Just when you think you have it figured out... 2024
Brew City Bass reply :
So I've been night fishing a lot lately and have been doing pretty d**n good. Using the usual baits (spinners, ploppers, chatterbaits). Month of August I don't think I had a night out where I caught less than 15 fish, up until this week. Past 3 nights I only caught 4 fish each night. 8 hours a night and only 4 fish. Bleh.
It did rain a lot this past week and dropped the water temp 3-4* But the weather has been fairly stable. I've fished the same baits in the same spots I always nailed em in and just didn't produce. I probably should have been less stubborn and started trying different things. I did try slow rolling deeper up to 20fow but still no real luck. Seems like every fish I've caught this week was a fluke.
Do you guys think it was the change in water / air temp has em lock jaw? Or should I be doing something different? I feel pretty one dimensional sometimes when this happens.
diehardbassfishing reply :
Oh man. Yup. 20 yrs + of bass fishing. You're singing my song. Welcome to the party.
Karl
LionHeart reply :
Saturday I got skunked after 5 hours in Texas heat. Try not to feel too bad ????
soflabasser reply :
Try fishing a different location or change the lure you are using, retrieve,etc until you find what the bass want.
TOXIC reply :
You had a good run. Fish feeding habits change all season. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow or next week or next month.
TnRiver46 reply :
Unfortunately I can't answer your questions, I've been skunked most of my recent fishing trips
Krux5506 reply :
Kinda like how a Ned Rig was pulling most of my fish in this summer up until August. Then for whatever reason, spinnerbaits were picking up quality fish (not quantity). Things just change up as we near the end of summer. There's no choice but to just go with it.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Don't feel too bad. Been super tough here in S FL as well. Hit and miss at best.
DSTN reply :
Real hit and miss August for me too. Can't tell you for sure where they went but keep plugging away and you'll find them.
scaleface reply :
Night fishing is more unpredictable in my experience .
lo n slo reply :
On 8/27/2018 at 6:59 PM, TOXIC said:You had a good run. Fish feeding habits change all season. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow or next week or next month.
that’s good preachin’ right there
IgotWood reply :
Regardless of temps and weather, I think fish are getting into that transitional period based on sunrise and sunset. I would think this is happening just about everywhere now. As said previously, maybe try a different area. Maybe they are beginning to stage somewhere else. Or maybe try a different time of night, like early morning before daybreak maybe.
Sam reply :
Jason, you asked three questions. Here is my input, right or wrong. Hope it gives you some insight into your situation.
It did rain a lot this past week and dropped the water temp 3-4* But the weather has been fairly stable.
After a cold front passes through an area the bass do not feed until a few days later when the barometric pressure increases. Then you have "blue bird skies" or in your case, "star-lit skies" and the bass will not eat.
Do you guys think it was the change in water / air temp has em lock jaw?
Yes. 100%. After a cold front moves through an area, as stated above, you may not get a bite for one or two days depending on the severity of the rain and/or storm.
Or should I be doing something different?
Sure. Always do something different. What have you got to lose? First, you put on a cheese head like they wear at the Packers and Badgers games. This will bring you good luck. Then, based on water clarity, select your arsenal of baits including those for your drop shot and shaky head techniques. Then hit them with a lot of vibration and noise baits to get them aggravated enough to hit them. And don't forget the color yellow. You know they can see the color yellow at night. Try some JJ's Magic or other dye for a yellow tail.
Now go out there and do what the Packers do... slay them!!!!
Brew City Bass reply :
On 8/28/2018 at 5:17 AM, Sam said:Jason, you asked three questions. Here is my input, right or wrong. Hope it gives you some insight into your situation.
It did rain a lot this past week and dropped the water temp 3-4* But the weather has been fairly stable.
After a cold front passes through an area the bass do not feed until a few days later when the barometric pressure increases. Then you have "blue bird skies" or in your case, "star-lit skies" and the bass will not eat.
Do you guys think it was the change in water / air temp has em lock jaw?
Yes. 100%. After a cold front moves through an area, as stated above, you may not get a bite for one or two days depending on the severity of the rain and/or storm.
Or should I be doing something different?
Sure. Always do something different. What have you got to lose? First, you put on a cheese head like they wear at the Packers and Badgers games. This will bring you good luck. Then, based on water clarity, select your arsenal of baits including those for your drop shot and shaky head techniques. Then hit them with a lot of vibration and noise baits to get them aggravated enough to hit them. And don't forget the color yellow. You know they can see the color yellow at night. Try some JJ's Magic or other dye for a yellow tail.
Now go out there and do what the Packers do... slay them!!!!
I really appreciate this advice! I guess I never made the connection with night fishing and weather. I just kind of always assumed they ate at night no-matter the weather. Didn't even take barometric pressure into account!
