I just cant catch bass

[Nick982]

So ive been trying to get into bass fishing with lures off and on for the past 5 years and just get tired of not catching any fish...it seems when i use lures its like the fish just arent there.

I was wondering how often you guys fish with a particular lure before you change it to something else if its not working out for you,

and when you change it, do you change the color, or go to a whole new lure. If you do find the right lure, do the bass normally react to it quickly and you can tell a big change in activity?

ive been reading, and watching bass fishing shows since i was young, and i still cant seem to catch more than 1 bass if im lucky on an 8 to 10 hour fishing trip. I try to remain confident because i know that is a big factor, but it just gets frustrating sometimes.

Thanks everyone,

Nick

[eastkybass]

First welcome to the site.

Second I will use the same thing for about 15 mins if I am trying something new before I will change anything.  If I am sure that a particular bait should work then I will change color and see if anything happens.  If not I will change baits completly.  Ask the local bait shops what is working they will give you alot of help.  Once you start catching a few it will get alot better.  I have had those days on the water all day and one keeper to show for it the big thing is to just get out there and fish.  Experience is the one thing that can change it for you.  Good luck.

[Nick982]

The only baits that i have caught bass on are spinnerbaits and carolina rigged worms.....

Thanks for the advice!  

[BassChaser57]

You are in a normal situation as catching is much more than just throwing a line. There are so many variables in bass fishing that it is impossible to say here in a forum how to catch bass on any given day. The best advice I can give is to get in a club and fish with some good fishermen and learn.

If there is any advise I could give is to use plastics such as a fluke, slug-o, worm, or lizard and try to make it look sick or wounded which means slow with twitches and pauses. As for color, if the water has a green tint to it try a watermelon type color, if it has a brown color try a pumpkin colored lure. Another major mistake new anglers make is to wait for the smashing strike, this is rarely the case. It is much more normal to see a twitch in the line, the line move sideways, the lure feels heavy or light as the fish sucked the lure in and just sitting (heavy) or has the lure and heading in your direction (light), hooksets are free so if it feels different--set the hook. It is something like baseball batting practice to get the timing to feel the strike and set the hook so you will probably miss more fish than you hook until you get the timing and technique learned.

Another major consideration is to find the 10% of the lake that holds fish, again there is no way to tell this on the forum so read the how to articles on the different times of year and what the fish will be doing at that time such as spawning, ect. then apply what you read.

As for location it has been said that not all structure will have fish close but all fish will have structure close.

Fishing is like and other sport, the more you learn and practice the better you will become--keep learning and fishing. 8-)

[Nick982]

wow thank you, i was also wondering how to tell the difference in bumping into submerged cover and the feeling of a bass biting. I wonder if there are many times that i have thought it was maybe a branch or a stump i knocked into when it was a bass sucking it in. Should i try to set the hook in that situation or not? Anytime i have caught a bass it seems to me that i am hung up at first but then realize this is not a log!! lol....

[eastkybass]

My wife and I went with a guide a few weeks ago.  I have been fishing most of my life but my wife is fairly new at it.  He told her if it felt different to set the hook.  That is the best way to learn after a few times you will start to tell the difference in it.

[BassChaser57]

That is one of those things that will only come with practice. It is really hard to feel the difference between a log and certain types of strikes with entry level equipment so like at batting practice--take the swing and you will learn what it feels like when you have a fish and when you pull grass.  The main thing is to enjoy your trip and please do not make your trips success or failure depend on the number of fish you catch. 8-)

[Nick982]

Okay ill have to pay closer attention when i pull one in.

I really appreaciate all the advice you guys are giving me, im going fishing early in the morning around 6 till noon at a local lake..just bank fishing. Do you think i should start out with buzz baits and pop-rs early in the morning and work my way to maybe soft plastics like (worms, flukes, brush hawgs,) and spinnerbaits in the afternoon?

[BassChaser57]

You are on the right track but if you do not connect with the buzzbaits, try a popper or some other slow topwater until the sun touches the water, if it is cloudy or a chop on the water you can get by with topwater longer into the morning. Let the bass tell you how active they are. Spinnerbaits for fairly active fish and slow plactics for slow fish. 8-)

[Nick982]

Also, i have a boo-ya black buzzbait i wanted to start out with, but it seems really big...do you think that size matters so much with bass, because i have another black one but smaller..i was just curious what you guys do when picking out lure size, and if it really plays a big factor in bass fishing.

[eastkybass]

If when you get there it is still fairly dark I would go with the bigger bait then switch to the smaller one if they are hitting good but not taking the bait in.  I like a larger profile bait in low light conditions.  It gives the fish more to see.  Also it the water is muddy you might want to go with the larger bait.

[Nick982]

wow you guys are answering some of my biggest questions!

Also, how do you guys fish flukes, ive never fished them before...ive heard of twitching them on the bottom as one way, and then raising your rod tip up to make them swim up only to fall back down again?

I also heard many people love brush hawgs...have you had any experience with these?

Thanks!

[eastkybass]

With the flukes you don't have to let them fall all the way to the bottom before you start working them this way.  What you are doing is imitating a baitfish that is injured.  Most predatory fish will go after the easy meal instead of chasing a healthy one.  give it a try around some sumerged cover it is a great way to catch them.

[Nick982]

so i raise the rod up and down and reel at the same time?

one last question before i go to bed...will swivels hurt the action im trying to produce with my lures?

