Can’t catch any fish

[Hopelessfisherman]

So I’ve been fishing for about a year now and have caught nothing but a few bluegill.

i feel demoralized at this point.

i use a rugby shakey head with a watermelon or a green pumpkin senko and a 5:2:1 ratio’d reel 

7’ pole ugly stik and i primarily jig fish.

ive used a crankbait, spinnerbait, Texan rig, drop shot, and a ned rig.

i primarily fish 2:30 - 5:30 or

2:30 to sun down.

Right now the weather is pretty cold and i know it makes for bad fishing but even in fall i couldn’t even muster a bite.

Ive never wanted anything more at this point than a bass if there’s anything to know tell me! 

[JustALineWetter]

You mentioned a couple of the choices you've tried.

 

Maybe it's as simple as they're wanting a Chartreuse instead of the Watermelon or Pumpkin

 

Or maybe you're using the 4" slim and they're wanting the 3" fat

 

They CAN be that picky.

[Deleted account]

12 minutes ago, Hopelessfisherman said:

So I’ve been fishing for about a year now and have caught nothing but a few bluegill.

i feel demoralized at this point.

i use a rugby shakey head with a watermelon or a green pumpkin senko and a 5:2:1 ratio’d reel 

7’ pole ugly stik and i primarily jig fish.

ive used a crankbait, spinnerbait, Texan rig, drop shot, and a ned rig.

i primarily fish 2:30 - 5:30 or

2:30 to sun down.

Right now the weather is pretty cold and i know it makes for bad fishing but even in fall i couldn’t even muster a bite.

Ive never wanted anything more at this point than a bass if there’s anything to know tell me! 

Have you tried trolling?...

[Angry John]

Grab a 5 or 7 shadrap in black and white, cast or troll until you catch fish.  Crappie, bass trout, bluegill and even big sunfish eat that bait.  When you catch one make a bunch more casts in that area before moving on.

[Glaucus]

If you've tried drop shot, Senkos, and the amazing Ned Rig and haven't and can't catch a bass, it's as simple as there being no bass where you're fishing. Either in the water period, or in the locations you're picking. Those will pluck out many, many small bass with some good ones mixed in, no matter who you are or what level of fisherman you are. Line could be playing a part. What kind of line are you using? However line isn't solely responsible for zero bass. It's your location. My little kids catch bass on the Ned Rig, and I've caught bass dead sticking Senkos or getting distracted talking and slightly moving my rod as I talk,  not even paying attention and getting hooked up.  So the point I'm getting across is these baits will catch them no matter who you are, if they're there. 

[Glaucus]

Wrong thread 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

If you've thrown all that and no bass, I'd find somewhere else to fish. 

 

Do you bank fish or boat fish?

[Koz]

As others have mentioned, are you positive there are bass in the waters you are fishing? If you're fishing a pond is it natural or man made? If you don't know, pull up the location on Google Earth and then use the timeline feature to look at the area over the past 10 years. If the pond isn't at least 8-10 years old there is a good chance that there is not yet a stable fish population.

 

 

[burrows]

Don't beat yourself up over it you cant learn every thing over night do what most fisherman do when its cold read about bass behavior and watch the pros talk on you tube they do throw out some gold nuggets sometimes on accident, its not always them selling you a product. Also stock up on baits heavily for the upcoming season pick stuff up as much as possible and focus on one or two techniques that your going to be utilizing stick with those techniques before you start buying stuff your not gonna use. Finally up grade your rod for bottom contact lures your ugly stick is probably best suited for crank baits I used to catch multiple fish daily in the summer on an ugly stick spinning rod when I first started fishing I'm not saying an ugly stick wont work for trigs because it will and has the sensitivity to do it not the best however its probably better suited for moving baits. You can find a pretty sensitive rod at the same price you got the ugly stick like the berkly lightning rods or abu vengeance rods they are pretty sensitive for the price once you get a more sensitive rod your going to be surprised at the difference.   

 one more thing fish where there are fish you cant catch bass if there are no bass lol

[Oregon Native]

Some info on where your're trying could be helpful to those who live in area.....

[Mobasser]

Location is such a huge part of bass fishing.Many experienced fisherman would tell you it's not always the bait or tackle but the location your fishing. I would suggest trying to learn a little about where the bass may be according to season.

