What gives...

[SnookOne]

So my wife and I head out to a local park here in Coral Springs to do a little fishing today and not one bite. Here is my problem...I was using live night crawlers! Now, this is the first time I have fished freshwater here in South Florida...and not one bite! I did see some small bass in the shallower water, but nothing. This may seem like a stupid question, but shouldn't a bream or some other pan fish have hit the worms? When I was in NJ, night crawlers were a given to catch a crappie or sunfish. Should I have tried a different live bait to "Scout" the area? I appreciate any feedback!

[D4u2s0t]

If you didn't catch anything on nightcrwalers, there's either not any fish there, or you did something really wrong.  Most likely there's no fish.

[Wild Bill [NY]]

Pretty tough not to catch fish on a live nightcrawler.

Was ANYTHING at least pecking at your bait ?

What was your air temperature ??[roughly]

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Live shiners are the way to go down here in South Fla.  If you can't catch something with a shiner, you're doing something wrong or theres no fish in the area.

[Bass_Akwards]

Guarenteed you threw where the fish aren't. Don't think "different bait" think "different position." Move and fish until you find the bites you're looking for.

Also, a really interesting fact I was reading about shiners from a 22 year guide on Okeechobee.   Weird but true.

"Over the years, the state of Florida has trapped and killed many thousands of bass on Lake Okeechobee for all sorts of studies. This sounds like a lot of bass and in some cases it would be. Considering the size of this lake and it's many millions of bass that live out their lives in a very short period compared to most lakes, it has been well worth the sacrifice considering what has been learned."

"Anyone familiar with Florida bass fishing, especially trophy bass fishing, knows that the number 1 method for taking these trophy bass is fishing with a live Florida Golden Shiner. These fish are native only to Florida and in no way should they be confused with any baitfish referred to as a shiner in the northern states. The prime size for a shiner to be used as bait is 8-10 inches in length. Bass love these things, big bass, any size bass, and most guides fish with nothing else. Ask anyone who has ever shiner fished in Florida what the bait of choice would be, and this will be your answer. Of all the strange facts I have learned about bass, this one takes the cake. All of these thousands of bass studied had their stomach contents checked closely for there contents. Not one single bass, out of the many thousands studied, has ever been found to have a Florida shiner in its stomach. NOT A SINGLE ONE OUT OF THOUSANDS! These are the baits you pay 1.50-2.00 each for when buying a dozen."

[SnookOne]

Well, everyone has given pretty straight forward replies which is why I like this site. As far as other details, the air temperature was roughly in the mid 70's with winds at 5mph. My wife and I moved as much as we could as we were fishing from a bank. There was fish jumping throughout the afternoon, however I could not identify them. When we went to a different spot of the lake, I did see a bass in about 2 feet of water, and he was about 10 inches in length. I did not however see any panfish.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Guarenteed you threw where the fish aren't. Don't think "different bait" think "different position." Move and fish until you find the bites you're looking for.

Also, a really interesting fact I was reading about shiners from a 22 year guide on Okeechobee. Weird but true.

"Over the years, the state of Florida has trapped and killed many thousands of bass on Lake Okeechobee for all sorts of studies. This sounds like a lot of bass and in some cases it would be. Considering the size of this lake and it's many millions of bass that live out their lives in a very short period compared to most lakes, it has been well worth the sacrifice considering what has been learned."

"Anyone familiar with Florida bass fishing, especially trophy bass fishing, knows that the number 1 method for taking these trophy bass is fishing with a live Florida Golden Shiner. These fish are native only to Florida and in no way should they be confused with any baitfish referred to as a shiner in the northern states. The prime size for a shiner to be used as bait is 8-10 inches in length. Bass love these things, big bass, any size bass, and most guides fish with nothing else. Ask anyone who has ever shiner fished in Florida what the bait of choice would be, and this will be your answer. Of all the strange facts I have learned about bass, this one takes the cake. All of these thousands of bass studied had their stomach contents checked closely for there contents. Not one single bass, out of the many thousands studied, has ever been found to have a Florida shiner in its stomach. NOT A SINGLE ONE OUT OF THOUSANDS! These are the baits you pay 1.50-2.00 each for when buying a dozen."

I've gotta say, thats d**n strange.  My daughters and I absolutely slay the bass on my lake whenever I make the trip to get shiners.  It's hard to not catch a fish.  8-10 inches seems a bit large to me, but if you're after seriously huge fish the old adage of bigger bait, bigger fish holds true.  I personally like the little 6 inch or so fish.  Numbers of caught fish are a lot more important to young kids than a leviathan or two.

[pinesangleroff178th]

Hey SoFlaBassAddict I see you live pretty close by and probably fish the same places as me around west miramar and west pines. I prefer to catch live bait (mostly bluegills) as they don't seem to die as easily as store bought shiners. I noticed during our colder months here I can hardly find them at all. I was told by a couple local fisherman who do the same that they moved off into deeper water. I'm not sure I totally buy into it but here we are again at this time of the year and I have had no luck finding live bait again. Maybe the original poster is facing the same issues since he is fishing not too far North of our location.

[J-B]

I have been stumped on a few lakes in my area when using nightcrawlers.  On these lakes I started using wigglers, or panfish worms and the fish tear them up.  I dont know what the major difference is other than size but they like them.  Try to locate these smaller, more active worms and give them a try.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Hey SoFlaBassAddict I see you live pretty close by and probably fish the same places as me around west miramar and west pines. I prefer to catch live bait (mostly bluegills) as they don't seem to die as easily as store bought shiners. I noticed during our colder months here I can hardly find them at all. I was told by a couple local fisherman who do the same that they moved off into deeper water. I'm not sure I totally buy into it but here we are again at this time of the year and I have had no luck finding live bait again. Maybe the original poster is facing the same issues since he is fishing not too far North of our location.

They do move off into the deeper waters in this area. I haven't seen many bluegill lately (although I haven't really looked). The lake I'm on has some very large gills in it, like larger than my hand sized.  I've seen the water getting "dimpled" a lot from smaller fish feeding. The lakes are quickly becoming active again now that the weather has stabilized some. I'm hoping to god I get the chance to do a little fishing tomorrow morning (doubt it). Who knows what'll happen. I've got a bunch of new baits to play around with thanks to Roadwarrior.

[aarogb]

WoW thats really weird that a nightcrawler doesn't catch some species of fish.

Try a different body of water and see if you have any better results.

[SirSnookalot]

I know other areas of Florida have been pretty hot.  I'm in Delray and it's been slow the last week, still catching them but the work is a bit tougher, best success for me is a weightless fluke skimming the top or barely submerged with a walk the dog motion.

The snook have been doing real well.

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

I found here in north FL when that happens, the fish are usually elsewhere. Sad part is when you are limited to the dock or shore and don't have the option to move around too much looking for fish, at least not more than a few hundred yards.

Also the grass in these lakes can really hide a lure well and unless it really stinks to draw a fish it, you need to find a weedbed edge or open bedding area.