Can And Want To

[hatrix]

Here is the issue im facing. What I CAN catch fish with and WANT to catch fish with are not the same thing. I can cruise around and pitch weightless plastics to pockets or what not and catch fish fine. But all I really want to do is catch fish on something that is moving. I have tried every lure I have and thats like every type of lure there is except maybe some specialty type lures. I have tried every type of retrieve and every thing but the fish are just laughing at me and are not buying what im selling. If I could just get a couple bites I would be happy but unless it is just sitting there they wont bite it. I went to another place threw a chatter bait and a crank bait and caught fish fine but the place I fish the most nothing works. I so want to just make a bunch of casts and cover a ton of water but I don't know what the deal is anymore.

[J Francho]

It's not the time of year to force feed the fish. Spring and Fall are better for that.

[irnwrkr]

Try throwing those baits at first light. That's how I got confident with it. Fish are more active, so its a big boost. Good luck.

[quanjig]

What is the forage base of the lake you are fishing?

[hatrix]

It doesnt matter what time you use those baits it doesnt work there I have tried only soft plastics work. I guess the forage would be other small fish and frogs.

[bradbass]

It doesnt matter what time you use those baits it doesnt work there I have tried only soft plastics work. I guess the forage would be other small fish and frogs.

patience!! first locate some fish with plastic and then switch to a spinner or crank bait.

[J Francho]

That's kind of backwards, but yeah, if you must catch on a moving bait, then by all means. Generally, I use a moving bait to locate fish, then a feel bait to catch the largest fish. Some days, I may not change to a feel bait at all.

[Sam]

Hatrix, join the club.

Many times you don't get bit at the pond, lake or river.

J, the pros and a lot of us guys use crankbaits and spinnerbaits to locate the bass and then we go with shaky heads or Senkos to hunt out the big ladies.

To help you better we need some information:

1. Size of body of water.

2. Many holes or deep areas along the shoreline or towards the middle?

3. Any structure on the bottom?

4. Any structure or cover on top going into the water?

5. What is the color of the water: clear, stained, etc.?

6. Have you been to the body of water at sunup and watched the topwater action? If so, what did you see and in what part of the lake are they active?

7. Have you been to the body of water at sunset and done #6 above?

8. Have you fished for bait fish, like bluegills and bream?

9. Seen any minnows or birds along the shoreline looking for a snack?

10. What is the water temperature?

11. On the days you went fishing what were the weather conditions and did you get skunked during different weather patterns?

12. What colors are you throwing? Maybe a chartruse crankbait would work?

You can understand that telling us you have been skunked and can't find the fish leaves us without a clue about the waters you are fishing. We need a little more data to compute a proper response. So give us some additional information.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Fish before, during and a little after sunup.

2. Fish before, during and a little after sunset.

3. Go deep. The fish may be looking for cooler water and more oxygen. Bounce the crankbait off the bottom. Collect weeds and grass, clean it off, and cast again.

4. Try to locate old maps of the lake and look for humps, holes, channels, road beds, cemeteries, etc. where the bass may be staging.

5. Remember, the bass will travel to the shoreline to feed in the early AM and late PM. Sometimes they cruise to enjoy the sun or warmer waters as the fall approaches.

6. Be patient. If they are in the lake you will catch them.

Good luck and get back to us with the details.

[hatrix]

Thanks for the info Sam.

To answer all your questions at once yes yes yes. I have done everything all baits and retrieves all times if day I know every single inch of the pond I know like everything there is to really know it's my daily fisher. For some reason the fish in this pond just won't bite unless it's a soft plastic. It must just be something going on with this pond at the moment. Really I don't think any one would really have success if you tried throwing cranks and spinners right now. I think I just have to wait for them to change there pattern.

[FD.]

There are several lakes that I CAN NOT ever catch fish on a moving bait. But I catch them all the time flipping or with a worm. These lakes also have a huge population of Specs (crappie) and blue gill.

I have come to the conclusion that because of the abundance of natural forage they just will not chase a moving bait.

Not sure that this is valid, but it's my story and it makes me feel better.

[Glenn]

This is a great opportunity to learn a lot. Now that you know what presentation they want, it's time to experiment.