[roadwarrior]

 

[Sam]

So I’ve been fishing for about a year now and have caught nothing but a few bluegill. - HEY, THAT'S BETTER THAN NOT CATCHING ANYTHING BUT IT DOES TELL US A LOT ABOUT YOUR FISHING HABITS.

i feel demoralized at this point.- ONLY NORMAL. ALWAYS FEEL DOWN WHEN I DON'T CATCH ANYTHING.

 

i use a rugby shakey head with a watermelon or a green pumpkin senko and a 5:2:1 ratio’d reel -NEED ZOON TRICK WORMS ON A PROVIDER JIG HEAD ON 8 POUND FLOUROCARBON LINE ON A SPINNING RIG.  GREEN PUMPKIN SENKOS ARE GREAT. FISH THEM "WACKY STYLE." THE REEL IS A SLOW 5:2:1. NEXT TIME BUY A 6:1 OR 7:1 BAITCASTER OR A NICE SIZE 2000 OR 2500 SPINNING REEL THAT CAN ACCOMODATE 6 OR 8 POUND TEST LINE.

 

7’ pole ugly stik and i primarily jig fish. - TOO HEAVY. GO WITH A MEDIUM OR MEDIUM HEAVY ROD. SEVEN FEET IS FINE FOR FLIPPING AND PITCHING A SPINNING RIG. CHECK OUT THE BPS RODS THAT WILL BE ON SALE AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR OR AT THE END OF JANUARY.

 

ive used a crankbait, spinnerbait, Texan rig, drop shot, and a ned rig. - CRANKBAITS, SPINNERBAITS, TEXAS RIGS, DROP SHOTS AND NED RIGS ARE GREAT. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY TO SELECT AMONG THAT JUST SAYING THEIR NAMES MEANS NOTHING. NO IDEA WHERE YOU LIVE AND YOU NEED TO ADD YOUR PHYSICAL LOCATION TO YOUR AVATAR. AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF IN THE INTRODUCTIONS SECTION, TOO. BY DOING THIS WE CAN LASER INTO YOUR QUERY AND BASE OUR RESPONSES TO YOUR LOCATION. LOTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEXAS AND MINNESSOTA.

 

i primarily fish 2:30 - 5:30 or 2:30 to sun down. - GOOD TIMES BUT ANY WAY YOU CAN SQUEEZE IN SUNRISE? 2:30 TO SUNDOWN IS OK. DEPENDS WHAT PART OF THE WORLD YOU ARE FISHING.

 

Right now the weather is pretty cold and i know it makes for bad fishing but even in fall i couldn’t even muster a bite. - BECAUSE THE BASS MAY BE HIBERNATING ALREADY. WHAT IS THE WATER TEMPERATURE? IN THE 50'S OR HIGH 40'S?  EVER HEARD OF "DEAD STICKING"? FISHING A LAKE, POND, RIVER, CREEK? WE NEED TO KNOW.

 

Ive never wanted anything more at this point than a bass if there’s anything to know tell me! - WE CAN TELL YOU LOTS BUT IT IS ALSO UP TO YOU TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND RECON. READ, READ AND READ SOME MORE. LOOK AT THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS. READ ALL YOU CAN ON THIS SITE ABOUT RODS, REELS, LINE, BAITS, TECHNIQUES AND BASS HABITAT.  BASS FISHING IS A LOT LIKE BASEBALL.YOU JUST CAN'T GET ALL DRESSED OUT LOOKING NICE AND NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH A BAT TO GET A GOOD HIT. YOU NEED TO READ, STUDY, GO ON THE WATER AND ASK US SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

 

NOW GO INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND ADD YOUR PHYSICAL LOCATION SO WE CAN GIVE YOU MORE HELP.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Man all that CAPS LOCK makes me feel like your shouting. A little bold font goes a long way... ?

[OCdockskipper]

Just to double-check, are you casting the lures you mentioned into the water or somewhere else?

[WRB]

He is casting them into this forum and caught everyone.

Tom

[CrankFate]

22 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

If you've thrown all that and no bass, I'd find somewhere else to fish. 

