Problems all over the board

[wade_son]

I will try to make this quick. I’ve been struggling a lot this summer trying to catch some decent size fish. Last summer i had a lot of success with the whopper plopper... this summer it’s been a real challenge. I took my kayak out to woodland lake, MI yesterday and did mostly frog fishing (sprinker frog)... got hit 4 times and i got hooked into one but then lost it in the pads. I have a old town predator mx kayak and I’m not gonna lie... it’s some of the toughest fishing i’ve ever experienced. Especially with wind. I’ve been using mainly 3 rods. Frog rod, topwater rod, then a spinnerbait rod. The frog rod and topwater rod both have curado DC casting reels. Today on my frog rod i backlashed pretty bad with 65 pound power pro braid. It was on setting 1 and i still had to cut the line it was so bad. I don’t really know what I’m doing wrong. I have so much money tied up in fishing equipment and it’s not really paying off. Going through a serious drought for sure. If you have any suggestions on what i can do to improve my success, it’d be much appreciated. Thanks. 

[JediAmoeba]

Sounds like you are hung up on the equipment and not the technique and locating the fish.   

 

Time to go back to basics and slow down.  Drop your line size, go smaller, slow down and hook into some fish to build confidence.  Size will come

[DanielG]

I just posted about my trying out my new curado dc. I've never used a bait caster before. It started out rough then got better then it was great.

 

Long story short... setting 4 is the slowest cast but least chance for a nest. But, it's all about the tension knob. Tonight I was casing a crankbait on setting 1 with mono. It nested a lot then I set the tension knob so that when I let the lure drop it dropped very slowly. Every time I cast there is absolutely no nesting. When I loosened up the tension knob just a little so the lure dropped slow but faster it would nest.

 

Also I've read that if your line is spinning on the reel, and braided is notorious for this, then the DC thing won't work. If your line slides on the reel you'd need to retie it or as many do put about a third of the reel mono then tie the braided to it. The mono doesn't slip. You can also just use braided and put a piece of tape over the knot before you spool it on.

[Riversidebassin]

Most important thing to take away from this is... DON’T OVER THINK IT!!! Go out there and just have fun! Maybe try some different/smaller presentation techniques to catch some fish (even if they are small) to build some confidence.

good luck!!

[new2BC4bass]

Sounds like you need to throw some 10" ribbontail worms and some Senkos into the mix. 

 

I like my spinnerbaits, too.  My 2 biggest bass where caught on spinnerbaits.

 

If you want to try some really tough fishing, try my area of PA.

[JediAmoeba]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Sounds like you need to throw some 10" ribbontail worms and some Senkos into the mix. 

 

I like my spinnerbaits, too.  My 2 biggest bass where caught on spinnerbaits.

 

If you want to try some really tough fishing, try my area of PA.

Eastern Pa?  I can't imagine fishing is much tougher anywhere than eastern pa.

[new2BC4bass]

33 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

Eastern Pa?  I can't imagine fishing is much tougher anywhere than eastern pa.

Yup.  ABE area.  Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton.  A boat would help get me away from the really pressured areas.  Would still be fishing pressured areas no matter where I went on a boat.  Guys that can run a boat on the Delaware River have good luck.  A jet boat is rather expensive.  The few public shore areas I've tried on the Delaware are pathetic.  From what I've read/heard, the Delaware is the only area where numbers of fish can be caught....if you have the means.  I don't like fishing rivers.

[JediAmoeba]

2 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Yup.  ABE area.  Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton.  A boat would help get me away from the really pressured areas.  Would still be fishing pressured areas no matter where I went on a boat.  Guys that can run a boat on the Delaware River have good luck.  A jet boat is rather expensive.  The few public shore areas I've tried on the Delaware are pathetic.  From what I've read/heard, the Delaware is the only area where numbers of fish can be caught....if you have the means.  I don't like fishing rivers.

I was on the Delaware this past weekend for 4 hours and caught 20 smallies, the biggest being about 2.5 lbs.  The only thing I hate about the Delaware is it costs a lot in tackle every time.

 

I am about 45 minutes north of you up in Albrightsville so I understand the pressure.  You need to trek through some vegetation if you want to get to less pressured areas and/or get a yak.  Having a boat doesn't seem to get you to less pressured waters but it does allow you to cover more water to find active fish.

[Shimano_1]

I would ease up on the topwaters a little bit and slow down. When things get tough for me I put everything up except a finesse jig, drop shot, and yum dinger. These 3 things produce for me everywhere I've ever fished for bass. Topwaters are amazing when it's on. I dont fish em much tho, usually just morning and evening unless it's an overcast day or the fish keep eating em.