What Am I Doing Wrong? Not Even A Bite (Clear Lake On Sunny Day) 2024
freelancer27 reply :
Hi there,
I would consider myself a decent bass angler. Nothing spectacular but on a normal day, I catch my fish.
Though lately I got skunked too often. Now I am at a point to ask for feedback from the community to see if there is anything obvious that I am missing.
Here the story of the day.
I went out to a Reservoir Lake in Marin County, CA. The lake is relatively small but does not seem to have a lot of fishing pressure. Today's temperature was around 85 degrees, I would say the water was around 65-75. The lake is pretty clear (you can see at least 10 feet wide). On the shore it has a lot of weeds and hydrilla. There was little to no wind.
I brought my baitcaster that has 20pound Saegar Red Label on it (I use a snapp swifel on it) and my light spinning gear with 6 pound fluro on it.
I was fishing from 2-6pm.
Techniques that I tried:
With the baitcaster:
- Spinner bait (used both silver and gold. Silver I used willow and colorado blades. For the Gold I just used willow blades. Skirts were white (for the silver) and orange for the golden one.)
- I used different techniques: top water, let it sink to the bottom and retrieved it. Let it move up and down while retrieving it)
- Swimmbait (Biwa Seven Redhorse)
- Different styles. Twitching it and slowly retrieving it
- Buzzbait (with bluegill skirt. Used it with and without keitech big impact tail)
- Techniques: Similar to Spinnerbait
- Jigs
- Pitching it in the Hyrdilla, Dragging and jumping it on the bottom
- Frog over the hydrilla (different retrieve cadences)
- Mouse over the hydrilla (different retrieve cadences)
With Spinning set up (6# fluro) :
- Worm with red/grey/ pumpkin/ watermelon color and weightless
- drop shot with same worms
I put garlic scent on the lures, nothing helped. I saw big bass literally swimming by my lure without even looking at it.
What am I doing wrong? What am I missing?
Thankful for any tips or constructive criques.
Thank you!!!!
Cheers,
Seb.
MidwestF1sh reply :
Sloooooowwwwww down. Whenever the fishing gets tough you have two options, burn a lure back and hope for a reaction strike or slow down and try to get a bite. With the clear water and clear skies I would slow down and stick with a drop shot with a 4.5" roboworm. Or try a shakey head. A Texas rigged senko with a 1/4 ounce bullet weight fished along and into the weeds is also a good bet.
Sam reply :
Free, did a cold front move through the area the day before, leaving blue bird skies?
If so, the bass will shut down since they would have fed right before and when the front moved through.
Check the articles and videos in this Forum for fishing after cold fronts and deep, clear water.
Also look up Bassresource on YouTube to find out if they have anything posted on fishing the types of water you are fishing.
scaleface reply :
Dont know if you have a depth finder or not. I would lose the swivel and the spinnerbait and use various bottom bouncing lures in deep water. In the clear Ozark lakes i have caught fish down to 35 foot on tubes and worms .
garvin reply :
Clear blue skies are not generally a friend to bass fishermen. Bass don't like bright sunlight and will seek shade and/or deeper water to avoid the sunlight. If a cold front has just passed through, the abrupt change in pressure will cause them to stop feeding for a few days until they adjust.
I fished a lake here in Texas (where I almost always have a decent, if not terrific, day of fishing) this past Saturday, the day after the front blew through here. Got two legitimate bites and boated one which was smaller than usual. Threw everything I could think of to try to get reactions or entice them. Fished close to cover, fished deeper water, tried all the techniques that normally put fish in the boat on that lake and it felt like the bass had all gone on vacation. I think the front shut them down and the bluebird sky had them hunkered down in the shadows.
Another suggestion is switch to using soft plastics. All the baits you mentioned are great baits, but to me, nothing beats soft plastics when it comes to getting bites. Ned rig, drop shot, neko rig, Texas rig, Carolina rig, wacky rig are all great ways to get them to bite. Learn to fish them with a great amount of patience, and slowly. Senkos and Senko-type baits are my personal favorite. Weightless Texas rigged or dragged along the bottom on a Carolina rig is a technique that produces for me most of the time.
