Can see the Bass but they never bite.

[FloridaMadness]

This question most likely has been asked, but whenever I go fishing at a bridge. I see Largemouth Bass (4-5 LB) Swimming around. The problem is, is that they will never bite anything. I've tried Crawfish plastics, Worms, Jigs with crawfish trailers, crankbaits, buzzbaits. Basically any type of lure. Why are they running away instead of biting?

[TnRiver46]

Because they can see you 

[Mike L]

6 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Because they can see you 

Or your presentations spook them

Or it’s too cold or even too hot 
Or they’re just not hungry. 

Be stealthy and make quiet entries  

 

When all else fails hope to get an reaction bite. 
Make more than one cast from different angles using more than one type of bait and hope you got her mad enough. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[cheezyridr]

use a live hellgramite. if they wont bite that,  they won't bite anything

[Scott804]

If it really is a 4 or 5 pound bass and it is swimming around like that it probably knows the drill when it comes to artificial lures. I have done a lot of sight fishing for bass in both tiny creeks and in small rivers and when they are pressured it can be near impossible to trick them sometimes. I do have a few things that could help you though. 

 

If it was me, I would go with a spinning reel with light fluoro line and probably a crawfish plastic on a shakin' head. I would most definitely scent the lure, as these type of fish can be super quick to spit something they know is fake. Another thing that will work to your advantage is going during a cloudy day. Sightfishing in blue bird skies can be brutal sometimes. Another thing to do is to stand as far as you reasonably can from the edge of the water. There are a couple ponds I fish where I watch people stand on the edge and skunk over and over and simply moving as many feet back as I reasonably can is a gamechanger. Could be placebo talking, but I have found it to work for me. I hope at least one of these can help you. Good luck! 

[GreenPig]

Wear a different hat & shirt. They recognize you and know what you're up to . You may even want to alter your gait. Smoke if you don't normally or don't if you normally do. Put a small throw pillow under your shirt and change your profile. Many things can be done to fool them. It just depends on how educated your bass are. I've had to go as far as growing a beard.????

[scaleface]

Are you 100 percent positive that the fish you see swimming around are largemouth bass ?If so  , try catching them at night .

[the reel ess]

When I was a teen I used to walk through the woods and sneak into a pond only the owner knew existed. It was so small, round and clear it was very difficult to sneak up on the fish. I could easily see 5 pounders in there. I only ever got one bite there and didn't land it. If I could get in there now I'd take some nightcrawlers, cast one in and sit motionless until they forgot I was there.

[Deplorable Fisherman]

17 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Because they can see you 

Bingo...saw some guys going goofy at a bayou standing on a bridge over a hydro dam and they just couldn't understand why all those big bass they could see weren't biting. I got a bit cocky and would have looked stupid if the fish didn't bite but gave it a shot and said I would catch some if they stepped off the bridge and watched me. I walked into the grassy area about 15 yards from the hydro dam and knelt in the grass and tossed a tube into the current...first cast was about a 2.5 lber and the third cast was about a 4 lber.

If the fish can see you, they're probably not going to bite.

[FloridaMadness]

17 hours ago, Mike L said:

Or your presentations spook them

Or it’s too cold or even too hot 
Or they’re just not hungry. 

Be stealthy and make quiet entries  

 

When all else fails hope to get an reaction bite. 
Make more than one cast from different angles using more than one type of bait and hope you got her mad enough. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

For the too hot part, is 90 degrees outside weather considered hot?

[TheBasslayer]

9 minutes ago, FloridaMadness said:

For the too hot part, is 90 degrees outside weather considered hot?

It depends on the water temperature. Depending on the creek where you fish, if the water is normal temperature, then you should be fine. But if it has routinely been 90, and the water has been really warm like in the 80s, then that is when it is considered "warm" for me.

[Mike L]

18 minutes ago, FloridaMadness said:

For the too hot part, is 90 degrees outside weather considered hot?

Specifically water temp which is affected by air temperature. 
 

When the air temp is consistently in the low to mid 90’s which it is down here from May to September, the water temperature rises into the high 80’s low 90’s during the day. 
There are variables of course by region, but down here that’s the norm. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[FloridaMadness]

17 hours ago, scaleface said:

Are you 100 percent positive that the fish you see swimming around are largemouth bass ?If so  , try catching them at night .

I can confirm they're not fish like Spotted Tilapia since they don't go for my bread