Bass fishing help?

Question

Im the average bass fisherman and experiment with a lot of lures but i go to a lake that well...gets plenty of pressure for stocker trout but the bass are plentiful in there and i see 2-6 nice sized bass everytime i go there and i try to cope them with every lure in my tackle box from shore which is where they hang out as well. they dont even bother with the lures and plastics i throw at them. what am i doing wrong?

Answer 1

First if you are casting at them that could be a problem - you should cast much farther ahead of them to let your lure drop to their depth and the splash if you cast next to them most likely startles them....

If they see you - that is a big issue too - think about it. I'm not saying it would be impossible to catch them but it decreases your chances.

Are they circling in the same general area all the time? If they are they could be spawning and guarding a nest - not the best time to try to catch them if you want the bass population in the lake to continue to increase...

If they aren't spawning maybe you should try live bait - like a night crawler rigged with no sinker so it floats down about 8-20 feet in their path...

or if you are trout fishing cast out one pole with trout bait - then set out to find some crayfish under rocks along the shoreline (be careful of snakes), if you catch any the 2-3" long are the best.

Put a size 4 or 6 hook in their tail (I prefer 6) and cast out about 15 feet or more in front of the bass - let the crayfish sink naturally.. normally they will rush over to check it out IF THEY HAVEN'T SEEN YOU.  If the swim over don't reel in the line or anything just let it sink to the bottom - they may come over to watch it walk along the bottom and either swim away or BANG grab it - wait 10 seconds and set the hook. If the swim away hold tight they sometimes swim away slightly to see what the crayfish will do (kinda like playin chicken) then they will turn around and hit it....

Be patient...don't reel the crayfish in quickly slowly then stop and let him sink then keep repeating it - remember he needs to be alive to move around on the bottom....

Good luck...