line set up - bait or no bait

[crankbait2009]

i have been fishing for quite a while now. not on a consistant basis but enough to think i know how......................so i thought. :

i sat down and started to browse the net for fishing pole set ups to see if i have been doing it right. only for the fact that i NEVER catch anything. I just as well tie a rock to my line and throw that in the water :'(

right now i have my sinkers at the bottom of my line followed by a hook about 12" above the sinker and then a bobber about 1-2 feet above the hook. i have tried power baits, rubber maggot bait, night crawlers as well as some catfish bait. Nothing....i can't even catch a cold!!!

if i decide to use some crank baits for testing i was thinking of "Strike King® Red Eye Shad Crankbaits - 1/2 oz.". do you need sinkers, bobbers or bait on these hooks? or is it a matter of tying this lure onto the line and casting? can anyone please help?

i think this might be helpful, i live in ohio, and fish in ponds and streams. id like to find something for fall fishing as well as spring/summer. have no clue about winter fishing, not up for that yet. :-/

i need some assistance bad, getting tired of going out and not getting results. any assistance would greatly be appreciated

[guitarkid]

A bobber and a crankbait is unnecesarry as you can usually feel the bite and the way they are fished. I would read all the How To's at the homepage, They have some great stuff. Pm me if you ever have any questions or anything.

                   -sm

[crankbait2009]

thank you stoopid mook.

i will definitley look at them

[GonzoFishing]

As far as the crankbait goes, yeah, you can tie it to the end of your line and chuck it. No need for weights, bobbers or bait. Your basically imitating a small baitfish. I dont know too much about Ohio or river fishing for that matter but I find that a plastic worm usually works. Buy a 3/0 extra wide gap hook, weighted or unweighted. Texas rig the worm to it and tie it to your line. Chuck it out and work it back slowly. Well, good luck!

[crankbait2009]

thank you charliebrown.  i will look into that setup as well.

[kikstand454]

buy that red eye shad in a nice natural color  like "tennesee shad" or "sexy shad" and just cast it out and reel it back.

youll catch something eventually.

[MichiganFisherman]

You're definately at the right place to learn a thing or two.  Browse the fishing articles and read post after post then ask any questions you have.  You'll be catching fish in no time.  

[Sam]

Reds 21,

You asked one heck of a question.

As stated above, please read the Fishing Articles.

Here is some input to consider.

Keep it Simple

Scale down your baits.  Maybe a 1/4 ounce Rat-L-Trap or a Bandit 100 or 200 crankbaits are the baits to throw?

Techniques

How do you want to fish or which technique do you feel most comfortable?  

May I suggest a Texas-Rigged Senko or finesse worm for starters, followed by treble hook baits such as crankbaits.

Both are easy to fish and you can easily feel the hits with both techniques.

You can throw a spinnerbait but please put a "trailer hook" on them to help with hook sets.  Try white skirt, or a white, chartreuse and blue skirt or a white and chartreuse skirt.  

Don't be too concerned with the blades other than a big round one for dirty water and two sleek pointed ones for clear water.  You can use the big round blade for clear water, too. Read about spinnerbaits on this site.

Other techniques to consider are:

Wacky Rigged Senkos or Finesse Worms

Carolina Rigged Creature or Lizards

Texas Rigged Senkos, no weight

Finesse Worms with Pegged Bullet Sinker

Buzzbaits are fun and use a Cavitron if possible

Frogs in Grass, Pads and over Slop

Rods

A spinning setup avoids backups and is easy to throw.  If you have been fishing baitcasters and are comfortable with them, continue to use those setups.

Read the specs on your rods.  They will tell you the line test and bait size to throw with each rod.  By staying within these parameters you will find casting and fishing a lot more easier and a lot more fun.

A 6' 6" medium heavy with a fast tip is a great rod, be it a spinning or a baitcaster rod.

Line

Mono for Treble Hook baits.

Flouro for All Other Baits

Braid for deep cranking, heavy structure or cover, and frogs and rats.

You do not need a heavy line.  Try 8 to 10 pound test for spinning rigs and 12 to 17 pound test for baitcasters.

Learn to tie a Palamor Knot for all baits until you learn the other various knots that are used for bass fishing.

Lures to Consider to Catch Largemouth Bass

Topwaters

Spinnerbaits

Crankbaits

Worms

Jigs

Keep it simple.  Stay with one presentation and technique until you believe you have mastered it or feel comfortable using it.

The main point of this post is to READ THE FISHING ARTICLES AND OTHER INFORMATION ON THIS SITE.

Then suscribe to Bassin' Magazine and Google the baits, tackle or techniques you want to use to read what others have to say.  You can also go to the varioius B.A.S.S. pro's web sites for their tips.

Your Current Setup

Sounds like you have a "drop-shot" with a bobber setup, which is new to me.

Try losing the heavy sinker and go with a light weight to help with casting, if needed.  If you are using a spinning rig then you do not need the weight as you should be able to cast the bobber and bait by themselves.