Don't be discouraged. It's tough until everything clicks, then it's still tough, but you'll put more fish in the boat. 
Smokinal reply :
Some good advice above. I'll add that sometimes it only takes a small variation of what you're doing to make a night and day difference in bites. Yesterday, I was throwing a green pumpkin jig and getting a few bites here and there. I switched to a green pumpkin craw t-rigged and lit em up big time. Both green pumpkin craw imitators, both fished on the bottom but one worked and the other didn't. And when I ran out of plastic baits I had no choice but to put the jig back on and the bite shut right off for me. Small differences.
freelancer27 reply :
Hi everybody,
thanks for the replies.
In regards to the weather: there was no cold front the days prior. Actually the cold front started coming in today (2 days after).
In regards to the lure size: I see that point. Though I was also using very small inline spinners.
In regards to retreiving speed: so you are suggesting to dramatically slow down the presentation?! My thoughts was to speed them up, to give the bass less time to inspect the lure.
In regards to colors: so more pumpkin, watermelon?
In regards to the line: Is 20# Fluro too thick for clear water?
I guess I have to play around more with my soft plastics.
THanks.
Senko lover reply :
When in doubt, I dropshot. It's a slow grind, but it produces.
Raul reply :
On 9/15/2015 at 1:06 AM, freelancer27 said:
In regards to the line: Is 20# Fluro too thick for clear water?
Any particular reason why you like to fish with rope ? 
K_Mac reply :
20# fluorocarbon is maybe a little much for open, clear water and is not a good choice for topwater because of its density. Mono or copoly is a better choice. My guess is that is not the problem though. When fishing gets tough in the conditions you have, I usually choose one of two options: First, is to go deeper with a finess bait, generally a trickworm or finess worm on a shakeyhead; or, fish a jig or plastic like a cut worm or beaver in the heaviest cover available. Sometimes a spook over, or a spoon or crankbait through schooling, suspended fish also works. The other thing to remember is some days you are not going to be successful. Enjoy the day anyway! Good luck.
lo n slo reply :
Nothing can humble a man like the bass, especially watching them swim around, ignoring your offerings as if they're a fat girl at the prom. Chunking rip rap into the lake and screaming obscenities does'nt help either....not that I've done anything like that.....in the last 10 years.
WRB reply :
Biwa 7 is a serious swimbait, weights about 3 1/2 oz, surprised you can fish that on the same rod used for a spinnerbait or buzz bait.
Does this lake have Florida strain LMB?
The active feeding periods for FLMB in some clear deep structured lakes can be very short, about 20 minutes, every 4 hours or so. If you miss the active period, the could care less what you use or how you present it.
The only time bass don't care if they see you is during the spawn, otherwise keep a low profile so the bass can't see your movements.
Try fishing during low light periods or deeper water during mid blue bird days.
The 7 red horse is like a red ear sunfish ( shell cracker ). Does this lake have bluegill or shell crackers?
When you fish a swimbait, stay with it all day. If you want a break, go to your drop shot or a jig.The reason is you need to stay focused and in a slower presentation mode.
I often mix swimbaits with casting jigs and retrieving horizontal along deep structure breaks where big bass like to locate.
Tom
freelancer27 reply :
On 9/15/2015 at 4:42 AM, lo n slo said:Nothing can humble a man like the bass, especially watching them swim around, ignoring your offerings as if they're a fat girl at the prom. Chunking rip rap into the lake and screaming obscenities does'nt help either....not that I've done anything like that.....in the last 10 years.
Haha, nice one!
On 9/15/2015 at 4:50 AM, WRB said:Biwa 7 is a serious swimbait, weights about 3 1/2 oz, surprised you can fish that on the same rod used for a spinnerbait or buzz bait.
Does this lake have Florida strain LMB?
The active feeding periods for FLMB in some clear deep structured lakes can be very short, about 20 minutes, every 4 hours or so. If you miss the active period, the could care less what you use or how you present it.
The only time bass don't care if they see you is during the spawn, otherwise keep a low profile so the bass can't see your movements.
Try fishing during low light periods or deeper water during mid blue bird days.
The 7 red horse is like a red ear sunfish ( shell cracker ). Does this lake have bluegill or shell crackers?
