How's the bite been recently for you?

[TriStateBassin106]

How's the bite been for you guys around the country/world? Has the fall transition switched into full throttle or has it just started?

 

I haven't been able to fish much since a week ago but here in NJ/NY/PA it's been tough but fair since mid August. Hopefully the fall switch kicks in soon! 

 

What about you guys? How's the bite? 

[Jig Man]

The last couple of trips it hasn’t been bad.  We have caught about 20 with a half dozen keepers on crank and spinner baits on each outing.  Our main problem is temps in the 90° range every day.

[Finessegenics]

Been getting better up here in southern Canada. Noticed many fish have moved shallower, but still seem lethargic. The days can still be hot but the nights have been quite cool and I believe that’s a major factor in determining when the transition has begun. If you get a few consistent colder nights I think you may notice a change. 

[A-Jay]

 Last 3 weeks or so have been tough sledding for big brown bass in this neck of the woods. 

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

Slogging through late summer right now, it's rough with not many bites and even fewer quality fish.

[The Bassman]

The ponds I fish have been tough lately. Also, weed growth has been an obstacle. I guess HOA's back off on weed control knowing the stuff will die down soon.

[Todd2]

Main lake has been slow, better action has been in the headwaters (river) but even that is more White Bass/Saugeye than Bass...but catching is better than casting.

[Spankey]

9 hours ago, pondhopperNJ said:

How's the bite been for you guys around the country/world? Has the fall transition switched into full throttle or has it just started?

 

I haven't been able to fish much since a week ago but here in NJ/NY/PA it's been tough but fair since mid August. Hopefully the fall switch kicks in soon! 

 

What about you guys? How's the bite? 

I hear that. I’m probably from your area. I’ve been catching Greenies since June. The nicer fish in August. Just not having days of catching 10-12 fish. Probably fishing pressure related. I’m a river rat at heart, spent my whole life there but Mother Nature as ruined the river I call home over the last handful years. Have not missed a beat fishing. Just converted to lake fishing the other year. I have a few Rapalas that have always worked well in the fall. Should produce again, why not. I don’t fish that pattern spring thru summer. Time to tie they on I guess. 

 

[Fishingmickey]

Spent the first week of September in Maine (Belgrade lakes are). I got to fish China lake Tuesday and Wednesday. Hit Belgrade Stream Thursday morning for a couple of hours and fishing was excellent. Caught both Smallmouth and Largemouth bass. Everything else was biting too (Chain pickerel, Pike and White Perch)!

Fishingmickey

[BassNJake]

It has slowed down for me the last few weeks.

Every year around the late summer they start dropping the water about a foot and a half each week.

 

This pushes the fish into the main channel and deeper.(water temps are still in the low 80's)

Not too great for my toad fishing, so I've been working the ends of points with walking baits.

 

The good thing is it allows me to take pictures of all the cover/structure that I've been catching fish off of all year.

When the water rises again, I dont have to try and remember where all the stuff was at.

 

[TnRiver46]

@BassNJake, are they eating that walking bait? I haven't been up your way since late June 

[BassNJake]

It's not fast and furious but I'm catching a few 

it's that weird time of year where you can catch a smallie or a large mouth because they are both chasing the schools of bait

 

My tourney partner has been doing better than me but he throws that A-rig on deep ledges with a bend in them

 

I hate throwing that 10 pound rig so I avoid it and miss out on some catches for sure

 

[TnRiver46]

56 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

It's not fast and furious but I'm catching a few 

it's that weird time of year where you can catch a smallie or a large mouth because they are both chasing the schools of bait

 

My tourney partner has been doing better than me but he throws that A-rig on deep ledges with a bend in them

 

I hate throwing that 10 pound rig so I avoid it and miss out on some catches for sure

 

Yea I lost an a rig the second time I threw one. Too rich for my blood, that was about the same price as losing 80-100 plastic worms 

[TriStateBassin106]

6 hours ago, The Bassman said:

The ponds I fish have been tough lately. Also, weed growth has been an obstacle. I guess HOA's back off on weed control knowing the stuff will die down soon.

I know this feeling well, many of my spots which are usually producers in the fall and spring/early summer get infested with weeds. Very hard to fish it with typical summer baits.

[endless]

 

 

Off and on for me... some places been very hard.. but I think that had to do with the Murky water. That was bad lol... I couldn’t see shallow water till I’m dragging cross the ground... stumps till I hit them.. the deeper body was clear but the shallows was like cream coffee... I caught four. 2 biggest was both 1.4. The lake by house been off and on as well.., but we been dealing with cold fronts for couple days in the 70’s to back high to mid 90’s... 

 

of course the lake by the house is very low right now and over ran by Just leaving the ramp I have to keep my trolling motor up high as I can cause of it... 

 

nothing over a pound yet at this lake... 

