Why am I only catching Dinks in South Florida 2024

BCline reply :

Greetings Bass Fishing Community,

I live in Loxahatchee, FL and work in Deerfield Beach. Everyday during my lunch hour I bank fish for large mouth bass near my office. My go to setup is a Texas-rigged 4" Senko with a 3/16 oz bullet weight on 15 lb mono line. During the first quarter of 2017 I landed 110 bass with 15 (13.6%) being over 1 pound. The largest was 7-4. So far in the second quarter of this year I have landed 78 bass, but only 5 (6.4%) have been over a pound. The largest was just under 3 pounds. The last 41 fish I have caught have ALL been under one pound.

This is the first year I have maintained a fishing log and paid attention to the number and size of fish I am catching, so my question to all of the south Floridians is what is going on? Is this a normal pattern or do I need to adjust my techniques to catch large bass now that its getting hot here? My catch rate has stayed consistent at slightly better than 2 fish / hour but the fish quality has plummeted.

Advise and insight is greatly appreciated.

topwaterrob reply :

try a jig, preferably in blk/blue.

BareHook reply :

I would say 1st quarter was spawn & bedding and second post spawn moving into summer pattern.

BCline reply :

Caught two more little guys today. I am in a competition with one of my colleagues so I need to keep the numbers up. We count total fish not weight. Last year I beat him by one fish, right now I am down 6 fish. I will play around with some different lures and presentations. Are the big girls still in shallows this time of year or have they gone deep?

davecon reply :

Use a larger senko. Will still catch the dinks but the odds of a larger fish go up dramatically. Have caught 1 lb bass on 9 inch senkos. Usually use the 5 + inch model. Also, shed the slip sinker. Don't need it and it kills the action.

geo g reply :

People love to blame it on that 4" senko. The truth is if you put that 4" in front of a big bass she will hit it with a vengeance. You need to change up where you are fishing, some places don;t have a large number of bigger bass. Small bass don't often hang with big bass, they are in danger of becoming a meal. Don't blame it on the bait, that is an easy cop out. You have obviously lost confience and that is not a good thing with any bait. Change location, and change technique. I caught two 20 inch bass last night with a 4 inch stick-o, and loads more on other trips. Its either location, or technique! Remember a senko does not provide action by itself, you provide the action with your rod tip. If one technique doesn't work, change up. It will drag, hop up off the bottom and fall back, walk along the bottom with a jerk and slack, and dead stick. They don't always want it the same, and work the whole water column by changing weights or just slowing down. Good luck, its not the bait.

BCline reply :

We have about 6 different locations that we rotate through so I am fishing the same water now that I was earlier this year with the same tackle and techniques. I have found that as the temperature rises the bass seem to want a faster retrieve. I will remove the slip weight and see what happens.

My personal best at 7-4 was caught on a 4" Senko.

davecon reply :

With the weight removed throw it in a swimming pool or clear water. It gyrates unbelievably. Most of my strikes with senkos come on the fall, at least 85 %. No strike, move it a few feet then let it fall again. I know some guys have brand preferences and I have tried many, but unless the fish are especially aggressive a senko works best for me, and I hate that as they seem to be the most expensive on the market. Not professing to be an expert, just personal experiences I'm relating.

geo g reply :

On 5/25/2017 at 5:31 AM, davecon said:

With the weight removed throw it in a swimming pool or clear water. It gyrates unbelievably. Most of my strikes with senkos come on the fall, at least 85 %. No strike, move it a few feet then let it fall again. I know some guys have brand preferences and I have tried many, but unless the fish are especially aggressive a senko works best for me, and I hate that as they seem to be the most expensive on the market. Not professing to be an expert, just personal experiences I'm relating.

Most of my bites come on the initial fall, or the slow walk along the bottom and the length of pause in between the jerks. Its a strong jerk and immediate slack in the line. How long you wait in between jerks makes a big difference. It will walk just like a zara spook, but along the bottom. Use as little weight as necessary, with wind being the main factor. The less weight the better the walk. Technique is everything. Great to practice in a swimming pool. Watch Major League Fishing, most of the pros are thrilled to just be catching bass of any size. The only thing worse then not catching big bass, is not catching any bass!

BCline reply :

I have been buying "Senko" type seconds from Bridgemaster on FL-60 in Lake Wales for $5/pound. They seem to work no differently than the name brand lures. I do like the added casting distance a bullet weight gives me, but will try weightless or maybe a 1/16 oz for a while and see how it works. Are you still Texas rigged if you remove the slip weight? I have seen the term "Weightless Texas-Rigged" but isn't that just a hook and a lure? Am I missing something?

geo g reply :

On 5/25/2017 at 8:26 PM, BCline said:

I have been buying "Senko" type seconds from Bridgemaster on FL-60 in Lake Wales for $5/pound. They seem to work no differently than the name brand lures. I do like the added casting distance a bullet weight gives me, but will try weightless or maybe a 1/16 oz for a while and see how it works. Are you still Texas rigged if you remove the slip weight? I have seen the term "Weightless Texas-Rigged" but isn't that just a hook and a lure? Am I missing something?

