I just cant catch bass

[rbrick]

Stanley Ribbits (toads you can buy at Wally World).

1) Reel fast,keep it on top of the water.

2) Reel medium,keep it a foot or so below the surface

3)Cast and let sink to bottom(in shallow water) reel very slow, crawl it over the bottom.

[kybassangler]

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!

Brush hogs are awesome. My go to bait I use a light weight texas rigged. I spray a little garlic spray on it and sling it to the bank and wiggle it into the water then a slow retrieve. green pumkin green my favorite. regulars for stained and Baby brush hogs for clear water.

[kybassangler]

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.

I seem to catch a lot of mine under cedar trees.

[One Sock]

Whatever you do don't fall into the fish weren't biting thought. Fish always bite... some will argue that but the fact remains, if your not catching fish your doing something wrong. Fish bite because they are either hungry or aggravated. If they aren't hungry, then you need to aggravate them and entice them into feeding

your on the right track, switch baits, switch colors, vary retrieves, the fish will let you know what they want, also once you start catching bass you 2will build up confidence in what you are using. That might be the biggest contributor to catching fish, always treat every cast as if your were going to get a fish

AMost of my bass are caught on soft plastics, but I know when to switch to something different. here is one from last week

[beetlespin91]

the one gaurenteed thing that will help your catch rate is find a private or undiscovered pond.i used google earth and looked in my area i found one, i had to go through some woods,but when i got to it I caught 9 bass in about 4 hours. thats because they are not as smart as a bass that lives in heavily fished waters.

[David P]

As many people here like to say, Hook sets are free. If you're not sure if it's structure or a possible fish, set the hook. The more you do it, the more you will be able to differentiate between a bite and structure.

Try Senkos (Gary Yamamoto) Wacky rigged. There some of the easiest, yet effective baits there are. They're a great way to start catching fish.

just keep at it man and goodluck.

[Mike-in-WV]

There is only one thing I would like to ad to the great suggestions you already got here. Buy a couple of cheap Spiral note pads and ink pen and keep it in your shirt pocket of tackle box. Keep really good notes of what you did that day fishing. Where, what time, what was the temp, cloudy or clear sky, how did the water look, sunny and warm or cool breeze and most important is what lures did you try and how did you fish them. If you caught any fish at all mark it down along with all the above info. It really helps to read back on what worked on a certain day if your going fishing that day and it's just like the day you caught 10 #5 Bass in an hour!   When you find that place let us know,OK?,  ;D Good luck to you!, Mike

[HesterIsGod]

I am glad you want to give advice Mike, but the last time the original poster (Nick 982) was even online was July 11th!!! Thats roughly 8 months ago. I dont think he is listening anymore.

[roadwarrior]

I am glad you want to give advice Mike, but the last time the original poster (Nick 982) was even online was July 11th!!! Thats roughly 8 months ago. I dont think he is listening anymore.

The advice is for anyone that's struggling.

8-)

[HesterIsGod]

I am glad you want to give advice Mike, but the last time the original poster (Nick 982) was even online was July 11th!!! Thats roughly 8 months ago. I dont think he is listening anymore.

The advice is for anyone that's struggling.

8-)

Oh, Ok. Sorry

[Catt]

You've already have some outstanding information so I'll just add the read the following

Demystifying Structure by Catt

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1186055966

Bait Fish by Matt Fly

Part 1 - http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1134661967

Part 2 - http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1134662267/

Power of Observation I & II by Raul

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1119546571/0

[Popeye]

HestorIsGod wrote:

I am glad you want to give advice Mike, but the last time the original poster (Nick 982) was even online was July 11th!!! Thats roughly 8 months ago. I dont think he is listening anymore.

RW's response:

The advice is for anyone that's struggling.

WELL, guys...he MAY be out CATCHING all those bass he said he couldn't catch after reading all the GREAT ADVICE that he got:o)

PS: One Sock - NICE FRIGGIN FISH!!!

[daviscw]

What color Senko's are you guys throwin?