When you fish a swimbait, stay with it all day. If you want a break, go to your drop shot or a jig.The reason is you need to stay focused and in a slower presentation mode.
I often mix swimbaits with casting jigs and retrieving horizontal along deep structure breaks where big bass like to locate.
Tom
Tom, I am making some adjustments to my reel. I am not at the point where I want to invest in a set up for each technique. Also it is a bit cumbersome to carry X rods around as a bank angler.
As far as I know it is just regular LMB. But I would think that this fish as well has certain feeding windows. I just saw fish jumping every now and then, which lead me to believe that they were eating, but just not what I was showing them.
I have the following swim baits:
* Biwa trout (6.5 inch), Biwa RedTiger (5.5 inch), LuckCraft Real Ayu 178 in Shad color, Seven 5.5 in Redhorse and Real Bass. Which one would you use if you can not really determine which bait fish are swimming around.
I saw a lot of bluegill swimming around. Not sure abou thte shall cracker. The swimming action of the Seven is pretty cool. I sometimes catch myself thinking "That thing looks like a real injured fish that asks to get eaten..." 
Probably will try punching as well. I am just a bit concerned that the fish will get spooked too easyily when I am showing up on the bank...
On 9/15/2015 at 3:31 AM, K_Mac said:20# fluorocarbon is maybe a little much for open, clear water and is not a good choice for topwater because of its density. Mono or copoly is a better choice. My guess is that is not the problem though. When fishing gets tough in the conditions you have, I usually choose one of two options: First, is to go deeper with a finess bait, generally a trickworm or finess worm on a shakeyhead; or, fish a jig or plastic like a cut worm or beaver in the heaviest cover available. Sometimes a spook over, or a spoon or crankbait through schooling, suspended fish also works. The other thing to remember is some days you are not going to be successful. Enjoy the day anyway! Good luck.
What kind of line weight would you recommend? When you do drop shot fishing, how much space do you have from the weight to the hook? On what do you base your decision (when dont know how the bottom structure looks like)?
WRB reply :
You are a bank fisherman and that limits what you can use effectively and where you can fish.
I don't like the drop shot rig from the bank and prefer a slip shot rig using you spinning tackle.
Slip shot consist of sliding mojo style weight, a weight stopper like a glass bead pegged and a light site hook.
I use Top Brass Pro-Jo brass weight, 1/8 oz to start with and Peg-It rubber pegs with red tempered faceted 8 mm beads. Owner 5133 down shot hook size 1/0 with 6" Roboworms. The weight stopper can also be a Karolina Keeper plastic stopper and use the glass bead for a sound maker when the weight hits it. Adjust the stopper about 24" to start, make longer or shorter without re tying by sliding on the line. Roboworm bait ball and MM III colors are good in the summer and fall.
Without knowing what you casting tackle is, can't suggest which swimmer is best for it. If trout are not stocked, I would stay with Shad and bluegill/red ear colors.
Can you fish the dam area? If you can start there.
Tom
K_Mac reply :
For skirted jigs I use 1/4-3/4 oz, with 3/8 used the most except in deeper water. Plastics 1/8-1 oz, with 3/16 or 1/4 the most common. For dropshot I like 3/8. If you know how the fish are related to structure or grass cover use that to determine the distance from the weight. If not I would start about 6-8" off bottom and experiment from there.
Being able to determine bottom structure takes experience and paying close attention. You can tell much about bottom structure by paying close attention to bank contour and by feel with a heavier bait. Good luck!
Lund Explorer reply :
Let's just look at the easy stuff.
From your original post, you are fishing a small clear body of water where they don't get a lot of human activity, and while you can see the fish they won't bite anything you are throwing at them.
The most obvious answer is the same one that has been mentioned here within this forum's pages ad naseum.
"If you can see the fish, they can see you!" On your next trip, try a stealth approach.
Mainebass1984 reply :
Under the conditions mentioned I would target fish in 15-25 ft perhaps even a little deeper. I would drop shot smaller profile baits. A dream shot works amazing in the conditions you mentioned. I prefer to dropshot with 8 lb flouro but sometimes I use 6 lb. Gulp minnows and leeches are great drop shot baits too.