[j bab]

Lake Eufaula (Alabama) has been utter crap lately! And it's not just me, the local hammers have been getting skunked lately too and they actually know what they're doing  

[Bird]

It's been sloooow here in VA, been dry and hot.

Got on the water at day break, fished for 6 hrs , missed a good one early on a buzz, caught a 2lb LM on white spinnerbait and another 3lb on a skirted jig.....that is it.

Threw 5"-7" flukes for the most part.

 

My local lake is heavily mossed over.

[Log Catcher]

Went fishing the other day and the bite was very slow. Manged to catch two small ones on a Swim Senko. Had a few other bites I missed or the were bream nipping at the bait. Water temp is still low to mid 80s.

[Derek1]

It’s terrible everywhere I go. 

[starkeer]

10 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

Spent the first week of September in Maine (Belgrade lakes are). I got to fish China lake Tuesday and Wednesday. Hit Belgrade Stream Thursday morning for a couple of hours and fishing was excellent. Caught both Smallmouth and Largemouth bass. Everything else was biting too (Chain pickerel, Pike and White Perch)!

Fishingmickey

Were you just visiting the Belgrade Lakes area or are you there permanently? My Dad lives on Long Pond so I get daily updates from him. I've tried to get him involved on BR but he never sticks with it. 

[The Bassman]

I'm part of this chorus that's been saying how tough it is. This evening made a liar out of me, though. Hot, humid, and calm. Everything that I say kills the bite. Except after an hour and a half I'd caught ten including two over 2.5. Lost a bigger one. I went finesse instead of my bigger Ikas. Followed @Team9nine's pattern, a 1/16 weedless slider head and finesse worm.Sometimes you just have to listen and pay attention.

[Koz]

I've done a lot of casting, but very little fishing

 

I was back in the SC Lowcountry last week and over 2 days spent about 6 hours fishing my favorite lagoons. I didn't even see a bass and only landed two small crappie.

 

Back here in the Upstate I went fishing, er, casting for a few hours after work and didn't even get one bite. Baitfish were moving, but no bass to be found. I've been out about half a dozen times around here since I moved to the Upstate and have not had one single bite (about 13 hours on the water).

 

I can't find any accessible ponds around here so I've fished some of the lakes, but bank fishing spots are almost non-existent. I rented a kayak one day on Lake Cooley and caught nothing. Fishing around here is a huge disappointment. So much so that this weekend I'm passing up fishing and headed out to the golf course for the first time in 14 years.

[lo n slo]

On 9/11/2019 at 10:29 PM, pondhopperNJ said:

How's the bite been for you guys around the country/world? Has the fall transition switched into full throttle or has it just started?

 

I haven't been able to fish much since a week ago but here in NJ/NY/PA it's been tough but fair since mid August. Hopefully the fall switch kicks in soon! 

 

What about you guys? How's the bite? 

NC, western piedmont. it’s been in the 90’s and sunny here for the last few weeks, brutal. we had a back door cold front move through yesterday, bringing cooler temps, low clouds, and a nice NE breeze for this morning. i got on the water around 6:30. it was still dark. swt’s, now at 82, had gone up a good 3 degrees from my last visit two weeks ago. there’s a definite thermocline down around 20’. i caught some loners here and there, at some of my usual locations near the dock. catching some but still kinda slow. eventually i did find a few good schools of spots with bait clouds in the vicinity. they were everywhere when you found them, but were sorta hard to catch. those that did bite, spit up bait fish. they were really keyed in on that bait. these fish we’re located off shore, usually in the mouths of small coves, anywhere from 13’ to 18’ or so. i’d just sit out in the middle and fan cast texas rigs, no bank beating here. it’s kinda the same pattern i been using since late July. i caught 11 spots today but no picture bass. i also threw some swim baits. may hit it again in the morning.

[Sam]

Well Pond, me and my buddy came in second in our club's Mattaponi River tournament with me catching the tournament big fish at 3.5 pounds.  A good catch on the Mattaponi.

 

I caught three of our five keepers and we both nailed dink after dink after dink until 12:30. All were just under 12 inches. Fat, happy, and with good coloring, but just children and we were looking for the adults.

 

And we had our five keepers by 12:30 when it started to get very hot on the river.

 

Otherwise, went to Green Top to refresh my Senko stash of favorites.

 

Still have to clean up the boat. Will try to do that tomorrow. Today is Saturday, football day in my house.

 

 

[senile1]

On 9/11/2019 at 10:28 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Slogging through late summer right now, it's rough with not many bites and even fewer quality fish.

Since we are in the same region I'm chiming in on the back-end of your post.  I'm experiencing the same results though I am thankful that I have avoided skunks since coming back from my surgery in late June.  I'm catching some 2 to 3.5 lb fish but nothing bigger.  I normally don't post a pic unless the fish reaches 4 or 5 lbs but I am starting to think I may have to lower my standards.  ?