can be frustrating at times, and locating bass is one of the biggest things to learn. Keep after it, and good luck!

[Big Rick]

Go to the Local Fishing Forums to find fishing advice that's much more accurate for the time of year you're in. I'm in Mississippi and couldn't help you much as my local water is still 75 degrees.  All the above advice is spot on for a newbie.  Just remember that when you fish a Texas rigged plastic you have to SET THE HOOK!! and HARD!!  Otherwise you'll be very frustrated as you reel a few turns with a fish on and he comes unbuttoned. And you CANNOT fish a T-rigged bait TOO SLOW. Especially, in the current water temps you're dealing with. You most certainly will have a tendency to fish it too FAST. It's human nature. 

 

Best of luck.

[slonezp]

This time of year, a Husky Jerk would do you well

[MichaelCopeland]

In stained water you should try some black and blue, junebug, purple really just about any darker color worms, chatterbaits, spinners etc. They will show up better to the bass in that type of water as a silhouette. I like to use a pumping action with my chatterbaits on the retrieve. It gives them a bit more action. However with it getting colder now this time of year you could cast out your chatterbait let it sink to the depth you wanna fish and drag it a couple feet, reel up the slack while moving your rod tip back towards the bait and then repeat. On that pause while you reel up the slack, the chatterbait will sink down appearing as a dying baitfish of some kind and may just get hammered by a nice big ole bass. It has worked for me and it can work for you. Vary your retrieve speeds until you get bit. ?

[Harold Scoggins]

20 hours ago, MichaelCopeland said:

Vary your retrieve speeds until you get bit. ?

X2

 

[teabag259]

FYI I am fishing from the bank. Not on a boat. I was told yesterday by a local expert that blue/black chatterbait and spinners and white crank bait are the way to go right now due to the sudden change in temperatures. I did catch one yesterday on a crankbait but it fell off as I was lifting it out of the water.  Ugh. 

[JWall14]

I was also a beginner in the spring and the keys I found with Texas rigged worms was to let it sit was longer that I thought. Also don’t be afraid to set the hook hard with a worm!!

[Choporoz]

I just googled your lake....when I saw that the Susquehanna is only a couple miles away, my first thought was why would someone fish that lake?

 

But, I know nothing about bank fishing the river around there...nor about the lake.  As has been said, move around the lake...cast to spots that don't get beat up bad...soak those worms for a long time....trick worms are good; as are senkos....I also like Rage Tail Cut-R's - because you can soak them...or swim them until you find what is getting bit that day.

[teabag259]

Very excited.  I just caught what was easily my personal record bass here at Pinchot. It was easily 5 pounds. Probably more. I was using blue and black chatter bait with a sapphire blue super chunk Junior trailer. If I can figure out how to post a picture I will. (It Says my picture file is a bit too big so it won’t let me post it.) But regardless it was quite a good fight and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

[Mjmj]

4 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I just googled your lake....when I saw that the Susquehanna is only a couple miles away, my first thought was why would someone fish that lake?

Probably because this lake has a decent amount of bass over 5lbs

 

On 10/20/2018 at 11:42 AM, ratherbfishin1 said:

I would try and Texas rig a green pumpkin senko weightless and fish that. You want to do like 3 pops with your rod and let it sink for like 5-10 sec and repeat.

^^^this, but use a black with chartreuse flakes. Dark color plastics work well on this lake

[scaleface]

Another question , is there a rip rap dam that can be fished ?

[teabag259]

27 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Another question , is there a rip rap dam that can be fished ?

I’m going to reply with a dumb beginner question because you just used a term that I’ve heard referenced a few times now. What is “rip rap”?

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, teabag259 said:

I’m going to reply with a dumb beginner question because you just used a term that I’ve heard referenced a few times now. What is “rip rap”?

Large broken chunks of rocks used to protect soil from erosion and often used for dam faces, road and bridge enbankment etc.

Congratulations on you PB bass, I assume you are using conventional bait casting tackle?

Tom

[teabag259]

8 minutes ago, WRB said:

Large broken chunks of rocks used to protect soil from erosion and often used for dam faces, road and bridge enbankment etc.

Congratulations on you PB bass, I assume you are using conventional bait casting tackle?

Tom

 Medium heavy spinning rod. 10lb test line. 

6 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I just googled your lake....when I saw that the Susquehanna is only a couple miles away, my first thought was why would someone fish that lake?

 

But, I know nothing about bank fishing the river around there...nor about the lake.  As has been said, move around the lake...cast to spots that don't get beat up bad...soak those worms for a long time....trick worms are good; as are senkos....I also like Rage Tail Cut-R's - because you can soak them...or swim them until you find what is getting bit that day.

Pinchot has tons of big bass. I know they host tournaments there. Also. The Susquehanna  is a bit high and fast right now.  I talked to a guy yesterday who was out on his boat on the lake and he said he was on the river earlier that day but there were 1 to 2 foot whitecaps on the river due to the wind etc. It’s a little dangerous in spots. I don’t have a boat anyway.  

 

By”soaking” worms what do you mean? Just take them out and keep them under water for a while?

[WRB]

3 minutes ago, teabag259 said:

 Medium heavy spinning rod. 10lb test line. 

My original question was what tackle are you using and offered techniques appropriate for medium spinning tackle for entry level bass angler teaching their children to fish.

MH spinning tackle with 10 lb line is more versitile. Looks like you are on your way, no longer a beginner.

Tom