JayKumar reply :
Did you see any fish activity anywhere you fished? Baitfish, bluegills, bass, anything?
WRB reply :
Alpine lake is small high altitude (over 7,000 ft ) freezes in the winter, stock with rainbow trout, over 170 surface acres and has a dam.
This is primarily a family vacation lake with trout fishing and has a bluegill, bass and catfish population.
The bass are northern strain largemouth based on the fact the lake freezes. There are no threadfin Shad for baitfish, the bass should be more shoreline oriented feeding on crawdads,minnows, suckers, young of the year bluegill and bass, plus the larger adult bass may target planted trout.
Your bluegill and trout profile swimbaits should work following a trout plants or anytime.
The slip shot rig should work for you, add Roboworm oxblood w/lite red flake 6" curl tail. Jigs, try plain football 3/8 oz with GYCB Hula grub 4" # 221 or #330. I would change the FC baitcasting line to 10 or 12 lb for everything except the swimmers or 17 lb Sunline Armilo Nylon line ( .013D) and use it for everything on the baitcaster.
After 9A to about 5P this type of lake can be tough for bass using anything that moves fast, early and later they work better. If you are serious about catching those big sight bass during mid day try fly lining a big live Canadian night crawler tail hooked with a #4 drop shot hook using your spinning tackle, or go to the slip shot rig and soft plastics.
Tom
dave reply :
The simple answer is that you went fishing and just didn't catch anything...don't over think it.
freelancer27 reply :
On 9/15/2015 at 10:51 PM, JayKumar said:Did you see any fish activity anywhere you fished? Baitfish, bluegills, bass, anything?
Yeah, lots of bluegill and little bass.
On 9/16/2015 at 12:19 AM, WRB said:Alpine lake is small high altitude (over 7,000 ft ) freezes in the winter, stock with rainbow trout, over 170 surface acres and has a dam.
This is primarily a family vacation lake with trout fishing and has a bluegill, bass and catfish population.
The bass are northern strain largemouth based on the fact the lake freezes. There are no threadfin Shad for baitfish, the bass should be more shoreline oriented feeding on crawdads,minnows, suckers, young of the year bluegill and bass, plus the larger adult bass may target planted trout.
Your bluegill and trout profile swimbaits should work following a trout plants or anytime.
The slip shot rig should work for you, add Roboworm oxblood w/lite red flake 6" curl tail. Jigs, try plain football 3/8 oz with GYCB Hula grub 4" # 221 or #330. I would change the FC baitcasting line to 10 or 12 lb for everything except the swimmers or 17 lb Sunline Armilo Nylon line ( .013D) and use it for everything on the baitcaster.
After 9A to about 5P this type of lake can be tough for bass using anything that moves fast, early and later they work better. If you are serious about catching those big sight bass during mid day try fly lining a big live Canadian night crawler tail hooked with a #4 drop shot hook using your spinning tackle, or go to the slip shot rig and soft plastics.
Tom
Thanks. I will take this as an advice and try next time.
In regards to the line. I have 2 baitcaster sets and two old spinning sets. Baitcaster are equiped with 20pound fluro and 40 pound braid right now. Spinning is 6 pound fluro (finesse) and 12 pound mono for regular stuff.
I am a little bit afraid to put 10pound on the baitcaster, since I do get hung up once in a while... does 10 pound make a huge difference to 20 pound?
THANKS again for all your help and ideas!
WRB reply :
Need rod info to determine what line to use; model no's are helpful. You are fishing a clear water lake, the line affects how the lures work and bass are sight feeders. At night and low light conditions the line diameter isn't as important as during the mid day calm water. 12 lb with a spinning reel is pushing it if the reel is 2500 or smaller size. It's fall at that lake and will transition to winter in about 8 weeks. Fall bass are moving around and will be going deeper soonwhen the weeds start to turn brown.On 9/16/2015 at 10:46 AM, freelancer27 said:Yeah, lots of bluegill and little bass.
Thanks. I will take this as an advice and try next time.
In regards to the line. I have 2 baitcaster sets and two old spinning sets. Baitcaster are equiped with 20pound fluro and 40 pound braid right now. Spinning is 6 pound fluro (finesse) and 12 pound mono for regular stuff.