Thanks again for all the advice!

[eastkybass]

Lift the rod tip then let it sink back down then start reeling to give it a different look.  Try making it do different things.  You can even work them like a hard jerk bait, a few quick twitches then a short pause.

On soft plastics it will if it is right against the hook I feel.  it will put to much wieght on the front and make it work like a sinker.  

Good luck and that is what this site is for.  I have learned alot from it and it feels good to give a lttle back

[Whopper-Stopper]

Sometimes it's difficult for new anglers to develop confidence in artificial lures.  Don't worry about knowing a variety of techniques or switching lures, you're not ready for that. You just need to pick a lure and stick with it.  Just work on catching fish on one lure for now. As you catch more and more fish your knowledge will develop and you will know the answer to your questions.   I suggest that you fish with a 4" worm with 8 lb line. You don't even have to move the lure, just let it sit on the bottom and fish like you would for catfish. It won't hurt to leave your line in the water for 20 minutes or more. Remember, sooner or later you will catch a fish.   You would be surprised with this method of fishing. I caught bass this way for years when I started fishing. You will catch a lot of fish, most of them will be small, but I've caught several bass over 5 lbs with this method.   Just remember that you have to have confidence in your presentation.  Also, try to pay attention to everything that is happening around you and the lake. When something works, try to figure out why. It would be a good idea to keep a fishing log to help you learn.

[roadwarrior]

Let's start with something simple:

Buy the original Rapala Floating Minnow, silver and black. Cast the lure parallel to the bank, preferably along a grassline. Let the lure sit for at least thirty seconds, then retrive slowly and steadly. If you fish deep water along a steep bank for example, you can fish a Rat-L-Trap (blue & chrome) with the same casting pattern and retrieve. Both of these lures are proven producers.

If you think you're ready for soft plastics, buy two bags of 5" Senkos (not knock-offs) and one bag of GYCB Fat Ika, all watermelon with black flakes. Rig these baits on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG Offset Worm Hook, weightless and weedless. Cast them just as I described with the Rapala. Allow the bait to settle to the bottom and leave it there for a minute. Move the bait 6"-12" with a horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to settle on slack line. Leave the bait motionless for at least fifteen seconds between movements. Focus on presentation and do NOT change baits or use anything else. Fish the entire bag of Senkos, then half the bag of Fat Ika before going back to the Senko.

If you don't catch any bass on these four lures/ baits, find somewhere else to fish.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Make sure the place you fish has bass in it .I could post yall a picture of a pond that looks so BASSSSY you  would think u was in heaven it is ...void of fish Muskrats got into the bank of the pond and one night it busted after a big rain all the fish went downstream its a small pond only about 1/2 acre if that >i tried to get the woman to restock it but she is looney i guess she asked me when i asked her to put fish in the pond the state will do it free  "what pond" i left aint been back :'(

[hank]

go get some rebel crank baits they look like crawdads run im over rocks i  cought a brownie off thet yesterday

[senile1]

Location, location, location.  Even if you aren't an expert at working a lure, if you are fishing where bass are at, once in awhile one will bite.  I would bet that this is your biggest issue.  Or if you are in the right location, maybe you are not using a lure that is fishing the correct depth.  This is the most important aspect of catching bass.  Study and understand the seasonal patterns of bass.  Ask local baitshops what seasonal pattern your local lake is in and what areas of the lake provide what the bass need during this season.  They probably won't give you exact spots but they can give you enough information to find spots with similar structure to match up with the seasonal pattern.  

[RoLo]

i still cant seem to catch more than 1 bass if im lucky on an 8 to 10 hour fishing trip.

Let's take a look at your personal stats, and compare them to a bigger picture.

Here in Florida for instance, the mean statewide catch-rate for largemouth bass is 0.02 bass per hour,

and that equates to 1 bass every 5 hours. Due to our intense sun, the average daytrip in Florida is 5.4 hours.

That translates roughly to 1 bass per outing. So in the "real world", (not the world of "50-bass per day")

if you can scratch out one more bass per outing, you'll be roughly in line with the average bass angler.

Also in the real world, our fishing success is largely determined by the health of the bass population in the lake we're fishing.

Most states catergorize their lakes in order of species abundance, just for example: Abundant - Good - Fair - Poor - Absent

Whenever we fish in a lake rated "fair" to "poor" for largemouth bass, we should expect our fishing success to be "fair" to "poor",

Nothing improves my fishing more than moving from a large heavily-pressured public reservoir to a small private pond

Roger

[Nick982]

Thanks for the input guys.

This morning i was bank fishing and i started out a little to late to use topwater, but i tried anyway, and then i switched over to a boo-yah chartruese spinner and caught a two pounder in about 30 minutes, with no more bites within that hour i switched over to a white and red spinner of the same kind, and in about 10 minutes i caught a one pounder, both running about 2-3ft along different cover, and the rest of the day i didnt get anymore bites...why does that seem so random that the bass took to both lures so fast and then just stopped? Do you think they could have moved deeper during afternoon? im in the process of getting my boat in good condition as of now.

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

Good work  keep it up

[eastkybass]

Great work if the sun was bright they could have moved deeper or moved to the shallow side of the cover it is hard to say.  Bass are alot of times reaction predators they will strike if the bait is right in front of them out of instinct.  keep the bait tight to cover and you will do fine.

[doog]

there is one solution to the problem and that is THE GARY YAMAMOTO SENKO lol