Cheese hat! How could I have forgotten to wear my cheese hat when fishing! I'll be sure to bring that next time. It has to have the anti-effect of a banana in the boat, right? haha.
I can honestly say I've never tried finesse baits at night. This lake the water has closer to 20ft clarity. I just assumed bass go mostly off sound and vibration at night and wouldn't be able to really see a drop shot or the something similar. I've also yet to try an all yellow bait, but like you said, I have dipped my trailers in some chart JJ's magic.
GO PACK GO!
Mobasser reply :
On 8/27/2018 at 6:59 PM, TOXIC said:You had a good run. Fish feeding habits change all season. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow or next week or next month.
Very true. We've had a good run on numbers so far this summer, fishing buzzbaits very early, then moving off the bank with plastic worms. Now, we've had some rain and a few cooler days.Soon it will be time for a change up.Add some crankbaits to the mix, along with traps and bigger jigs. It does pay to be versatile
rejesterd reply :
Try different spots. This is common for late summer, especially for night fishing spots. They start to move toward other fairly shallow, but slightly deeper spots (like 4-8 feet instead of 1-4).
This is the time of year when jerkbaits start to outperform spinnerbaits and noisy baits at night. Also quieter (but more erratic) topwaters like Zara Spooks.
Troy85 reply :
On 8/27/2018 at 11:29 AM, LionHeart said:Saturday I got skunked after 5 hours in Texas heat. Try not to feel too bad ????
Feel ur pain over here in Louisiana. Caught 1 bass Saturday. Pretty sure it was the 90 degree daytime water temps, and the bright moon lit cloudless Friday night. I'm sure they gorged themselves long before sunrise. 
Brew City Bass reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 2:48 AM, rejesterd said:Try different spots. This is common for late summer, especially for night fishing spots. They start to move toward other fairly shallow, but slightly deeper spots (like 4-8 feet instead of 1-4).
This is the time of year when jerkbaits start to outperform spinnerbaits and noisy baits at night. Also quieter (but more erratic) topwaters like Zara Spooks.
It's a rather small lake. 80 acres I believe. I can fish pretty much the whole thing twice in one night. I first hit the banks and docks 1-4ft and got 1 or 2 out of that water. Then I hit the 4-10ft range, but with the same baits. For the last hour or two I worked 10-20ft and didn't even get a hit.
I am going out this Thursday night and I think I'm gonna hit the shallows again just to make sure they aren't there, then start working the 4-10ft with a jerkbait like you suggested. I'll be sure to give a spook a try in the shallows like you mentioned. Like I said, I've been pretty one dimensional so it can't hurt to star trying new baits. Thank you for the suggestions!
soflabasser reply :
On 8/28/2018 at 1:05 AM, DINK WHISPERER said:Been super tough here in S FL as well. Hit and miss at best.
What part of South Florida are you in,SouthWest Florida? I am SouthEast Florida and the bass fishing has been awesome this whole summer, in fact probably one of the best Summers I have had. Can't wait for Fall and Winter since that's when the bass are the thickest and heaviest!
DINK WHISPERER reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 7:50 PM, soflabasser said:What part of South Florida are you in,SouthWest Florida? I am SouthEast Florida and the bass fishing has been awesome this whole summer, in fact probably one of the best Summers I have had. Can't wait for Fall and Winter since that's when the bass are the thickest and heaviest!
Lucky you my man, haha. I live in Lake Placid (Highlands county).
soflabasser reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 7:56 PM, DINK WHISPERER said:Lucky you my man, haha. I live in Lake Placid (Highlands county).
You are in one of the best places in the state for trophy bass so you are very forunate! Our bass in SouthEast Florida bass don't get as big as your area of the state, but we do have a bunch of 6-9 pounders (with the rare +10 pounder). I honestly don't bass fish that much compared to other types of fishing I do but decided to challenge myself for a month and did well. Got rained on hard on every trip I went but it paid off. Probably going to focus on other species now until near the end of the year when I start getting serious again about chasing the big bass.
Brew City Bass reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 8:07 PM, soflabasser said:You are in one of the best places in the state for trophy bass so you are very forunate! Our bass in SouthEast Florida bass don't get as big as your area of the state, but we do have a bunch of 6-9 pounders (with the rare +10 pounder). I honestly don't bass fish that much compared to other types of fishing I do but decided to challenge myself for a month and did well. Got rained on hard on every trip I went but it paid off. Probably going to focus on other species now until near the end of the year when I start getting serious again about chasing the big bass.
C'mon now, you guys are making me jealous! A 4lber is considered a big bass in Wisconsin, 5-6lbs is a giant and 6-8lbs is a trophy.
