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So here lately I have been in a major slump fishing for bass. I fish in a lot of ponds and streams and I have not had great luck at either. At the beginning of the summer I was catching good size fish with a plastic wormed rigged weedless. It is hard for me to use a spinner bait in the places I have been fishing because of a lot of underbrush and rocks. Aside from the worms and spinners, I really don't know what else to use. I started off the season catching a 7lb. bass and I have only caught about 3 fish total in 6 or 7 trips since. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to come out of this slump. I don't expect to catch a fish every time I cast out by any means, I would just like to figure out how to make the fish come my way again. I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people here, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
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Hey man, I know the feeling ALL TOO WELL! I caught a few bass early in the year, and then I didn't catch any for a couple of months. I then found out about the shaky head jig. That's what I've been fishing primarily for a while now, and it's produced good results. However, with the rocks and underbrush, I don't know if this is a route you'd want to go. I fish it around rocks, and I don't lose as many as you'd think. I'm using a 6 or 7" trick worm, and I catch usually 2 bass every trip. I only fish for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. I've also had luck with the shaky head in the pond i fished before the river. Since I've had so much success with it, it's the first thing I recommend using. That's my suggestion, but I'm not the brightest guy, so it probably wouldn't be a great idea. One of the more experienced guys are sure to post some really good suggestions. They helped me in my slumps.
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while i was in a slump i went to the shaky head as well, its versatile and easy to use. but my goto bait now for the ponds that i fish is a shallow running crank bait. usually in the 0-3ft dive depth. just use yourponds depth. or go for 2 ft or so deeper so that the bill of the bait deflects off the rocks and gets reaction strikes
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I try other lures, but nothing produces for me like a shaky head. i would just stick with something til i caught one, but i want to catch one, so i mainly fish the shaky.
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Try using a weightless sinko. Works great for summer time bass. If that doesnt work try throwing a black and blue jig with a strike king rage tail trailer. Those are my go to lures when the bite gets tough. Also a texas rigged tube with a 1/8th oz weight.
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topwater- buzzbaits, and pop r's.
These are great in the heat of the summer. Fishem in low light hours.
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What part of the Country are you fishing and what time of the day? What are they feeding on? When the heat is on bass fishing is its toughest. Another bait that would probably work well is a Zoom Superfluke. One thing that I have found in summer time is starting with top water throwing a walk the dog style bait or a Pop R. Fish can key in really good on these baits. Also shakey heads have saved me on more than one occasion in summer time fishing. If you have a lot of rocks use a football style jig head it should hang up less. GoOoOoD Luck!
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First of all thank you to everyone for your suggestions. In reference to the last post, I am fishing in Lynchburg, VA from about 9am till 1-2pm. I am originally from a city about an hour away where I have many places I can fish, but here in Lynchburg the fishing is a bit more scarce. I will definitely have to go to the store and pick up some of these things and give them a try. Once again thank you all and I hope I will be able to report catching more fish on my next post thanks to you guys!
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my goto lure is a rubber worm. it works great in my sand pit and is very dependable. the color and if you need a tail or not go from lake to lake. if i go fish in a lake and i intend on going back i find out which worm works best and which hook i should use (i like texas rig or a weighted hook). one more thing that i would put in your tackle box would be a couple of packs of slug-gos. you can toss those any were.
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The time of day you fish might be one factor...
For a while there 3 weeks ago, the bass were hitting between 7 and 8 pm. Then they started 7:30 to 8:00. Then they moved to 6, now they're down to 8:00. Its insane. I'm learning that the time can really affect the bite.
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depends a lot on water clarity, water temp, time of day, moon phase all are important factors. Typically the summer pattern is top water first and last light then start thinking deeper 20 to 40 feet and slower a lot slower. Drop shotting, shakey head, jigs carolina rigs. top water baits I throw during the summer typically are a walk the dog type of baits. Also consider a night trip 3 days before a full moon most of your swamp donkeys will feed at night and its your best chance at catching that monster.
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