what am i doing wrong

[basspro215]

i have gone to my local lake 4 times this week and no luck yet I've used everything from a shaky head,tube, crank bait (lipped and non lipped)i just can not get a hit I'm fishing from shore cause i still have some snow in my yard and unable to get my boat out,the only water i can get to it goes from 2 to 12 feet and has a rocky/grassy bottom.why cant i get them to hit

[acmaul13]

Too cold yet,suspended out in deeper water still?

[ShizzleHallowizzle]

what is the temp of the water?  the colder it is, the slower you have to fish it

[Wild Bill [NY]]

The reason :

You live in NY and it's only early March.

Fish are cold-blooded creatures, and eat way, way less when it's cold water compared to when the water is warm; simple as that.

The warmer the water eventually gets, the better they will bite.

[smallieking]

agreed the fish are just not close enough to the shore for you yet. but your still lucky im from pa and still waiting to get my boat out also  the lakes here are frozen solid. i got my first tournament in april and im not sure if the lake will be unfrozed lol but just tough it out for a few more weeks and your fish will eventually move in for you

[basspro215]

yea thats what i figured,its been in the upper 50s here so i thought just maybe some would come up to be in the sun and the water cant be any higher than the low 40s at best

[bassman31783]

I would try using a C-Rigged plastic.  With the water being so cold they all might be hugging the bottom for warmth.  C-Rigs can cover a lot of water quickly while still being a relatively slow presentation technique for the fish.

I would also try using a jig & grub combo or an in-line spinner.  They always seem to be a good cold water bait.  Of course my cold water here in Texas isn't quite the same as your cold water up in NY. 

[basspro215]

i did try a c-rig on a rock hump and nothing

[aarogb]

Seems like you tried all the baits that you can.  The problem must be in your presentation.  Try slowing down and using different retrieves if that doesn't work.

[bobbyc]

Too cold yet,suspended out in deeper water still?

This would be my guess.

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

yea i think there suspened mabye still too

[basspro215]

i slow my presentation way down letting it sit on the bottom for 20 to 30 sec at a time so i think they are still to far out

[Hellbenderman]

I am going to say a nasty...live bait...

[Team9nine]

Always hard to say without seeing someone elses water. That said, the ice just came off our local reservoir about a day and a half ago and I picked up 3 from the bank this evening after work. There are almost always some bass up shallow, so don't rule that out completely, and don't let the cold water/slow baits mentality fool you either. Traps and cranks can be some of the best baits this time of year, along with the slower drop baits. Mine all came on cranks tonight. Just keep going after them and mixing it up until you figure it out. You'll be a better angler for it after you do

-T9

[NewKidInTown]

i have gone to my local lake 4 times this week and no luck yet I've used everything from a shaky head,tube, crank bait (lipped and non lipped)i just can not get a hit I'm fishing from shore cause i still have some snow in my yard and unable to get my boat out,the only water i can get to it goes from 2 to 12 feet and has a rocky/grassy bottom.why cant i get them to hit

Why don't you throw a Football jig out there?

Suspending Jerkbait?

[Hammer 4]

Ditto on the football, and jerk bait..When you throw em out there..let them SIT, and when you do move them, small twitches, don't try and impart a ton of action..let them sit for at least 30-60 seconds or more. That is IF you can reach the fish..

[basspro215]

ill have to try the jerk bait,I've tried the football jig,but other than that its not really the best bass lake around here,its Seneca lake NY,my best bass lake is still froze

[Paul Roberts]

Ditto T9.

There almost certainly are some fish near a shoreline somewhere. Keep looking.

[Tuckman]

Todd, getting out on the lake this early is not going to save you from me taking your money all season long. If your fishing off the pier try a hair jig with a tiny chunk or gulp trailer, but if you really want to catch fish this early on seneca your best bet to find a way to get to that warm water discharge from the cargill salt plant. It is very hit or miss but at least its not a total miss like 99% of Seneca lake tends to be. Personaly I would go after steelhead for a few more weeks, Cayuta will be iced off in a couple weeks and is awesome directly after ice out. Thanks in advance for your tournament entry fee money. 

[burleytog]

You're holding your mouth wrong.

[brushhoggin]

have you tried spittin your copenhagen on  your lure?

[basspro215]

HA HA ;D IM going behind cargill on Monday with jimmy cause he works there now so we are allowed to go out and fish but i am gonna go up and get sum steel head really soon

[Tuckman]

well, good luck then, we used throw hair jigs and jerkbaits in there in march. The best day is a sunny afternoon and if they are in there you will see schools of them (largemouth) cruising around the water discharge. Fishing from the bank is almost an advantage because the bank is high enough that its like sight fishing from a treestand, plus it sounds like you wont have to keep looking over your shoulders for angry groundskeepers like we used to have to do...you should haul a canoe down to the big state pond on texas hollow and give that a try, it used to be great early in the year out on those stumps in the middle, but it was getting so shallow the last few years that any winter it could freeze to the bottom and kill all the fish. I have not been down there in a few years to check it out...I will be back in town for  the watkins fishing show in a few weeks, so I will see you down there

[Deleted account]

I'm in MD near DC, and just started catching them last week with the jerkbait, #8 Husky Jerk has been the best, 2 foot sweeps, and short erratic jerks with 3-10 second pauses has worked best, move around and cover water, as others mentioned, most fish haven't moved up, when you find them you can catch a bunch in a hurry though. Up in NY, it might be a little while depending on the weather before its good, I sure do miss the Catskill lakes.

[basspro215]

yes i will be at the show in a few weeks, but i made it a point to drive down Texas hollow like 2 days ago and it still completely iced over still