what else can i do?

[crankbait2009]

I went out once again today for about 2 hours. the final result of todays fishing was negative. zero bites and zero fish.

there are a number of lakes here in the cincinnati area that i can try. in the past 3 weeks i have tried 3 of them. now i am limited to the locations i can fish since i am limited to shore fishing. if i rent a boat then i can get to the other side where fishers on feet cannot reach. but for this topic, ill stick to what im dong wrong if anything.

i have tried crank baits (lipped/lipless), chatter baits and swim baits. i am getting no results what so ever.

at what point do i say "i have no clue what im doing"? im not sure what else to try. i have tried a series of retreives,fast to slow.....nothing.

now another thing.  there is a good possibility that im dropping my line where there are NO BASS WHAT SO EVER.  how the heck do you know?  the water today was a greenish color, not clear at all

i read how all these people catch these bass off of this type of bait. but as my signature quote says, im still trying to catch my first fish :-[

any advice or help would greatly be appreciated.

i know i have a full summer to go of fishing and i will not give up but it is very frustrating.

[Bishop]

Something that always works for me in ponds and city lakes is a wacky rigged trick worm. It doesnt seem to matter what time of year it is at all, if you can get it down to their depth they just seem to love that slow fall. If putting your lure in 10 feet of water or less it works a charm. When fishing those types of water I generally just throw it out to a piece of timber or a stump or even just in the middle of the lake and let it fall. If there isnt much to get hung up in on the bottom of the lake such as grass or brush I will often let it sink all the way to the bottom before checking for pressure and then reeling it in and re-casting.

A lot of the people that fish those lakes will throw your basic spinnerbait, crankbait, topwater, type of lures at the fish. They have seen them countless times. I think this makes it hard to get much of a bite going on those lures most times, unless you are getting a reaction strike by casting way on past the cover your throwing at and pulling it past pretty fast.

I have also had decent luck with a fluke. At one point in time I was taking a power worm and texas rigging it *edit* weightless *edit* and just throwing it out as far as i could and setting down on the bank and waiting, I would let it sink for a long long long time then check my bait for pressure and then rinse, lather, and repeat. They seem to love the slow fall and least disturbing presentation.

I rarely ever take "common" or "popular" lures to those types of lakes. That being said sometimes a buzzbait will just slay em. As will any number of other lures. It is just my personal opinion that the more finesse/stealthy/natural your lure and presentation the better it is for heavily pressured public access ponds etc.

And if the spot your fishing from is a nice clean easily accesibly stretch of bank that everyone and their brother walks up to and sets in their lawn chair throwing bobbers with crickets or live worms as bait with lil kids running around playing i would say its very possible that most of the bass are spooked off of that area most of the time. Try fishing there at night if that seems to be the case.

Thats what I would try if a boat was not an option.

[SirSnookalot]

Ever hear the phrase " 90% of water has no fish", unscientifically I think it's true. No question about it a boater has huge advantage over a shore fisherman, I have done both and now I only bank fish in freshwater.

If you can't catch anything on a plastic worm, it's a dead zone, move on.

Only 3 things you need to know about fishing :

1.  How to locate them

2.  How to trigger a strike

3.  How to land them

It's fishing not catching, if it were that easy Flip Pallot and Kevin Van Dam would be out of business.

[crankbait2009]

the lakes that i am able to fish from the shore are a series of lakes in hamilton county.  each lake has a specific area that you are allowed to fish in.  you cannot leave this area unless you have a boat.  i thought about the fact that it may be over fished but wasnt sure.  there are people lined up in this area with there hooks in the water.  now i did go around 1:00pm, so did everyone else.  i can change my time next time and see what happens.

i need to find a lake that has no limits where you can go.  all access  

i will try some wacky worm methods next time.

thanks

[mrlitetackle]

......just a thought.....

you said you saw multiple other people fishing there as well......did you see any of them catching any fish???

if there are lots of people fishing the same area, and no one is producing...my advice would be to find a new location.....

if they are catching fish, then simply ask them what their using, and their method.......most fisherman are willing to let a few tips out!