Change colors, size, weight (speed of fall), and types of baits. Try to fine-tune the pattern and discover exactly what they're keying on that day. See if you can figure out how to weed out the smaller fish and get bigger bites.

What you learn will pay dividends down the road!

[brushhoggin]

just gonna throw this at you....have you tried a scrounger head with a black fluke? wait...did i just say that out loud?

[Catt]

This is a great opportunity to learn a lot. Now that you know what presentation they want, it's time to experiment.

Change colors, size, weight (speed of fall), and types of baits. Try to fine-tune the pattern and discover exactly what they're keying on that day. See if you can figure out how to weed out the smaller fish and get bigger bites.

What you learn will pay dividends down the road!

X2

[.ghoti.]

An old, oft repeated piece of advice is to let the fish tell you what they want.

Sounds to me like the fish are telling you something you don't want to hear. Just exactly like I used to be.

If I wasn't tossin a crankbait, jerkbait, spinnerbait, buzzbait, topwater, I wasn't fishing.

I am now almost totally in the other camp. I have hundreds of hard baits that almost never see the water.

My advice; relax, slow down and enjoy what you have. Fall is right around the corner, and the moving baits will soon come into their own.

[quanjig]

Brush, keep the scrounger talk to a minimum (wink, wink) you shouldn't even try that set up, it doesn't work ....... at all!

[SirSnookalot]

I'd move on and fish the water that's productive for you, go back to the other location in a few weeks. Why go and get frustrated when you can have some fun.

I have 6 community ponds where I live, 1 pond is connected to a drainage canal ( only about 8' wide and 1/2 the time void of water) and the ponds are connected to each other via underground ducts, no stocking has ever been done. Of the 6 ponds 1 produces nothing, 1 is sub par, 3 are fair and the last being the biggest and furthest away from the canal is way above average for numbers and size. Water conditions and vegetation are all about the same..........so which one do you think I fish 90% of the time?

What i like to do for a little variety is after each fish I catch i put on a different lure. xrap, top water, fluke and maybe finish off with a spoon, all seem to do pretty well. Don't take it too serious, go out and have some fun.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

It's not the time of year to force feed the fish. Spring and Fall are better for that.

That is hysterical! True, but hysterical.

At the same time though, I catch them on cranks and rattle traps year round. Maybe its the insane amount of confidence I have in them, I dunno.

[fishermantony]

It's not the time of year to force feed the fish. Spring and Fall are better for that.

Exactly. I've been throwing a 20ft Diving Crankbait for 4 straight days and haven't pulled one in over a 1 1/2 lb, plus my arm is about to fall off. Swim a jig in 15-20 ft of water or throw a drop shot and like J Francho said, wait until fall and you should have better luck with those fast moving baits.

[J Francho]

Almost ALL my recent notable fish have come on moving baits. Cranking anywhere from 8-12', High Power Herring shallow, or over submerged weeds, spinnerbaits through weeds, even traps banged off shallow rip rap has produced smallies in the early morning. Once I catch two or three in a vicinity, I break out the jig, and try to find the rest. I think with guys that are shore bound, it's a little different. My local ponds take some real finesse this time of year to get any action. Those fish have become well educated since spring. That combined with heavier weeds, does not make it easy.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

The main pond I fish gets down to about eight feet at the center. The rest of it is between four feet to a foot. I usually run a rattle trap or crank over these shallow areas. Through the weeds and the wood then mop it up with a tube or jig. However, I will also fish my cranks like a top water bait and that has been slaying them on my ponds or the lake. A tiny rebel insect crank has been very effective in the ponds as well. It takes a whole lot for me to put down a crank and swap to a jig or tube.

[hatrix]

Well I caught a few on my main pond yesterday with a KVD 2.5 ripping it through the weeds. But on the other pond next door on like my 4th or 5th cast I caught one over 7# on the KVD crank. That was the first fish I caught on that pond. I ended up catching about 12 more there but nothing even close to that first one maybe about 2.5 pounds at best. It is only like a 2 acre pond and I am sorta thinking it might of been the biggest bass in the pond. It was sorta luck being in the right place at the right time.