 

Do you bank fish or boat fish?

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em....know when to walk away.....and.......

8 hours ago, Sam said:

So I’ve been fishing for about a year now and have caught nothing but a few bluegill. - HEY, THAT'S BETTER THAN NOT CATCHING ANYTHING BUT IT DOES TELL US A LOT ABOUT YOUR FISHING HABITS.

i feel demoralized at this point.- ONLY NORMAL. ALWAYS FEEL DOWN WHEN I DON'T CATCH ANYTHING.

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

When I feel demoralized, I put on one of these (Berkeley jigging grubs in white) and cast out to where I can’t get any bass, then slowly work the area of deep water just behind the tiny piranha sunnies but halfway as far as where I thought I would catch bass but didn’t. I landed a few blue gills that were over a pound this way. Sometimes a few on the same day. And catching one or two of those cures all demoralization. 

 

Merry Christmas.

[Sam]

9 hours ago, CrankFate said:

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em....know when to walk away.....and.......

When I feel demoralized, I put on one of these (Berkeley jigging grubs in white) and cast out to where I can’t get any bass, then slowly work the area of deep water just behind the tiny piranha sunnies but halfway as far as where I thought I would catch bass but didn’t. I landed a few blue gills that were over a pound this way. Sometimes a few on the same day. And catching one or two of those cures all demoralization. 

 

Merry Christmas.

Crank, Gulp! attracts all fish other than bass, in my experience.

 

If you use Gulp! you will get lots of pecks from the bluegills, bream, minnows, and some good hits from catfish, and some interest from dinks if they are around.

 

Try MegaStrike or JJ's Magic in place of Gulp! on this set up:

Spinning reel

Medium heavy spinning rod

8 pound fluorocarbon line

1/8 ounce jig head with a 2/0 or 3/0 strong hook

Zoom green pumpkin with black flake or Junebug trick worm rigged straight on jig head

Smear MegaStrike on the trick worm (or your favorite scent other than Gulp!)
You can cast it out far; flip it; pitch it; or skip it to your targets

 

One other suggestion: what is the bass population in the place where you fish? Do you know? If not, this is what you do.

1. Take a few slices of white or wheat bread with you to your favorite place to fish and tear up the bread into small pieces and throw them into the water. If you want, you can set up a bream rig with a small gold hook and round dough balls from the bread along with a bobber and see what you can catch to find out the forage in the water.

 

2.  See what hits the bread - bream, bluegill, minnows, turtles, beavers, otters, Jaws, the Monster from the Black Lagoon, etc.

 

3.  You will then know what forage is in the water that the bass are eating.

 

4.  Match the hatch. Try to get a glimpse of what is hitting the bread and put on a bluish Junebug trick worm if you see bluegills. Otherwise, stay with your green pumpkin with black flake.

 

5.  Take a swimming pool thermometer with you, add a long string, throw it into the water, and see the water temperature. Fish accordingly.

 

6.  Fish the north and west banks as they receive the most heat from the sun and the water may be a few degrees warmer. The bass will come into these shallow areas for the warmer water to sun themselves and to feed.

 

7.  Cast out as far as you can and let the trick worm (or finesse worm if you don't have a trick worm) sit on the bottom for a full five minutes.  Don't touch it. Let it sit. Will drive you crazy but let it just sit there. Keep finger on line at all times.

 

8.  Move the trick worm a little after five minutes and let it sit again, for a shorter time period, such as three minutes. Work the plastic back to you very, very, very slowly. This is the "dead sticking" technique.

 

9.  Using a fan pattern from left to right and right to left, repeating the dead sticking technique.

 

10.  If you don't get any strikes, the bass are not in the area or may not be in the water. They could be farther out and deeper where you can't reach them.  You just have to try your best to cast as far as you can and keep a finger on the line at all times to feel for any tap-tap-tap's.

 

If you can feel any drop-offs fish those areas. Bass will use the drop offs as their highways to and from deeper water.

 

Yes, dead sticking will drive you crazy. But it is one of the best techniques to use for winter fishing.

 

And as a backup, have you ever thrown the "Ned Rig"? If not, look it up on the Forum and give it a try, too.

 

Let us know if you catch anything.