Texas rigged weightless works great on the shallow, weedy, Loxahatchee flats. The bait will slowly flutter down and then come right over the thick weed beds. Pause in the holes in the vegetation, and let it slowly fall in the hole.

LakeCountyBass reply :

I lived and fished in South Florida for 40 years before moving to Central Florida. South Florida has big fish, but the canals are full of small bass. These small bass will jump on anything they can get into their mouths. If you want to catch 100 of them in a day, throw out a 4" Rapala and see what happens. The biggest canal fish I ever caught was 8 pounds but most were 12 inches. The good news is the number of fish in these canals is much greater than in a natural lake. If you want to target only bigger fish you should do a number of things differently. First is fish where they are and second use bigger bait. When I lived in South Florida I never caught a bass over 6 1/2 pounds until I started fishing with big plastic worms. Try a Zoom mag II or Ol'Moster worm with a small weight and fish it dead on the bottom. Slow down and fish quality not quantity. Larger top water lures also attract big fish, but you have to stick with it My favorite is a Devil's Horse in chrome with a black back and an orange belly. I had a good friend who made over $100,000 a year fishing tournaments with that lure alone. Many times I went to the scales only to see him standing there with two 8 pounders, one in each hand.

BCline reply :

Well I broke my little fish streak today by landing a 2 1/2 and a 3 1/2 pound snakehead. Not exactly what I wanted but it was nice to have something pull drag again. Both on a 4" Senko.

LakeCountyBass reply :

Yikes! I didn't know they had snakeheads in South Florida. This doesn't surprise me a bit. Keep them down there....

frogflogger reply :

Throw frogs or spooks (I prefer frogs) take nothing but frogs and throw them in cover and in open water in any canal in so. Fl. - stay with it you will be rewarded I promise you.

Wurming67 reply :

Targeting big fish takes a big commitment alot of patience and you must be able to handle not getting alot of strikes and alot of fish.I have fished with alot of guys and if they weren't getting a bite or a fish every few minutes they would get aggreviated and not enjoying themselves.But the reward of catching big fish compared to small fish is no comparsion.

LakeCountyBass reply :

Quote

But the reward of catching big fish compared to small fish is no comparsion.

I'm with you. I would rather fish three days without a bite for a chance at one fish over 8 pounds. I used to fish with a guy who would cast out a big worm, let it sink to the bottom and smoke a whole cigarette before moving his bait. He caught a bunch of fish over 10 pounds. Most anglers fish too fast for big bass.

crypt reply :

for me, slowing down and using bigger worms are the keys to catching bigger fish. when it starts getting hot early morning spooks or devils horse followed by big worms.

Wurming67 reply :

Got her this morning at lox? not alot of bites but I slowed my fishing down and went to a big jerkbait on Wednesday I caught like 50 fish but they were dinks just shows if you change your approach and go with bigger baits and slowwwww your fishing g down you will be rewarded.

hawgenvy reply :

It is harder to catch big fish in the summer in Florida, especially in shallow water areas.

davecon reply :

On 5/29/2017 at 6:34 AM, hawgenvy said:

It is harder to catch big fish in the summer in Florida, especially in shallow water areas.

That's why God invented snook ! They don't mind the heat.

Wurming67 reply :

I think what messes with our heads here in Florida is during spring time we are catching fish just about every cast and big fish than summer comes and it slowwwwwsssss down lol

LakeCountyBass reply :

If you want to catch big Florida bass in summer you should try fishing at night. I fished the Everglades and Okeechobee at night and caught many big summer time bass. My favorite bait was a 1/2 oz. spinnerbait. Bugs are a problem, but it's worth the effort. The best time is usually from 12:00 AM until dawn.

RoLo reply :

I wouldn't devote too much thought to lure type and no thought to lure color.

Begin by creating waypoints on your contour chart that pinpoint the most appropriate seasonal habitats.

At each trial site, drill-down to find the most fruitful 'fish depth' and the most fruitful 'lure delivery'

(that is time well spent).

Roger

BCline reply :

Thanks to everyone for the comments. Saturday evening I finally broke my little bass streak and landed a nice 3 pounder. I restrung my favorite reel with 17 lb mono and rigged it weightless. I am going to throw nothing but big Senkos this week and see what happens.

SFL BassHunter reply :

On 5/25/2017 at 4:53 AM, BCline said:

We have about 6 different locations that we rotate through so I am fishing the same water now that I was earlier this year with the same tackle and techniques. I have found that as the temperature rises the bass seem to want a faster retrieve. I will remove the slip weight and see what happens.