A split-shot weight may work but when I fish with a bobber I lose the weight all together.

Experiment with the depth of your bait.  Try different depths by moving the bobber up and down the line.

No Bites

If you do not get any strikes using either live minnows or Nightcrawlers, then there are no fish where you are fishing.  Or the fish are deep or in another part of the lake or pond.

Move around. Fish the shore, out 10 feet; out 20 feet; out 30 feet until you start to catch fish, be them bluegills, bream, catfish or bass.  At least you know the fish are there and how far off shore and at what depth.

Fall Fishing

Try a shad colored crankbait using MONO since you will be fishing a treble hook bait.  Line test not over 15 pounds. Just cast it out and reel in back to you.  If the bass are there, they will hit it.

You can reel a crankbait fast, slow, stop and let crank rise to surface, yo-yo it through the water by moving your rod's tip up and down, or just stop and go and stop and go.  You can rip it off the bottom or through some grass, too.

Try a 1/4 ounce chrome with black (cloudy sky) or blue (clear sky) back Rat-L-Trap. Try a Bandit 200 in the color of your choice, trying to "match the hatch" meaning match the color of what the bass are feeding on, be it shad, bream or crawfish.

Throw a 4 or 5-inch Senko without any weight.  Fish it Wacky style.  Watermealon for clear water and Pumpkinseed with Black Flake for stained water.  Use a 2/0 or a 3/0 weedless hook to avoid snags.

Try your Zoom finesse worms, too.

Read about the "drop-shot" and "split-shot" techniques on this site and consider giving them a try.

I am sending you a PM on setting up a baitcaster.

Now, after reading this great post (;D) go out and give it your best shot.

Remember, as the waters cool the bass become more active so they travel around getting ready for winter. This means they are feeding to fatten themselves for the colder water heading their way.

So try a crankbait, a spinnerbait, a Senko or a finesse worm and even live bait until you find the fish.

And this winter your homework assignment is to READ, READ AND READ about bass fishing.

Have fun.  

[tyrius.]

You're best bet is to find someone close to you who fishes regularly and then go out and fish with them.  You'll get hands on experience and he'll be able to show you specifically how things work.  

If you can't do that, I'd change up the live bait setup until you start catching fish.  If you're bobber fishing then tie the hook to the end of the line, put your bobber on and go fishing.  You want to limit the amount of weight that you have on the setup to as little as possible.  If you can cast the setup effectively without a weight, then don't use one.  The added weight causes an unnatural feel for the fish and some times that will cause them not to take the offering.  Also, in many instances you're going to want to fish deeper than 1-2 feet.  You want you're bait to be where the fish are.  So, if the tops of the weeds or the bottom of the pond are 4' down, then you want to set your bobber at just under 4'.  

Another point, if you're fishing a plastic lure then don't put it under a bobber.  The angler has to give the piece of plastic the necessary action to entice the fish to bite.  The plastic itself isn't typically going to attract a fish.  If you're fishing plastic worms (Senkos or Berkley power worms are two good options) pick up some bullet weights and say 2/0 or 3/0 worm hooks.  Search this site for texas rigging to find the instructions on how to do that and then fish that worm SLOWLY, and by slowly I mean really freaking slow.  A single cast could take a couple of minutes.

If you want to try crankbaits I would go out and by some Rapala Jointed Minnows.  These are lures that have been extraordinarily successful for a LONG time.  Nearly every angler has some in their tacklebag.  The Red Eye shad is a quality lipless crankbait, but I for one have a difficult time catching fish on lipless crankbaits.  Most people don't, but I just can't get the hang of them.

Another proven fish catcher is a Rooster tail or Mepps spinner.  These things catch everything from bluegill to bass to musky to salmon.  Don't buy the musky sized one though.  

And just to reiterate something I mentioned above.  Search this site (not just the forum) for info.  There is a ridiculous amount of high quality information here.

[Grey Wolf]

What part of ohio are you from ?

[crankbait2009]

bass brat, i am from the cincinnati area

tyrius - thank you for your advice.  i will definitley take that into consideration and see where it gets me this weekend if not during the week.

thanks everyone!!!

[Bassboss]

Are you for real?? :-?

You need no sinker or bobber fishing ANY lure (other than a texas rigged worm, or other soft bait), especially a crank bait. Tie the crank bait to the line, cast and, reel it in, stopping the bait every so often. BTW don't be afraid to by sticks and brush.

[tyrius.]

Are you for real?? :-?

This coming from you?  :

You need no sinker or bobber fishing ANY lure, especially a crank bait. Tie the crank bait to the line, cast and, reel it in, stopping the bait every so often. BTW don't be afraid to by sticks and brush.

You may be using English words, but I don't think you're using the English language.

[detroit1]

Sam - if you're keeping it simple, i wonder how long your advanced reply would be.... ;D