I am struggling

[Foul-mouthedBass]

I'm in the Northeast and I am struggling. I cannot catch a largemouth bass in my body of water that I know there are bastion. I've caught hundreds there. I don't know if I'm just not fishing in the right spot. If I'm not fishing deep enough or if I'm not throwing the right lure many factors I can use any kind of health. Current water temperature is 47.5° in the last couple days have been very windy which has been making it even more miserable and I'm starting to get discouraged. Any kind of health would be great

[WRB]

You are measuring surface water temperature that has little affect on bass in deeper water. 
Are you a boat or bank angler?

Tom

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Got any electronics?  Fishing from a boat, or bank?

 

Sub 55d water temps, pre-prespawn fish.......find the bait.   2D and sidescan sonar are your best friends in the winter especially.    

 

Don't get discouraged, worst-case scenario you have to wait a few weeks until the water temps hit 55d+.   I've always heard sub 50d water temps up north makes difficult fishing, but I've never fished up north.   

[Bird]

I've kept track of water temps the last couple of years and I don't put multiple fish in the boat until I see water temps into the 50's.

Probably water temps and not you.

 

[Foul-mouthedBass]

42 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Got any electronics?  Fishing from a boat, or bank?

 

Sub 55d water temps, pre-prespawn fish.......find the bait.   2D and sidescan sonar are your best friends in the winter especially.    

 

Don't get discouraged, worst-case scenario you have to wait a few weeks until the water temps hit 55d+.   I've always heard sub 50d water temps up north makes difficult fishing, but I've never fished up north.   

From a boat and I just have a reg 2d sonar 

[Brian11719]

So when it's that cold I'd be throwing an a-rig or a drop shot. Don't let it bug you or take it personally it's harder to catch them when it gets that cold. One thing that's not so great about our era and everything being recorded the way it is is that you don't see the 'bad' on sites like youtube just instant gratification and the appearance of catching multiple fish in seconds...it's (almost) never like that and especially not when the water temp is still that cold...if it were me I'd be sticking to my victory spinning rod with a red bug trick worm on it to be completely honest...realize people try to bag on the drop shot and swear by baitcasters and power fishing but there's a reason why the drop shot wins so much money every year...

[gim]

Most likely the problem has already been stated here. Water temps being that cold are the issue and when it warms up the bite will improve.

 

Northern strain largies do not like temps below 50. That’s the critical temp I look for in the spring and fall.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

25 minutes ago, Foul-mouthedBass said:

From a boat and I just have a reg 2d sonar 

Perfectly fine, now what kind of bait lives in the lake?    

 

Find that bait, you'll 100% find the fish.   

[Swamp Girl]

The guys above have nailed it. The bass are c-c-cold. Their lowered metabolism means they're eating less. Fishing this early for me is mostly about being on the water and casting. Both are fun for me.

 

Reframe why you're out there and you might start enjoying yourself even if you're skunked.

 

Also, @Brian11719 made a great point about YouTubers, but some BR anglers also don't share when they're skunked or only catch little ones. If you were to look at their photos, you'd think they only caught big ones.

 

We all get skunked. I've fished twice this year and am averaging 0.5 bass per trip. One time, I was standing in snow, but I still had fun. 

 

If you don't follow Alex (@AlabamaSpothunter), he's one of Bass Resource's best. So, when he tells you to find the bait, find the bait. He's our E.F. Hutton. 

[BigAngus752]

Slow and small until those water temps go up. Just hang on!  It’s coming!

[DogBone_384]

Don’t be discouraged. I’m in MA and fish South Shore and Cape Cod year round when possible. 47* water temps are still cold for LMB. 
 

I keep a detailed spreadsheet and hardly catch Largies below 50*. Smallmouth are more active at these temps but are still difficult to catch.

 

I skunk roughly 50% of the trips I take between January & April.  Perch and Pickerel are often those that ‘save my bacon’.

 

My most productive baits in winter are a blade bait, Ned/small tube, and jerkbait (in order).

 

Fishing as slowly as possible is best, especially ‘dead sticking’ a tube.  
 

Luckily you’re in the right forum. There are plenty of resources here to help. Best of luck, and din’t get discouraged. It’s not you this time of year.

[MediumMouthBass]

I saw you are in PA, i am as well. The bass were biting quite a bit for me end of February/March last year but so far this spring they seem to be dormant where im fishing, even tho there are trout and panfish roaming the bank. I just caught my one and only bass so far this season the other day on a 6" Daingerous swimbait dragging bottom whereas last year i had a few dozen by this time. Im not a beliver in water temps since last year i would show up early and wait for the thin ice sheet from the cold night prior to melt then catch some bass in the afternoon. Although it is interesting that the water temps are still cold since we had quite an odd winter season (very underwhelming compared to years prior). I made a post a few days ago almost identical to yours about the bass bite being very strange and almost non existent. Must be a Pennsylvania thing. I would recommend the same thing im doing, throw every lure, bait, weight, size, and color at the fish until i get a bite, until then i will just try to get some practice in and continue learning.

[Susky River Rat]

I am not sure where at in PA you are but, I can tell you Blue marsh is being harder than normal. I cannot buy a fish there. I am not much of a lake fisherman this year. The susky has been slow. I’ll run into schools of them but, I’d you are in that school or throw EXACTLY what they want you will not get them. On trip it was burning cranks the next it’s Ned rigs. You really have to have all the pieces of the puzzle together right now.

 

this weather has been screwy to say the least. The best we can hope for is a nice even warming trend. 

