I realize now...

[Koz]

That for the past decade or so I was extremely fortunate to be able to fish in the South Carolina Lowcountry. With that area being on the coast and the high water table there were thousands of retention ponds in my area and almost all over 8-10 years old held bass. Many held big bass. In fact, unless I fished a dink lagoon the average size bass I would catch was between 2 and 2.5 pounds. If you fished two or three times a week you'd usually catch one or more for or five pounders. We do have some lagoons where you can catch a ton of dinks in an afternoon. My son loves those - I don't.

 

With all of those lagoons there was plenty of shoreline to traverse and bank fish. If one lagoon didn't pay off I'd simply walk, bike, or drive to another nearby lagoon. There was no shortage of places to fish and with so many options there was never any competition for fishing spots.

 

I moved to Upstate SC a few weeks ago and while I've only logged about 4 hours of fishing I have fished three different lakes and not had one single bite let alone landed any fish. Bank fishing spots are few and far between. I did find one 18 acre lake where I could traverse most of the shoreline but there appears to be a lot of fishing pressure there (need to bring spinning gear and a ned rig setup if I try it again). I found a minor point to fish from and started fan casting but the next thing I know two people set up next to me and I can't cover any water. I don't know if it mattered. The only thing I saw in the water was small bluegill.

 

I've talked to some anglers at these places and while there are legends of bigger bass these guys are pulling out dinks. A two pounder is considered big.

 

With all of this I've lost my enthusiasm for fishing. For example, today is a beautiful day and I have no desire to head out there. I do have a planned trip to rent a kayak at Lake Robinson next week so maybe that will get me back in the groove. Maybe I need to change my mindset. When I fish my purpose is to catch big bass, not go after quantity. I see no fun in catching 50 one pounders in an afternoon. I'm even starting to miss the alligators.

 

I'm homesick for a lot more reasons than just fishing, but I was hoping fishing up here would help me pass the time. So far that has not worked out. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.

[BigAngus752]

I'm sorry that you're struggling with your move.  That has to be tough.  Going from a bass fishing Shangri-La to "average" may seem to be making it even worse, but let me try to give you some perspective.  What you are describing for your current fishing conditions are my only fishing conditions.  I live in central Illinois.  The closest lake for me to put my boat in that has any fish at all is 30 minutes away and that is a tiny lake that I can only use my trolling motor on.  The closest lake of any size is an hour.  Experienced fisherman here have regular skunk days and I have two friends that are tournament fisherman who drive half a day to fish half a day.  If a fisherman around here catches a 6 pound bass he puts it on his wall (hopefully in replica form).  Every single time I go out it is up in the air if I'm getting a bass.  Days when I put five in the boat are great days.  Five in the boat that are over the slot limit are SPECTACULAR days.  But I still sit and dream about the next time I get to go.  I can be miserable driving home after a skunk day but by the time I'm heading to bed I'm wishing that I could go again tomorrow.  Why?  THE CHALLENGE.  I LOVE trying to figure this stuff out.  This time of year I get up at 3:30AM so I can be on the water at 5:00AM and I'm pumped from the time my feet hit the floor.  It's me against the fish.  I started fishing a new lake this year (it's an hour and fifteen minutes away) and from March to June it was a skunk and dink fest.  But my last three trips have been great.  I've gotten 5 to 7 fish each time and one of those my top five went over ten pounds which would have been enough to put me in fourth place at the last tournament on that lake.  I'm doing so well on that lake that the next trip I take will NOT be to that lake, I will be going back to a lake with much bigger bass that every angler struggles on and I regularly get skunked on.  Why?  Because it's me vs. the fish.  Let's go.  

 

What's the point of this?  You're going from easy to hard.  You can give up or you can find the joy in the struggle.  In the words of Patches O'Houlihan, "You've gotta get angry!"

[greentrout]

you live in a very nice highly desirable area to live ... i've moved liked you and it can be frustrating to find a groove to fish new places ... finding those places ... and the tactics and presentations that work ... can take up to a yr. to learn and fully adapt to the new area ... be persistent and patient ... embrace the challenge ... the bass are there ...

