Why can't I catch anything? The lake I fish at has catfish,bluegill,sunfish,bass, and is stocked with trout. My dad catches Bluegills and bass, while I don't even get a bite,in fact I don't know how it feels to get a bite.! I have tried to catch all of the mentioned fish, I've used senkos for bass chicken liver for cats and powerbaitbfor trout but never caught anything while my dad and other people catch fish on the same baits, as well as bluegill on night crawlers. Can anyone help me on why I can't catch a fish???
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I am not saying this is your problem, and there will be I am sure some real good fisherman come on this forum and give a much better answer.
Women do not smell perfume from the bottle, they put a little on their wrist and smell it because we all have different body chemicals. Your dog knows you by your scent and fish have sensitive olfactory abilities. Which is why companies sell scents to apply to bait. Some people put garlic on their bait.
There is an old hillbilly saying (and I am an old hillbilly) that it is good luck to spit on your bait when fishing. There is actually good science to that in that there are enzymes in saliva that will breakdown and cause to wash away the oils on our fingers so that the fish do not smell us.
Guess I could have just said, "Try some scent, that might work."
Good luck to you - watch other fishermen - do not take shortcuts - do not give up
I am glad you have your dad to go with...I never did
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If you would use them, I would send you soft plastic baits I know catch fish of different species in any water. Apart from that, you can't go wrong getting yourself some 1/16 oz jig heads and small soft plastics to rig on them. Check out an on-line fishing catalog pan fish lure section. Curly tail grubs are a good place to start which are sold at Walmart and many other outlets.
Presentation is something you must learn ! Without it you won't catch many fish except by accident. By presentation I mean rate and type of retrieve and lure depth. Most of the time a steady too fast a retrieve at a depth too shallow where fish aren't, if fruitless. Know the depth your fishing - hopefully in your case you are fishing in less than 8'.
Cast everywhere and slowly retrieve your lure with slight increases in reel handle speed along with stopping the retrieve for a second. Cast near weeds, over rock beds or near submerged walls, over mid lake humps, near surface, near bottom, near docks, etc. and always assume your lure is the best fish-finder you'll ever use.
Understand one important thing about lures: lure action speaks louder than words. Lure action can be imparted - as with the retrieve suggested above; or inherent - built in by design. Both are extremely important and override any other consideration such as color, scent or additives such as salt.
If the lure has the right action and is moved the right way in the right area, you can't but help catch fish and different species at that. Lure action can be subtle - IE a tiny tail flutter or quiver, a body waddle or shimmy, etc. That's what get a fish to bite and bite hard - NOTHING ELSE IS AS IMPORTANT!!!!
As I said, color is less important since on any one day, many will do. But if color seems important, consider subdued and bright colors when chosing grubs especially. Pear white, bright white, clear or tinted colors with sparkle or black flake, opaque florescent pink and chartreuse, translucent chartreuse with flakes, root beer with flakes, and on and on. These are just few of the hundreds that work. All good in all waters.
Line test should enhance the retrieve. (No such thing as a line shy fish - I use bright orange Sufffix mono all the time.) Mos important about line test is how it affects lure action and how much line bow creates too much slack. The lighter the lure the lighter the line. I use 6 lb test for light jig heads/plastic grubs. If you're using 10lb test with light lures, it may be a bit too large in diameter. You got to be able to feel the slightest bump of the lure or the slack a fish will cause momentarily on the retrieve. If you do, raise that rod tip and retrieve a bit faster. Which brings me to rod action.
If the rod you're using is to stiff (heavy action), light lures will not be held onto by fish. Light action or medium action rods are the way to go for lighter lures whether they be soft plastics, crankbaits, spinners, worms, etc. that are on the small side. Medium action rods are fine for heavier lures and when fishing heavier weeds. Hook sets are always good using a light action rod as long as the hook is sharp, sharp, sharp. I mean really sharp. Dull hooks lose fish.
Something to get you started in the right direction as confirmed by many outing and the many fish you'll catch.
Some days will be incredible, some so so. That's fishing!
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I have a medium action spinning rod. But I have a Question most of the time I cast it gets tangled
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Line twist is the usual culprit. Solution:
1. release the bail
2. pull the line out beyond your normal casting distance
3. with nothing at the line's end, reel in the line between thumb and forefinger - all coils should straighten out
Note: make sure the spool is filled to within 1/8" of the spool lip
Note: Use fresh line (old mono line has memory and retains coils from lying on the spool, having been affected by UV sunlight; braid less so)
Note: the lighter the lure, the lighter the line;
also, greater pound test lines (larger diameter) need heavier lures to pull line off the spool and for proper casting distance.
Note: do not reel against the drag which always results in line twist and coils.
Note: always use a swivel with lures that revolve-on-axis on the retrieve such a Mepps in-line spinners and certain plastics, otherwise line twist will always result in spool tangles.
I'm surprised the anglers you fish with haven't given you many of the above tips.
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Has any of the above been tried?
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Hello PrzZ,
Just try and catch some bluegill or other panfish to start with.
Use worms, just about any kind. To make it easier for small fish to get on the hook, don't thread the worm all the way up the hook. Just use a small piece of worm to cover from about the point of the hook and part of the bend of the hook. I try to leave the point of the hook showing.
I just pinch a piece of worm off with my finger and thumbnail. Some people use a small pair of scissors to cut them.
Tie a relatively small snap swivel on the line. Size 10 or 8 I would think. Get some size 4, 6, and 8 snelled aberdeen hooks.
To start with, put a size 6 aberdeen hook on the snap swivel. Put a 'small' float anywhere from 14 inches to 24 inches above the hook. You don't need any weights.
Have a pair of long-nose pliers handy go get out hooks that the fish swallow.
If too many fish swallow the hook, change to the bigger size 4 hook. If the fish keep biting at your worm, but you can't get them hooked, change to the smaller size 8 hook. If you still can't get them on the hook, they are probably pretty small fish. You might want to go to the smaller size 10, or even size 12 hooks. But, be ready for the fish to be swallowing the hook more often.
Watch your float in the water and learn what it looks like when nothing is nibbling at it. When something does nibble at it, it will bounce up and down of course. Maybe only slightly, or it may go all the way under the water. Or, the float may only sit a little farther down in the water because the fish has hold of it but, is only pulling on the hook a little bit. If the float is only bouncing up and down slightly, wait and see if the fish will 'take' it. If the float goes under the water, set the hook. If the float is sitting a little down in the water, meaning it looks different than normal, set the hook.
If there are mainly smaller panfish around, many, many times you will only pull the hook away from the fish. But, some of them you will get.
Setting the hook when it looks like the fish might have a good enough hold on it will keep the fish from swallowing the hook so often.
You will always miss fish whether big or small, but especially the small ones that are barely big enough to get on the hook.
Hope this helps. And, if you have any questions, let me know.
Harry
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