I am a little bit afraid to put 10pound on the baitcaster, since I do get hung up once in a while... does 10 pound make a huge difference to 20 pound?
THANKS again for all your help and ideas!
seaguar 20 lb FC is small diameter line, however the 12 lb you have on a spinning reel would be better where you fish on a baitcaster. The 40 lb braid with 20 FC leader is OK for the Baitcasting out fit depending on the rod.
Fishing from shore you will loose some stuff. Lighter weights go through snags better than the heavier weights and the reason I suggested 1/8 mojo style weight and a 3/8 oz jig.
Tom
freelancer27 reply :
On 9/16/2015 at 11:06 AM, WRB said:Need rod info to determine what line to use; model no's are helpful. You are fishing a clear water lake, the line affects how the lures work and bass are sight feeders. At night and low light conditions the line diameter isn't as important as during the mid day calm water. 12 lb with a spinning reel is pushing it if the reel is 2500 or smaller size. It's fall at that lake and will transition to winter in about 8 weeks. Fall bass are moving around and will be going deeper soonwhen the weeds start to turn brown.
seaguar 20 lb FC is small diameter line, however the 12 lb you have on a spinning reel would be better where you fish on a baitcaster. The 40 lb braid with 20 FC leader is OK for the Baitcasting out fit depending on the rod.
Fishing from shore you will loose some stuff. Lighter weights go through snags better than the heavier weights and the reason I suggested 1/8 mojo style weight and a 3/8 oz jig.
Tom
Thanks for the quick reply!
My first baitcaster set up:
Rod: Bass Pro Shops XPS Extreme Trigger Rod 6.8 feet
Reel: Bass Pro Shops reel 6.4:1
Second one:
Abu Garcia Pro max combo. With 6.8 rod and 7.1:1
The spinning combos are basically crap. I got them from a friend for free, so I am not complaining and for some finesse fishing (without big lures or heavy line) I think they are ok. I put a Pflueger President Spinning Reel (10-Pound/230-Yard) on one of them, which is basically overkill of a reel for the rod. Eventually I want to get a new spinning rod, once I have enough 'fishing money' on the side again
JayKumar reply :
Super clear water for me = soft plastics in green pumpkin, all-black or black/chartreuse tail, and believe it or not original floating Rapalas (old-school, always work)
WRB reply :
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/162926-helllpppppp/?view=getnewpostOn 9/16/2015 at 11:44 AM, freelancer27 said:Thanks for the quick reply!
My first baitcaster set up:
Rod: Bass Pro Shops XPS Extreme Trigger Rod 6.8 feet
Reel: Bass Pro Shops reel 6.4:1
Second one:
Abu Garcia Pro max combo. With 6.8 rod and 7.1:1
The spinning combos are basically crap. I got them from a friend for free, so I am not complaining and for some finesse fishing (without big lures or heavy line) I think they are ok. I put a Pflueger President Spinning Reel (10-Pound/230-Yard) on one of them, which is basically overkill of a reel for the rod. Eventually I want to get a new spinning rod, once I have enough 'fishing money' on the side again
Email a friend
Bass Pro Shops XPS Extreme Trigger Rod
The spinning outfit with new Plfueger reel you need to spool with 6 to 8 lb FC, use some backing so you have about 100 yards of new line. You didn't say how long or what power rating the spinning rods are, use the longer rod with medium power fast action if possible. This will be your soft plastic finesse combo.
The baitcasting combo's; the BPS ETR66MHT is a medium heavy 6'6" rod, 3/8-1 oz lure rating, use 15 FC, this will be your jig and Texas rigged worm or creature rod and your swimbait rod.
The Pro Max combo appears to be a medium power 6' 6" rod? From the discription, use this with 12 to 15 premium mono or braid w/leader for your top water, spinnerbait and crank baits or smaller swimmer less than 1 oz..
The BIWAA 7 swimbait in size 5 is about 1.2 oz, this weight is max for you MH combo, you need a swimbait combo at some point if you plan on using these lures effectively and make longer casts. The Okuma A series heavy swimbait rod with Cardiff 300 series reel makes a good entry level combo with the 20 lb FC line.