Our state record is 11lbs, but that was way back in the 40's and there is really no proof of it. I am skeptical it was even 11lbs. I've never heard or seen one in this state that broke 9lbs with proof. Just a buncha "my buddy caught a 10lber last year!" with no pics.
soflabasser reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 9:10 PM, Brew City Bass said:C'mon now, you guys are making me jealous! A 4lber is considered a big bass in Wisconsin, 5-6lbs is a giant and 6-8lbs is a trophy.
Our state record is 11lbs, but that was way back in the 40's and there is really no proof of it. I am skeptical it was even 11lbs. I've never heard or seen one in this state that broke 9lbs with proof. Just a buncha "my buddy caught a 10lber last year!" with no pics.
Yes we are blessed to live in the Fishing Capital of the World but we still have to work hard to catch decent fish. I have had plenty of trips where I catch nothing and it was not from a lack of trying.This Summer was much better than average for me and I most likely had my most memorable Summer for bass fishing that I can recall at the moment. You have muskies and smallies in your state and they are fish worth traveling for. I plan on going up north soon for more muskie and smallmouth bass fishing and hopefully catch some.Illinois is right next to Wisconsin and has a +13 pound state record largemouth bass so I don't see why its hard to believe Wisconsin with a 11 pound largemouth bass. There's people who doubt the Illinois record as well, which is no surprise since its a extremely impressive catch for that far north. A man did catch a 11.71 pound largemouth bass in Crab Orchard lake,Illinois recently which is not too far from where you are.
Brew City Bass reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 9:37 PM, soflabasser said:Yes we are blessed to live in the Fishing Capital of the World but we still have to work hard to catch decent fish. I have had plenty of trips where I catch nothing and it was not from a lack of trying.This Summer was much better than average for me and I most likely had my most memorable Summer for bass fishing that I can recall at moment. You have muskie and smallies in your state and they are fish worth traveling for. I plan on going up north soon for more muskie and smallmouth bass fishing and hopefully catch some. Illinois is right next to Wisconsin and has a +13 pound state record largemouth bass so I don't see why its hard to believe Wisconsin with a 11 pound largemouth bass. There's people who doubt the Illinois record as well, which is no surprise since its a extremely impressive catch for that far north. A man did catch a 11.71 pound largemouth bass in Crab Ochid lake,Illinois recently which is not too far from where you are.
The reason I don't believe our record will be broken anytime soon, or believe the current record is because our lakes are not managed for bass. They seem to only care about muskie or walleye up here. If taking out a good bass lake means more muskie, DNR is happy to do it and all the locals support.
I have no idea how Il. manages their lakes. Wisconsin has big beautiful lakes capable of harboring records, but we seems to not give a flying crap about bass. Most lake associations have no problem killing every weed in the lake and killing any type of bait fish in the process. Then they stock walleye, pike and muskie to the max and that takes care of any remaining bait fish. Only lakes I've ever caught trophy bass in were lakes that were never stocked with muskie and walleye. Those lakes are becoming rare now.
Every lake they've stocked those predators in the cisco population has been killed and any other medium to large baitfish as well. Bass are left to feed off of bluegill or crappie, and I've been seeing less and less of those recently in some lakes too. Everyone who fishes for panfish here will bring their son, brother, uncle, and sisters dog and all keep their limit of undersized to trophy fish. We are not a sport fishing state unless it's for muskie. Even then I've seen some aholes kill and keep those. I've seen amazing lakes get fished out in a few years once word gets around there are good fish there. We have many lakes, but not a whole lot that are big. It's extremely easy for a 100-500 acre lake to get fished out or too pressured. I've seen it happen before my eyes.
And yes, we do have good smallies, but they suffer the same fate of the largies unless you're in greenbay on The Big Pond, or on the Mississippi.
crypt reply :
On 8/29/2018 at 9:37 PM, soflabasser said:Yes we are blessed to live in the Fishing Capital of the World but we still have to work hard to catch decent fish. I have had plenty of trips where I catch nothing and it was not from a lack of trying.This Summer was much better than average for me and I most likely had my most memorable Summer for bass fishing that I can recall at the moment. You have muskies and smallies in your state and they are fish worth traveling for. I plan on going up north soon for more muskie and smallmouth bass fishing and hopefully catch some.Illinois is right next to Wisconsin and has a +13 pound state record largemouth bass so I don't see why its hard to believe Wisconsin with a 11 pound largemouth bass. There's people who doubt the Illinois record as well, which is no surprise since its a extremely impressive catch for that far north. A man did catch a 11.71 pound largemouth bass in Crab Orchard lake,Illinois recently which is not too far from where you are.
it has been a good summer in central Fl. I live in Brevard county,30 minutes from the Stick Marsh.
soflabasser reply :
On 8/30/2018 at 3:35 AM, crypt said:it has been a good summer in central Fl. I live in Brevard county,30 minutes from the Stick Marsh.
