see em' but can't catch em'

[fish4life6]

hey yall need some help.

i gotn this little neighborhood pond that i go to about every other weekend. i've started to see th bass getting closer and closer to the shore. they look as though they are about 5-7 lbs. got any suggestions on what to throw?

also i've been seeing some catfish or some giant *** fish on the surface, and there are about 4-5 of them in a group. what do you think ought to get them?

thanks.

[andamtoft]

had this problem in a pond near my house and it was the most frustrating thing, finally i figured out something that brough some success. you gotta annoy the fish enough so they strike out of anger. I texas rigged a tube with a 1/4 ounce bullet weight. just cast it out past the fish bounce it off the bottom until its infron of its face, stop the retrieve and shake , if he doesn't take it, reel in and do it again. It may take a decent amount of casts to have success, and sometimes you just cannot get them to bite. good luck!

[NH_Bass_Tard]

Those giant fish on the surface are most likely carp.. Im pretty sure they can be caught on bread balls. Those fish have been known to get as big as 35-40 pounds.

[drmnbig]

I'm happy to say I had this problem this evening.  I went to check out a local pond and saw MANY bass on the edges.  Very spooky and didn't want anything unless you basically ran it into them and they bit out of instinct.  I have never caught anything on a Chatterbait.....until today!  I started absolutely burning a chartreuse Chatterbait with a white trailer and they would explode on the thing.  I caugth quite a few fish although none were over about 2lbs.  Still fun though!!!

[Jake.]

Try a small buzzbait or a trick worm rigged weightless for the shallow bass. Cast a good distance past where you have seen them so the splash of your lure doesn't cause them to spook.

also i've been seeing some catfish or some giant *** fish on the surface, and there are about 4-5 of them in a group. what do you think ought to get them?

Those are probably Grass Carp. They are very common in the ponds around here and can grow to be huge. You can catch them on bread balls rigged on a circle hook.

[fathom]

if you can see them, they can see you.

my best advise would be, get where they can't.

[fastcasterjo]

I was fishing at a local neighborhood pond here in charlotte and I saw fish just like the ones your are describing. Lol maybe its the same pond. anyway yea they are almost certainly grass carp. To get those bass biting i got three words. BIG A$$ TUBE. Bounce it all over that big girl. If she still isn't biting cast past her and bring it up past her tail and let it sit behind her. I have caught many a big bass in ponds by doing this.

[YoungGun29]

All i can say is just throw something texas rigged, like a crawdad, or lizard, and just annoy them, eventually they will hit.

And for the big fish your talkin about, those are grass carp, best way to catch them would be dough balls or wheaty balls.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

To get those bass biting i got three words. BIG . TUBE. Bounce it all over that big girl. If she still isn't biting cast past her and bring it up past her tail and let it sit behind her. I have caught many a big bass in ponds by doing this.

Um, 3 words? :)

At this point in the season, I think the bass aren't fully "awake" from the cold. I think of it this way: When I get up in the morning, I am pretty darned sluggish. I tend not to react to something, unless I am annoyed, and then I get aggressive. Later, when I've woken up more, I am much more tollerant of annoying things, and I pick and choose my battles (to make an annalogy). Think of bass like this in the spring, and maybe it'll help...Its all in the mental game

[Crestliner2008]

The reason you can "see 'em but can't catch 'em", is exactly that! You can see 'em. They, inturn, can see YOU. Shuts them right down. Mark their location and leave the area. Give 'em about an hour to settle down. Approach very stealthily and from a distance (keep your profile low and be VERY quiet).

When you get to the position you want to be in, don't do anything for about 15 min. or so. Then make a long cast to where you're pretty sure they are. Use a Senko or soft jerk bait. You'll be putting the odds in your favor for sure. No guarantees this time of the year though, you just have to keep pluggin' away at 'em.

[Paul Roberts]

I think this is the norm the entire year; there's a lot more fish than biters out there. It's just that in the spring we can see what's happening. Don't let it get you down. Be stealthy, adjust speed and erratic-ness (this are more important than many anglers realize -it's not "anger".), identify locations where fish are vulnerable, keep at it.

[ZeNoob]

in my pond, last year they dumped 100 6inch grass carp in the pond to controll the algie(all legal) this year we got about 4 that are freakin HUGE!!! about 3-4ft and 16-20 inchs wide. one swims the shallow area on the south side with the top part of his tail fin sticking out of the water. he has been doing it for about 2 weeks now in the same spot. gets everyone out of there condos to take pictures of him.

one day ill break down and actualy go fishing for grass carp.

[bigtimfish]

get a tube and alka seltzer. game over

[32251]

If you catch one of the monster carp be sure to put it back in the lake.

[Catt]

see em' but can't catch em'

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bass fishing

[fishfordollars]

Back off

Make long cast

Keep the noise level down in the boat

            Walk softly

            No slamming of lids

            No radio

            No loud talking

            Shut the motor off at least 50 yds away

            Turn T/M down lower and use sparingly

Remember, If you can see them, they can see you

[Chris]

back off the fish and give them time to chill out an hour or two. Mark the area if you want with a weight, fishing line and bobber. scale down your offering to a 4 inch worm (could also use a dropshot rig)or a small bass assassin (it swims on the fall) so does a 3" senko. something slow falling light and easy to eat. Rapala works well also because it is silent and small. You got to hunt these fish not just fish them.

[CatBassin]

I fish a little private pond and the bass were sitting on the bank last week and wouldn't hit anything. Then I started throwing a wacky rigged Strike King Ocho and they just started to murder it. As for the big fish on the surface, they probably are grass carp. The pond I fish used to have two, one about 3' long and the other about 5' long, tried catching them but never had any luck.

[basspimple]

well first i make sure im in complete camo, and set up a blind....

naw, but seriously, dont wear bright clothes, make light casts, use some flourocarbon. try skipping the bait past the fish, this has worked miracles. wacky rigged stick baits, t-rigged floatin worms, and very light jigs are what i use. GL!

-j

[Hammer 4]

And then sometimes, like in my situtaion, fishing from shore, basss are 10' away, I toss everything in my box, and NADA..they just look at it, or swim 5 feet away, then return when I reel in