[casts_by_fly]

I'm just across the border in NJ and its a similar scenario.  We had some hot weather a couple weeks ago that warmed things quickly in the shallows, but then we had overnight freezing temps a week or two later.  The lakebed itself is still cold as is the water.  Its early yet.  Any fishing before April 1st this far north is bonus time.  Sometimes you do alright, sometimes not.  But it could be worse- there could still be ice on the water.  Our forecast here is a couple days of chilly rain but then 65/50 and sunny for a few days.  Assuming no more deep drops in overnight temps, this should get the water up over 50 soon and the fish will start turning on.

[scaleface]

In cold water I "always" had better luck on sunny afternoons. I like to fish sun baked banks , preferably steep and rocky. A Wiggle Wart cast parallel to those banks are famous for that type of fishing . I   hold my rod tip close to the water surface to get a couple more feet out of it and reel as slowly as I can stand it. Its a good  way to catch a big female.

[MIbassyaker]

I never expect to be consistent for Largemouth in water temps below 50, especially if we've recently had volatile weather.  I'm not sure more explanation is needed.  Wait for a few stable, warming days and go in the afternoon. 

[RRocket]

On 3/31/2024 at 8:19 PM, Foul-mouthedBass said:

I'm in the Northeast and I am struggling. I cannot catch a largemouth bass in my body of water that I know there are bastion. I've caught hundreds there. I don't know if I'm just not fishing in the right spot. If I'm not fishing deep enough or if I'm not throwing the right lure many factors I can use any kind of health. Current water temperature is 47.5° in the last couple days have been very windy which has been making it even more miserable and I'm starting to get discouraged. Any kind of health would be great

Welcome to the club!! 

 

I've only caught a couple pan fish this year and nothing else.

 

Still too cold for us guys in the North IMO.

[The Budget Angler]

I had the same problem a few months back.  Turned out the water was just too cold.  Give it a few weeks, or try to fish when there's been several days of warm, sunny weather in a row.  I did that and I've been getting on bass pretty consistently since then.  Throw something slow at first, like a soft plastic (dropshotting might not be a bad idea).

 

Tight lines!

[NJBasstard]

I'm in NJ just 5 minutes over the Walt Whitman bridge. Water temps mostly in the 47-52 degree range and nearing 55 on the nicer days. My fishing has been split between the creeks/canals off the Delaware River and a couple lakes (DOD/Union) for the last month.  My best bites have been way up in the creek channels in 2-3 feet of water. The further up the creeks I go the more fresh vegetation I'm seeing. That's where they've been. I've had quite a few 10+ fish days recently all on spinnerbaits and jigs. Not sure about your body of water but that's what working here.

[waymont]

Try a Ned rig, and a Rapala Tiny fished slowly. 

[T-Billy]

I put 11 LM in the boat yesterday in about 4hrs, fishing nearly identical water temp. I'm a fan of the 40's. It's all about sun baked laydowns for me. You want trees with close deep water access, and the gnarlier they are, the better they are. 

Heavy rod at a minimum, and XH is better. Straight 50# braid, and a snelled straight shank flippin rig. Jigs hang up too much in this stuff. I prefer a 3.5" beaver type bait and a 3/8 tungsten sinker, going up to 1/2 if needed because of wind.

No messing around the perimeter. Ya gotta get into the thickest, bushiest parts, and TIGHT to the trunk. Start deep out in the treetop and work your way in. As mentioned above, sunny afternoons are usually best. That warm sunshine will move 'em shallow, and make them easier to target.

[JayMac89]

I'm in LINY. Was out for 5 hours Sunday and not a single bass. Couple of pickerel. Wacky rig, dragging a jig, swimming a jig, jerkbait, square bill. Deep and shallow. Sunny side, shady side. Grass. Laydowns. Points. Open water. Granted i don't have nearly the experience other guys have. But i didn't see anyone else catching bass. Talked to a few guys. Only heard of 1 bass being caught. And this is at a lake known for good bass fishing. Not a ton of pressure. 

 

Was easy to get down about it but was able to talk myself into seeing it as a positive. Learned a few things. Got used to the new kayak. Now if i still can't catch em when it's warmer then I'll start to get frustrated. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

I’m here in MA. It’s been a grind.  Been catching fish on jigs, big swimbaits, chatterbaits, t rigs. I fish the windy side. Mostly up shallow. No idea the water temps. All these are from different. Some  were deeper clear places,  others were shallow weedy ponds. The shallow ponds are more affected by the weather. So a warm day will heat up faster.  The deeper places are more stable but take longer to warm up. The shallows even in deeper places are warming up. They will probably be aggressive too. Reaction baits are awesome right now. May not feel like it but the water is warming up and they are hungry. I wouldn’t fish finesse right now. The finessest thing I’d fish is a t rig, tube or jig but they are my confidence baits and I’ll get fish on em from dead winter till dog days of summer!   
 

Saturday it was a grind, my buddy got them on jerkbaits, and lipless. I had better luck, I got them on a big glide bait, chatterbaits, and t rig.   Came from a shallow windy area along some docks. Monday was all chatterbaits and swim jigs, squarebill crank, shallow brushy windy area. 
Tuesday was a deeper place, wind blown point and a rocky/ brushy shallow area.  Jigs, jerkbaits, and tubes got my fish. 

[Foul-mouthedBass]

On 4/1/2024 at 5:35 AM, Susky River Rat said:

I am not sure where at in PA you are but, I can tell you Blue marsh is being harder than normal. I cannot buy a fish there. I am not much of a lake fisherman this year. The susky has been slow. I’ll run into schools of them but, I’d you are in that school or throw EXACTLY what they want you will not get them. On trip it was burning cranks the next it’s Ned rigs. You really have to have all the pieces of the puzzle together right now.

 

this weather has been screwy to say the least. The best we can hope for is a nice even warming trend. 

I'm in wayne county