You are very fortunate to live so close to the Stick Marsh which is one of the best trophy bass fisheries in the state of Florida. I am in Miami Dade County so the Stick Marsh is a far drive but I plan on visiting it in the future.
Rahlow reply :
On 8/27/2018 at 8:31 AM, Brew City Bass said:Or should I be doing something different? I feel pretty one dimensional sometimes when this happens.
S l o w d o w n
Hillbilly Bennett reply :
Sounds like you’ve had a solid summer there Brew City but it sucks when Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. You are a lot farther north than I am so I’d say your bass are headed into the fall transition. Even if the water is still warm the bass will begin to migrate to the areas where they feed up in the fall. I’ve been seeing some bass heading towards these haunts even here in KY so I’d say the big cold front you have been dealing with has set off their internal alarm bell and they are on the move. I’d check some areas in and around creeks (or as we call em here in KY “Hollers”) for baitfish and bass around them. For me in the late summer and fall you follow the bait to find the fish. Good luck and I hope you get back on the bite soon!
Brew City Bass reply :
On 9/5/2018 at 12:25 AM, Hillbilly Bennett said:Sounds like you’ve had a solid summer there Brew City but it sucks when Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. You are a lot farther north than I am so I’d say your bass are headed into the fall transition. Even if the water is still warm the bass will begin to migrate to the areas where they feed up in the fall. I’ve been seeing some bass heading towards these haunts even here in KY so I’d say the big cold front you have been dealing with has set off their internal alarm bell and they are on the move. I’d check some areas in and around creeks (or as we call em here in KY “Hollers”) for baitfish and bass around them. For me in the late summer and fall you follow the bait to find the fish. Good luck and I hope you get back on the bite soon!
Well, the one lake I've been at most summer is just a bowl lake. 60ft deep, steep sloped all around. There are 2 flats but I haven't been seeing them in there.
I am going to a different lake tomorrow with a little more contour, so we will see what's up there.
CassLaw reply :
I’m jealous of your success actually! While my brethren here in Florida have had good summers mine has been the worst in years! I cannot seem to find a consistent pattern on any given day after the first weekend in July.
I tried night fishing one of my small local lakes and the only thing biting were gnats and mosquitos! So badly that by 9:15 we were trying to get off of the lake as fast as possible; no amount of bug spray worked.
I say good for you! You had a great run, and now you will find their new pattern and get back to your successful trips! Good luck!
Brew City Bass reply :
On 9/7/2018 at 4:31 AM, CassLaw said:I’m jealous of your success actually! While my brethren here in Florida have had good summers mine has been the worst in years! I cannot seem to find a consistent pattern on any given day after the first weekend in July.
I tried night fishing one of my small local lakes and the only thing biting were gnats and mosquitos! So badly that by 9:15 we were trying to get off of the lake as fast as possible; no amount of bug spray worked.
I say good for you! You had a great run, and now you will find their new pattern and get back to your successful trips! Good luck!
Haha thanks.
I still haven't found the pattern, but the weather has been terrible. So much rain, so much flooding. Hopefully it clears up. I've been catching a few here and there by dragging jigs. Not much else.
CassLaw reply :
I was watching the weather channel this morning and saw that a lot of Minnesota and Wisconsin has some major flooding that you’re dealing with!
Here in Tampa we have been getting so many thunderstorms it’s literally not safe to be on the water many days. It it helping our lakes...many are so high the water is in areas I’ve never seen it before. The weather has no doubt contributed to me being unable to locate the fish like normal....gotta blame something right?
Brew City Bass reply :
On 9/7/2018 at 4:51 AM, CassLaw said:I was watching the weather channel this morning and saw that a lot of Minnesota and Wisconsin has some major flooding that you’re dealing with!
Here in Tampa we have been getting so many thunderstorms it’s literally not safe to be on the water many days. It it helping our lakes...many are so high the water is in areas I’ve never seen it before. The weather has no doubt contributed to me being unable to locate the fish like normal....gotta blame something right?
Haha! Right!
Yeah, I've fished straight through 80% of these storms, and honestly, only one was bad enough to make me haul ass of the lake. My only stipulation to fishing in a storm is lightning striking near me. That's the only thing I don't tolerate. I've fished through rain coming from every way, winds upto 40mph and my boat has taken everything mother nature could throw at it, but I don't stay out around lighting. Usually I can feel the static in the air, and that's how I deem if the lightning is close or not. If I see it in the distance, but no static in the air (My long hair going straight up in the air, line lifting out of the water.) I am not too worried.
CassLaw reply :
My wife caught this picture while I was fishing a few miles away in a canal since I’m not a beach lover...the absolute power of this lightning we have been getting was enough to scare me...for a while anyway, I’m sure it will wear off. Always does!
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