Need Help Coaxing A Bite

[North Ga Hillbilly]

I was fishing a small creek at the inlet to the main river today and was looking at 12 or 15 bass. However, I was unable to buy a bite out of any of them. I tried senkos, a buzz bait, lipless crank, spinner bait... but noting.

As you can see there is a tree laying down into the creek, all bass were staged directly down stream of the fallen tree. They seemed to be staged like they were waiting for something, but not anything I was throwing.

The water was ~10 ft at the tree, flow was almost non-existent. Water visibility was ~3ft.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

NGaHB

[matstone7]

Personally, I would do one of two things.

Toss a jig/craw in there and soak it or, pitch a T/rigged Lobster or Thumper in there and soak that.

[Crestliner2008]

Just a suggestion, but if you can see them, they certainly can see you! I would back way off, let them settle down, then toss a soft plastic offering up onto the bank where the log comes in, or upstream from the log. Let it drift down into them.

I would use a light spinning rig, 6# test braid with 6# test fluoro leader and a #1/0 EWG worm hook. I don't really care what plastic you use, but I wouldn't use weight to get it down, so make your selection accordingly. (Hard to beat a 4" Senko.) JMO.

[Jigfishn10]

Other than a the Senko, you tried all reaction type baits. If the aren't responding to those, then you need to slow down like matstone7 says...jigs, worms, tubes, etc.

[Nitrofreak]

Just a suggestion, but if you can see them, they certainly can see you! I would back way off, let them settle down, then toss a soft plastic offering up onto the bank where the log comes in, or upstream from the log. Let it drift down into them.

I would use a light spinning rig, 6# test braid with 6# test fluoro leader and a #1/0 EWG worm hook. I don't really care what plastic you use, but I wouldn't use weight to get it down, so make your selection accordingly. (Hard to beat a 4" Senko.) JMO.

Awesome post and it has my vote as well.

A salt and pepper tube would be my choice first and the lizzard in watermellon or pumpkin seed from the bank SLOWLY worked toward the fish would be my second.

[Bass Junkie]

I'd back off, wait a bit, then throw in either a Rapala Floater or a prop bait... Twitching them on the surface is a great way to get the fish fired up and competitive, which equates to more willing bites...

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Thanks for all the input!

It would seem that they could see me, however I was up a bank about 30ft above them, not sure about their ability to see "up".

I saw this over at the SMB forum, what does someone think about a 4" senko under a float? The current is so slow even a weightless senko is going to not have a chance to float down stream twords them before sinking.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to go and attempt to finnesse a bite here in a few.

NGaHB

[WRB]

The direction you present the lure is important. Stand behind the bass and cast upstream past the log and move your lure towards their heads.

Yes bass see up extemely well, so a small jerk bait would also work under these circumstances for smallies.

Tom

[MuffinMan]

try throwing plastics behind them and work it towards them and basically put it right in their face. if you go on the my fishing trip forum i have a pic of a nice bass i caught fishing a small creek with a current , the jig was the only thing they would bite on in thet creek.hope this helps.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

I managed to get several fish out of the area today, one that i think might have been a shoal bass. The 4" senkos made it happen, texas rigged with a 1/0 worm hook. I was using a co-polymer leader at first, but lost a real good fish in some brush, so I took the leader off and didnt see a diff in bite frequency.

MM- I'll check it out, sounds pretty cool.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.

NGaHB

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Anyone with a more educated eye than mine- does this look like a shoal bass? If not pretty interesting coloration for a LM.

NGaHB

[matstone7]

Anyone with a more educated eye than mine- does this look like a shoal bass? If not pretty interesting coloration for a LM.

NGaHB

Looks like a smallmouth to me.

[Crestliner2008]

Looks like a smallmouth to me.

X2 - Definitely a smallmouth bass.

[Nitrofreak]

It would seem that they could see me, however I was up a bank about 30ft above them, not sure about their ability to see "up".

Bass can see up forward and side to side VERY well they just cant see down thats why they look at a bait nose down when on the bottom.

Thats also why they are under schools of fish when you see them on your electronics.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

In theory SM dont inhabit the Chattahoochee, only the TN river, in GA that is. Which made me think shoal, which would still be a rare catch as they are down in the Flint 99% of the time.

NGaHB

[WRB]

Nice shoal bass! Http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoal_bass

Tom

[jiggerpole]

I believe it is a shoal bass. Smallmouth have vertical lines similar to a shoal bass but are much more prominent and have broken blotches or spots alone the back and also on the gill plates. Shoal bass have vertical lines also that are much more suttle.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Thanks guys, managed to pull a few more in from this spot again today. Got another shoal bass, around 3.5#, fought like it was 8#. The biggest today came from a jig with a craw worm trailer.

Still sitting looking at alot of fish that wont bite tho. I'm tempted to take and put a big ol wad of night crawlers in front of this one big girl, I swear shes laughin at me .

NGaHB