[Popeye]

Around the So CA area, the watermelon w/red or black flakes has worked great for me so far this year. I think they're all good depending on the water clarity and what the fish are wanting to eat any given day (based on a lot of factors). IMO:o)

[daviscw]

I live in North Carolina. I was asking because I went to my local Dicks to buy Senko's and they all looked pretty much the same; very dark browns, reds, blacks, and blues. I know they make more because I've visited the website. It just seemed weird to have such a popular bait with few colors.

[Bassnbrett101]

When bass fishing the first thing you look is the time of year your fishing, then at the water temperature, then at the water clarity, and finally at what the fish are eating.  

If you do your homework and check all that stuff out i'm sure it will make you a better bass fisherman.  But I'm a person who will throw the same bait all day even if it isnt catching me much.  I live in pa and its tough fishing in the bigger lakes around here, the best thing to do is find a couple of baits you like and stick to them.

Some of my suggestions for you: a wacky worm, a green pumpkin tube, a white spinnerbait, a 1/2 ounce red rattle trap, a jig (black and blue 3/8 ounce), and a popper.  Those are some of my top lures, they always catch me fish and they always will.  Maybe its the brand of lures your using or where your fishing?  I'm a big believer in brands myself

[roadwarrior]

I think there are two general clasees of lures: fast moving and slow or not moving! When fish are on an active baitfish hunt, hard baits are generally most effective. The times when fish are feeding more slowly or off the bottom, soft baits and jigs come into play.

The original tube was the Gitzit. This was designed as a "do nothing" bait. Cast and let it settle to the bottom and drift, sit, smoke and drink beer. It is a lure that sometimes requires patience, but is one of the most effective baits ever invented.

8-)  

[Trail]

Well seeing that we are still on the subject, If you guys remember, a few weeks back I was asking about a good pole to buy, and came up with a 7' Browning Aggressor. Great Rod and Reel combo from BPS. I am still very proud of it, but along with it I bought a couple of lures myself, and I was wondering how to make the popper work right? Sorry for sounding stupid, but you dont know unless you ask or someone shows you, and I aint been showed yet. But heres how I worked it, I let it sit on top of the water, then gave it a quick jerk and then reeled in a little, that didnt seem to do the trick, any suggestions? I got a torpedo too, and didnt do too bad with that one. But how bout it, can you help me a little on the popper?

[oardog]

Nick

Maybe your having a hard time because set up is all wrong, I dont know what kind of line or rod your using you might want to try some spider wire, i use it on all my rods, My hands cant feel much any more .a buddy turned me on to spider wire now i can feel everything thats going on down there, and when the fish hit you know it, just a thought.

GOOD LUCK

OARDOG

[Bassnbrett101]

the best way to work a popper is really slow. twitch it and let it sit there til the ripples go away. then all you need to do is do that again lol

[BuzzBait25]

I have read a lot about Senko baits in this article and i have one question. What is the best way to rig them?

Also has anyone here tried Wave Worms? They look alot like the Senkos only different color scemes.

[Popeye]

I T-rig mine weightless on a 3.0 offset Owner worm hook. I've also T-rigged them with a sliding bullet weight and even tried a splitshot about 18" from the hook. Wacky rig is another option either weightless or drop shot rigged. I use a circle hook when fishing them wacky rigged. The Wave Worms are just a Senko knockoff but lots of guys like them just as much as Senkos because they are priced a little lower. I have several packages of them but am sticking with the GY Senkos until I run out (and that may be a while since I bought about 10 packs:o) You might also want to consider some GY Fat Ikas. I've been throwing them weightless and rigged skirt up (backwards) on a 4.0 Owner offset worm hook as per RW's recommendation, but, alas, I haven't caught anything on them YET:o)

[bassfanatick]

Try a 2" senko wacky rig and you will catch something

[BuzzBait25]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

One other question when fishing these i know to let them sink to your desired depth, but am i right in my thinking that you just give them a slight twitch as you work it through the water slowly? :-?

[bassfanatick]

Hi Buzzbait25, I can maybe answer this, in my opinion it all depends.  When you have a plastic worm that have the curly shaped tail, you would want to keep it moving through the water to impart the swimming motion.  With the senko worm, the straight tail one, the best presentation in my opinion is to let it settle on the bottom, move it a couple inches, twitch it a few times, and repeat the motions while slowly retrieving it back.