[crankbait2009]

the people that were around me were bringing in nothing but crappie.  i saw them with there hook/bobber.  they would drop it in the water (literaly).  they wouldnt cast at all.  they would drop the line and in a bout 2 minutes they would pull out crappie no bigger than my hand.

i was hoping for something bigger  

[CRFisher]

I have to agree with Sir Snookalot, if they aren't hitting plastic worms they probably aren't there.   I just got back into fishing last year after 20 years out of it and have had a lot of poor days.   Finally I realized the problem, they weren't there.  On top of worms I would say inline spinners are good as well.  If I'm having trouble I'll go to a Mepps spinner than a worm, or a senko.  If those, on top of what else you threw, are coming up empty - move on, there's most likely nothing there.

I would also suggest you try the Ohio Fish and Game website to see what detail you can get on lakes.   I've gotten some OK info from the Massachussets site, Ohio may have something similar.  Details on lake access, depths, even the type of baitfish can be helpful.  I'll scope out someplace new online the night before I head there.  Google maps help as well, just trying to find where coves, etc. are..

Also, read everything you can under the fishing articles here.

[Sam]

You are at a disadvantage due to physical restrictions and boundaries.

Don't be overly concerned.  Suggestions, questions and comments......

1.  What is water temperature? Up your way, bass will not start to move to shallows until water gets into the upper 50's or low 60's.  Take water temperature.

2.  What is water clarity? You may need to dip your plastics in yellow or lime coloring. Or use a chartreuse or orange colored crankbait.

3.  What is the forage?  Crawfish, minnows, bream, bluegills, shad, white perch, etc.?  Find out and match the hatch in color and size.

4.  If possible, go out right before sunrise and throw a black Cavitron buzzbait. Throw it from your left to your right in an umbrella pattern and then back again. Do this twice at each place you stop to fish. Go back at dusk and give the Cavitron another try.

5.  Throw a pink or white trick worm early AM or late PM.

6.  If the water temperature is in high 50s and low 60s, the bass may be on their beds.  You may not be able to see them on their beds.  You may catch smaller bass when this happens as the larger ones are protecting their bed or recovering from the spawn.  You will have to wait another week or two for the bass to start moving around and feeding on a regular basis.

7.  Any cover anywhere?  Any known structure anywhere?  If so, fish on top, next to, under and through it.  Consider using a weedless hook when throwing plastics into cover and structure.

8.  How is the bottom?  Hard or slop?  If hard and rocks or structure, go with a wacky rigged Senko.  If slop, go with a Carolina or Split-Shot rig to get bait off the bottom and out of the slop.  A drop shot can work, too.

9.  Try Chatterbait, 10-inch Anaconda by Rage Tail, small white and chartreuse spinnerbait, and Bandit 100 crankbait.  

Your goal is to find the fish.  Then, fish for them.

Fishing a pond or small lake from the shore can be very frustrating. But as the summer goes along, they bass will become more active and you will catch them.

One more suggestion.  Throw a white Rooster Tail on an Ultra-Light rig.  You will be surprised at the fish that will strike a Rooster Tail and you will then know what other species are in the water.

Remember, try before sunrise and after dusk.  Throw that Cavitron and trick worm or other topwater of your choice.

And get the water temperature.  This is crucial to the bass moving around.

Send pics of what you catch.

[crankbait2009]

thanks sam, i will definitley keep all that in mind!!  oh, and you can bet if and when i do catch something i will post a pic!!!!!  i dont care how small it is. that will be a happy moment!!!!

[6pointbuck2003]

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/

Check this out become a member you can post threads just like on here.

You might even be able to find someone to take you out on their boat.

[crankbait2009]

hmmmmm, that looks like a good site.  i will definitley browse through the forum.  thanks 6point

[Bassnajr]

I fish from shore on occasion....problem is when the fish are there, they are there and when they are not, you catch weeds!!

Right now, the spawn is in progress or getting ready to happen. Fish will be in specific areas within any given body of water, staging out deep, bedding shallower. For the most part, a boat is a must right now.