 

fishing has been tough in many places ...

 

good fishing...  

[TnRiver46]

Lesson number one of bass fishing: ponds are easy, lakes are hard. I grew up fishing a golf course, lots of grass and bass. The fishing was always easy and didn’t take long to start catching. I no longer have access to these ponds and could care less, i enjoy fishing large reservoirs from a boat way more than I ever enjoyed pond hopping. Like @BigAngus752 said, it’s all about the challenge

[NYWayfarer]

20 hours ago, Koz said:

Bank fishing spots are few and far between. I did find one 18 acre lake where I could traverse most of the shoreline but there appears to be a lot of fishing pressure there (need to bring spinning gear and a ned rig setup if I try it again). I found a minor point to fish from and started fan casting but the next thing I know two people set up next to me and I can't cover any water.

 

I've talked to some anglers at these places and while there are legends of bigger bass these guys are pulling out dinks. A two pounder is considered big.

 

Sounds like my life. My enthusiasm is at an all time high though.

 

I hope you get yours back.

[Koz]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Lesson number one of bass fishing: ponds are easy, lakes are hard. I grew up fishing a golf course, lots of grass and bass. The fishing was always easy and didn’t take long to start catching. I no longer have access to these ponds and could care less, i enjoy fishing large reservoirs from a boat way more than I ever enjoyed pond hopping. Like @BigAngus752 said, it’s all about the challenge

 

A challenge is fine from a boat or kayak, but when you don't have those readily available I don't find the challenge of landing a decent fish from a 100 foot stretch of shore on a 600+ acre lake very appealing.

 

I'll rent a kayak next weekend and see how it goes. I have thought of buying a kayak, but for me that would also mean I have to buy a new vehicle. I kind of like having no car payments right now.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Koz said:

 

A challenge is fine from a boat or kayak, but when you don't have those readily available I don't find the challenge of landing a decent fish from a 100 foot stretch of shore on a 600+ acre lake very appealing.

 

I'll rent a kayak next weekend and see how it goes. I have thought of buying a kayak, but for me that would also mean I have to buy a new vehicle. I kind of like having no car payments right now.

A 600 acre lake is still quite small, most of ours are 30,000+ acres. @Dirtyeggroll put up a report in the fishing locations section today where he showed up blind to fish off the bank at a large reservoir and had success, it can be done. Back when I was bank bound I always liked to fish below dams 

[Sphynx]

I am bank bound, and while I rarely see days that I get skunked (not counting days where a local will take pity and tell me early that I'm fishing in a pond without fish in it lol) it is almost always an adventure getting to any decent spots, for me that is half the fun, putting in the work to leg out a trip that most other people will never consider...the result is usually extremely gratifying. I may be mistaken, but it is very unlikely that there are not any big fish at all in the waters your fishing...they are just not going to be something you can take for granted any more, and might require some extra effort or thinking outside the box to find. I fish ponds and lakes all over the country as a trucker and am rarely able to fish the same body of water twice in a season...I really enjoy the crapshoot though, me vs. fish and they hold all the cards basically...I like to tell myself when I manage a good day, usually 5+ fish, on water I don't know at all and usually with extremely limited access that it's making me a better angler, I have to go back to basics and read the water, weather, and whatever other clues I can find to have a chance at a good day.

[MIbassyaker]

Think of it this way:  You're just playing at a higher difficultly level now...

 

[Koz]

5 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

Think of it this way:  You're just playing at a higher difficultly level now...

 

I don't mind having to work to have a decent day fishing. But it is frustrating that not only is bank fishing limited in the areas I have tried, but those areas are not where bass are likely to be found. I know where I should be fishing in some of these lakes, but I just can't get to them on foot.

 

I went to Lake Robinson this weekend and intended to rent a kayak. But with the impending thunderstorms I decided not to waste my money. Maybe next weekend. I may give Lake Cooley a try and rent a kayak.