TriStateBassin106 Posted March 23, 2021 Posted March 23, 2021 Went fishing today here in NJ, the pond was pretty lively with tons of bluegill and smaller mimnows swimming around the warmest side, water temps on the shallowest shoreline peaked 59.2 degrees but it's still cold in the 3 feet or deeper section (53.5 degrees) when I took the temps in the deepest part I could (Max depth here is 7 feet) Tried throwing around a chrome blue back lipless crank but after 45 minutes I had no takers, threw a PB&J jig around some riprap and fan casted the bank. I did have a bite on the intial fall after awhile but what ever it was very small. Also threw a ned rig to no avail. Before I left I did throw around my panfish setup and caught some shiners bluegil and a very tiny bass, definitely no bigger than six inches. Hopefully the bass really start to bite soon. I have no idea why the bluegill are up shallow and the bass aren't, it's probably still early up here but I'm glad I'm starting to see more baitfish activity the bass are probably right behind them getting ready to binge feed. Should I keep fishing the shallower side or try to find the fish that are still in winter mode on the deeper side? Quote
Super User Koz Posted March 23, 2021 Super User Posted March 23, 2021 We've had wonky weather here in the south and have yet to see the pre-spawn feeding frenzy. There was a HS bass fishing tournament here on Oconee this weekend and the winning team came in at just over 13 pounds. That's brutal. The shad spawn usually starts in the first week of April and hopefully that starts on cue and the fishing picks up. I've caught more 1 pound and less bass here in 6 weeks than I would all year in my old SC stomping grounds. The biggest I have caught was only 2.5 pounds. I keep telling myself, "Next week..." 2 Quote
TriStateBassin106 Posted March 23, 2021 Author Posted March 23, 2021 8 minutes ago, Koz said: We've had wonky weather here in the south and have yet to see the pre-spawn feeding frenzy. There was a HS bass fishing tournament here on Oconee this weekend and the winning team came in at just over 13 pounds. That's brutal. The shad spawn usually starts in the first week of April and hopefully that starts on cue and the fishing picks up. I've caught more 1 pound and less bass here in 6 weeks than I would all year in my old SC stomping grounds. The biggest I have caught was only 2.5 pounds. I keep telling myself, "Next week..." It's not even a huge binge I want, I just want to consistently catch bass again like I did in the fall, up here the bite always dies off mid november but usually picks back up in April! I don't understand the march hype train with bass to be honest. It must be a southern thing where it warms up quicker. 59 degree water temps but no fish. Water still feels very cold and it's probably even worse at some of the lakes I fish. Quote
Super User Koz Posted March 23, 2021 Super User Posted March 23, 2021 7 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said: It's not even a huge binge I want, I just want to consistently catch bass again like I did in the fall, up here the bite always dies off mid november but usually picks back up in April! I don't understand the march hype train with bass to be honest. It must be a southern thing where it warms up quicker. 59 degree water temps but no fish. Water still feels very cold and it's probably even worse at some of the lakes I fish. Our water temps here on Oconee in GA are about 63 with some warmer pockets. The winning boat in the HS tournament this past weekend caught only 13 pounds. We just haven't had one consistent week of warmer daytime and nighttime temperatures yet, As soon as that happens I expect all heck to break loose. Quote
Super User DitchPanda Posted March 23, 2021 Super User Posted March 23, 2021 My water temps are low 40s yet...I caught a 3lb largemouth on a finesse jig yesterday. Stay at it. 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 23, 2021 Global Moderator Posted March 23, 2021 Your water temps are in the prime range for spring time fishing, not at all what I'd consider cold anymore. There's bass up shallow with those baitfish, I promise there are. I have a feeling you're greatly underestimating how active and aggressive bass will be in those water temps. 2 Quote
Super User king fisher Posted March 23, 2021 Super User Posted March 23, 2021 Don't feel bad. The water temp. at a lake I fished a few days ago was 74, I only landed one 6 inch bass in 10 hrs. of fishing. Sometimes they just don't want to bite. Keep trying. Next cast could be your PB. 1 Quote
TriStateBassin106 Posted March 23, 2021 Author Posted March 23, 2021 38 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: Your water temps are in the prime range for spring time fishing, not at all what I'd consider cold anymore. There's bass up shallow with those baitfish, I promise there are. I have a feeling you're greatly underestimating how active and aggressive bass will be in those water temps. Time will tell man, just gotta keep going at it until they bite. I usually don't catch one until April. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 23, 2021 Global Moderator Posted March 23, 2021 Did you change colors on that lipless your threw or just offer one color? Or try a spinnerbait? Bladed jig? If I threw slow moving baits here right now, I'd be struggling to get a couple bites a day instead of 20-50 fish I've been getting. I'm not pond fishing so I have access to a lot more fish, but imo, if you offer the fish something for 10-20 minutes in a pond and get no response, that bait isn't the answer. It might take something as slight as a color change. Maybe they don't want the flash of a chrome bait so try a sexy shad, or maybe go completely opposite and try a red craw. We've had horrible weather with almost 6" of rain in areas, flash flooding, and cold temps, so the bass did exactly like you'd expect and pushed shallower. Water temps got colder and clarity dropped to less than a foot, but they were hammering a bait if it got close to them. Bass are programmed to get moving this time of year, regardless of weather. 5 Quote
Super User DitchPanda Posted March 24, 2021 Super User Posted March 24, 2021 22 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said: Your water temps are in the prime range for spring time fishing, not at all what I'd consider cold anymore. There's bass up shallow with those baitfish, I promise there are. I have a feeling you're greatly underestimating how active and aggressive bass will be in those water temps. Precisely. I'd kill for 59 water temp..be smoking em. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 24, 2021 Global Moderator Posted March 24, 2021 38 minutes ago, DitchPanda said: Precisely. I'd kill for 59 water temp..be smoking em. I had 50.9, about 3' high, and so muddy my red/orange kicker blade on my spinnerbait disappeared completely 6" under the water this morning. Worked hard for 2.5 hours for 1 bite but it was a solid fish at least. Quote
Super User DitchPanda Posted March 24, 2021 Super User Posted March 24, 2021 4 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: I had 50.9, about 3' high, and so muddy my red/orange kicker blade on my spinnerbait disappeared completely 6" under the water this morning. Worked hard for 2.5 hours for 1 bite but it was a solid fish at least. How solid we talking? Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 24, 2021 Global Moderator Posted March 24, 2021 4 minutes ago, DitchPanda said: How solid we talking? 18", didn't weigh it. Bumped me up the leaderboard a bit for my kayak tournament. Still need some 20" fish to have a shot though. 2 Quote
CrankFate Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 Was out looking around last weekend in the general geographic area of the OP, saw some signs of life. Only bluegills. Mainly the bigger ones. No bass. No carp. No catfish. Waiting for a new credit card to come so I can get $200 off on a new setup. Will probably give it a shot when I get the rod. I never see fish until May, though. Not sure why? Quote
galyonj Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 2 hours ago, CrankFate said: Will probably give it a shot when I get the rod. I never see fish until May, though. Not sure why? They're on vacation. Quote
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