I would focus on the slip shot rig, the Hula grub jig rig and your BIWAA 7 -5 swimbaits, put everything else away until you start catch bass.
Try to find a point of land near the dam area and concentrate your efforts by working the area by fan casting complete 1/2 circle patterns, starting straight out, then parallel to shore, then split the difference about a 5 casts per pattern, then move about 50 yards and repeat until you determine what depth the bass are active in, then work those areas.
You can start with whatever combo you feel like using and alternate them.
Good luck.
Tom
freelancer27 reply :
On 9/16/2015 at 11:34 PM, WRB said:http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/162926-helllpppppp/?view=getnewpost
The spinning outfit with new Plfueger reel you need to spool with 6 to 8 lb FC, use some backing so you have about 100 yards of new line. You didn't say how long or what power rating the spinning rods are, use the longer rod with medium power fast action if possible. This will be your soft plastic finesse combo.
The baitcasting combo's; the BPS ETR66MHT is a medium heavy 6'6" rod, 3/8-1 oz lure rating, use 15 FC, this will be your jig and Texas rigged worm or creature rod and your swimbait rod.
The Pro Max combo appears to be a medium power 6' 6" rod? From the discription, use this with 12 to 15 premium mono or braid w/leader for your top water, spinnerbait and crank baits or smaller swimmer less than 1 oz..
The BIWAA 7 swimbait in size 5 is about 1.2 oz, this weight is max for you MH combo, you need a swimbait combo at some point if you plan on using these lures effectively and make longer casts. The Okuma A series heavy swimbait rod with Cardiff 300 series reel makes a good entry level combo with the 20 lb FC line.
I would focus on the slip shot rig, the Hula grub jig rig and your BIWAA 7 -5 swimbaits, put everything else away until you start catch bass.
Try to find a point of land near the dam area and concentrate your efforts by working the area by fan casting complete 1/2 circle patterns, starting straight out, then parallel to shore, then split the difference about a 5 casts per pattern, then move about 50 yards and repeat until you determine what depth the bass are active in, then work those areas.
You can start with whatever combo you feel like using and alternate them.
Good luck.
Tom
Thank again Tom! Will try to follow your advice!
In regards to the rods. I actually have no issue using the two baitcaster to throw my swimmbaits. I havent encountered any issues that would have been obvious to me. Of course a bigger rod would give me a better leverage effect to cast it further, but I am a tall guy with some juice in my arms, so I should be good
WRB reply :
You could use hollow body swimmers like Basstrix 6 paddle tail in bluegill on a Revenge 3/8 oz Swim jig head in bluegill. This you cast out, let it sink by counting down and receiving or bottom bouncing it. Less expensive and good year around presentation, using your jig rod.
Tom
freelancer27 reply :
On 9/17/2015 at 1:42 AM, WRB said:You could use hollow body swimmers like Basstrix 6 paddle tail in bluegill on a Revenge 3/8 oz Swim jig head in bluegill. This you cast out, let it sink by counting down and receiving or bottom bouncing it. Less expensive and good year around presentation, using your jig rod.
Tom
I have already quite a few Keitech swing impact lures in different sizes and colors. The Bluegill indeed works usually pretty well. Though not in the conditions I described? Also your 6inch suggestion seems rather big, no?
Paul Roberts reply :
Here's a trip report I did a while back that addresses "brilliant blue":
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/69731-brilliant-blue/
It was archived so hyphens and quotation marks are missing, making it a bit tougher to read. Quote marks refer to inches -as in, 15". Hope it gives you some things to think about.
WRB reply :
Excellent article Paul!
Living in Colorado you can appreciate bright blue sky at high altitude, 7,000 feet is different than blue bird days at sea level.
I learned to bass fish on a clear water lake at 7,000' altitude and know how these bass behave from years of experience. In California cloudless days are the norm, however cloudless windless days are not as common.
A light breeze helps to defuse the light, light wind creating waves helps more to bend the light waves, flat calm water is a very difficult condition to catch bass in this type of lake. The bass population is conditioned to hunt prey when it's to their advantage, under low light or windy conditions.
Tom
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