My personal best at 7-4 was caught on a 4" Senko.

Nothing wrong with a 4" Senko. It will catch you all size fish. It sounds like your competition it doesn't matter what size they are though. So the 4" Senko will help you in the numbers game.

What a bigger bait will do is weed out some of the smaller fish. Doesn't mean you won't catch dinks, you'll just catch less dinks. The bigger your bait the less dinks you'll catch.

Another thing is small bass are sometimes more aggressive than the bigger ones, they move faster. So if you have an area with a small bass vs a bigger bass the small one might just get to that bait first and won't give the bigger bass the chance to eat it. Also smaller bass can be enticed easier than a bigger bass. If you throw a bigger bait, that small bass might ignore the bait giving the bigger bass a chance to become enticed, get to it and eat it.

But like Geo G said, the 4" senko will catch all size fish if you put it on a big bass nose, it won't be able to resist.

If I look back at my bigger fish catches these are the baits I used:

Hollow Body Frog

1/2oz Jig

10" Ol Monster Ribbontail Worm

Spinnerbait with big blades

Gambler Big Ez

BCline reply :

Basshunter,

I agree completely. I threw a 6" Senko for an hour today in a lake where I normal catch a bass every 15 minutes and did not get a bite. I will go back to a 4" Senko tomorrow and see what happens.

Gotfishyfingers? reply :

WTG BCline on your PB!! Stick baits should get you some quality bites. You should consider throwing soft plastic frogs (horny toads) at sunrise/sunset. Monster bass love them!! Just be sure to wait a couple seconds after the initial strike to set the hook.

Just curious, what city did you catch that snake head in? Wondering if there spreading..

BCline reply :

I have caught 6 or 7 snakeheads this year all in the Deerfield Beach area. The one pictured on this thread was the largest. I always kill the ones I land, but I see them all the time.

Wurming67 reply :

I think some fishermen have a problem with not catching the big numbers that's why they stick to the baits they know will produce the numbers with occasional decent size fish opposed to fishing baits that target the much larger fish but not as many bites.Depemds what you after numbers or size? Personally I would rather catch one 5 lber per trip vs 50 1/2 lbers.Nothing like the fight of a big bass and the challenge .

BCline reply :

Wurming,

I enjoy catching fish both large and small. The original observation was that using the same tackle and techniques in the same water produced a much higher percentage of big fish in the first quarter than they do now. Which sparked the questions: Where do the bigger fish in South Florida go when the temperatures start rising? Do you have to fish differently to catch them? Have other anglers seen the same thing?

SFL BassHunter reply :

On 6/2/2017 at 8:25 PM, BCline said:

Wurming,

I enjoy catching fish both large and small. The original observation was that using the same tackle and techniques in the same water produced a much higher percentage of big fish in the first quarter than they do now. Which sparked the questions: Where do the bigger fish in South Florida go when the temperatures start rising? Do you have to fish differently to catch them? Have other anglers seen the same thing?

I think they go deeper. Or if they can find some really thick cover they will go hide in that.

In the summer down here you'll have your best chance at a bigger fish early in the morning or late in the afternoon. OR at night if you have the luxury of fishing at night.

The fish I have on my profile pic was caught around noon or 1pm. Fish was deep in the middle of the canal as I worked a frog from one side over to the middle, this fish slowly crept up from the depth and stalked the frog for a moment before it gulped it up and dove. That was a near 5lber on the scale.

Another one about the same size hit a jig on that same canal it was shallow hiding in a pad field.

Wurming67 reply :

Iam no pro.by any means but from my experience of catching bigger fish has been using big bass lures not as many bites it will test your patience but you might be rewarded ,I have caught big fish in shallow water but the majority of big fish I have caught has been in deeper water hope that helps.

BCline reply :

We finally got a break in the rain and I was able to fish for an hour during lunch today. I was rewarded with a really fat 2-11 large mouth. Apparently the secret to catching bigger fish in South Florida during the summer is whine about catching little guys on a public forum. Since starting this thread I have landed 5 fish between 2 - 4 pounds. Many thanks to everyone who contributed.

BCline reply :

Forgot to add the picture

Backlash123 reply :

Great catch! As the water levels rise, fish will definitely scatter out of the canals. As far as numbers, a Senko style bait is tough to beat, a Zoom Trick worm is another go to bait when the bite is tough. I've most consistently caught my bigger fish flipping a creature bait. I use Bruiser Baits Crazy Craw with a 1/2 oz Flat Out Tungsten 90% of the times in the canals and have caught many in the 4-5lb range (as of lately, almost 1 every trip). Good luck out there.

Tritonrider reply :

I had that problem for a while until I went to a bigger bait. It weeded out the dinks.

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