I found the fish...NOW WHAT?

[NewScreenNameAdvised]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post.  I have been reading for a while and want to thank everybody for the wealth of information.

I bought an Aqua-Vu camera and it has really helped me to learn how my X-135 Lowrance works.  I can locate bass with no problem now.  All these years of fishing and when I would get skunked, I would just think I was not fishing where the bass were.  I learned that these lakes are LOADED with fish and all those arches on my screen are likely fish.

During a recent trip to Roosevelt Lake in Arizona.  The fishing was tough.  It was easy to limit on the small 6-10" bass, but getting anything larger was difficult.  I scouted an area  ( long point with a drop off) holding about 50 larger LMB, verified with the Aqua-Vu.  I fished this area multiple times over a 3 day period and couldn't get a fish to bite.  I fished the point at various different times each day.  We threw everything we had at them.  We even resorted to catching crawdads and fishing with those.  NOTHING!  I even dropped the Aqua-Vu down and watched my teammate fish for them.  I watched spoons, drop shots, crankbaits...you name it...swim, dangle and drop right in front of the bass's mouths.  The lake has a slot limit and only 2 fish were caught over slot for the tournament.  There were numberous fish over slot in this area.  If I could have caught some of them, I would have won.

This got me to thinking...would a pro be able to catch these fish?  Are there fish that you just can't catch on a given day?  Put a top angler in this exact same situation, would they land the fish?  What would they do differently?  School me...what would seperate the men from the boys???

[Will]

If I knew the fish were there and lots of them then I would use a fast or crazy acting lure trying to get a reaction strike such as lipless cranks, suspending jerkbaits, or burning any other crankbaits that go to the depth of the fish. If none took the fast moving baits I would slow down alot. Back off the fish and throw a senko texas or wacky rigged or a jighead and worm and just shake it.

[justtrying]

in a situation like this, i've found that a camo colored stick of dynamite ..........  ...JUST KIDDING!!

finesse worms, jigs, etc., would be my first try

[Chris]

What you look at is "How where the fish reacting to my bait?" Did they even notice it being there? Did they move out of the way? Did the follow it for a short distance or rush to check it out then swim off? Was there bait in the area? These are the things I look for in determining if the fish are worth sticking it out to make them bite. Bass most of the day are inactive. As the water gets colder they use up less energy and feed less often. Remember that tube article I wrote up? This bait is perfect for this situation.  You stick the bait in the bass's face and just lightly shake it. It is kinda like ice fishing. The other part is to treat the fish like they where heavily pressured or a cold front and scale down. Like I said the first thing is to figure out how the bass are reacting to your bait then figure out what you need to do from there.  I always try to find active fish but some days because of crap weather you kinda get stuck fishing inactive fish. You just need to find them if you can and find the window that they are active.

[dabluz]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post. I have been reading for a while and want to thank everybody for the wealth of information.

I bought an Aqua-Vu camera and it has really helped me to learn how my X-135 Lowrance works. I can locate bass with no problem now. All these years of fishing and when I would get skunked, I would just think I was not fishing where the bass were. I learned that these lakes are LOADED with fish and all those arches on my screen are likely fish.

During a recent trip to Roosevelt Lake in Arizona. The fishing was tough. It was easy to limit on the small 6-10" bass, but getting anything larger was difficult. I scouted an area ( long point with a drop off) holding about 50 larger LMB, verified with the Aqua-Vu. I fished this area multiple times over a 3 day period and couldn't get a fish to bite. I fished the point at various different times each day. We threw everything we had at them. We even resorted to catching crawdads and fishing with those. NOTHING! I even dropped the Aqua-Vu down and watched my teammate fish for them. I watched spoons, drop shots, crankbaits...you name it...swim, dangle and drop right in front of the bass's mouths. The lake has a slot limit and only 2 fish were caught over slot for the tournament. There were numberous fish over slot in this area. If I could have caught some of them, I would have won.

(large snip)

After reading your post, I got to thinking about your use of a sonar and camera.  In the old days before sonars and cameras, a long point with a drop off was probably the first place we would fish.  They were easy to spot with just our eyes.  Just a few casts would confirm the drop off.

The next time you use your (bottom detector...sonar...fish finder), place your hand just under the transducer....palm down.  You will feel a slight prickling of the skin on your hand.  Now, imagine a fish who is thousands of times more sensitive to vibrations....what do you think he feels and hears?

So, now that you have found your spot, the next time go there with all of your equipment turned off.  Instead of roaring up with a motor....use a paddle.  Anchor your boat away from the area and cast towards it.

[basspro48]

Well my friend you have just experienced the frustration of trying to catch SUSPENDED bass. Suspended bass are the hardest ones to catch, and it takes a few tricks to haul'em up. Try using a ZOOM super fluke rigged on a Falcon bait jerker hook and give a fast erratic retrieve. Or try a suspending jerkbait but instead of twitching it try ripping it, don't forget to try burning a diving or lipless crank through 'em. If all that doesn't work try slower finesse tactics that put a small soft plastic right in front of their faces for long periods of time, like a drop-shot, they can't stand it.

Hope this helps.