still looking for someone to fish with...

[crankybait]

yeah, i just have no idea when it has hit the bottom... only motion i can feel is when a crankbait is swimming, other than that i feel nothing. and i dont know how deep the pond is either. last time i tried letting it drop for 5 minuites, i just listened to a song on my mps. ended up getting snagged

[1FASTLASER]

Originally Posted by crankybait

yeah i guess. i do notice that i change lures way too often, last trip i used 12 different lures in 2 hours. and the thing is i didnt even try a plastic... usually i start reeling as soon as it hits the water, could that be why im not catching fish? i usually do throw it into the shade though, no problem there. theres like a tree that hangs over the water. i cast right under it, because im sure the tree mustve dropped a few limbs down there.

oh and i have a skitterpop, but it looks a bit big

Cranky a little trick I tell folks that are trying to catch fish on plastics. Try to mentally see a craw or a worm or whatever you are trying to imitate. They dont move fast in real life, They fall slowly. Try to imitate what the REAL deal does. Before long it will become almost automatic.

[Mac3]

You asked if anything else will work.....for slow falling and deadsticking...and the answer is yes. I suggest trying a 4 inch finesse worm without a tail such as the razor worm sold by www.buehlersales.com in the Grasshopper color texposed on a number 1 Gamakatsu hook using 4 lb line with an ultralite outfit. It's a killer and falls even much slower than the speedworm body.

The reasons for recommending the speedworm body are many:

It's an easy bait to cast.

It skips well on a sidearm cast.

Compared to many of the similar looking baits, it's much cheaper to buy costing about 15 cents or so for each.

It stays on the hook well and doesn't tear up as easily as other similar baits.

Sinks slower than most other cigar type baits as there is no internal salt weighting it down. Stays in the strike zone longer for suspended bass.

Great for skipping under docks, limbs and rocks.

Can be wacky rigged.

Can be drop shotted.

When one end wears out, rig the hook in the other end.

Just remember to get the Watermelon/Red, it works the best of the colors offered in the line.

It catches both largemouth and smallmouth bass.


When used properly as described in my first post on this thread, it works exceptionally well, even in very clear water.


If you have trouble finding them locally, try BassProShops at www.basspro.com

Good fishing, Mac

[crankybait]

i suppose so. i used to let it drop for a while, but i caught 3 fish on a fast moving inline spinner so i just started to move my baits faster-

here is what my pond is like in as much detail as i can think of.
it is a public lake at holmdel park. clear water,5 acres big, and loaded. someone told me theyve caught 42 in one day. the first side has a little sand entrance for boats i guess, but nobody boats. the whole side along that is just small bushes. then, as you turn the corner and get on the opposite side from where you started, there is a dock. the water doesnt reach the bottom of the dock. there is another pond perhaps 1 acre right behind it, but ive only seen small panfish come from there. as you go around the pond, to the side opposite to the bushes, thats where i fish. there is a huge line of trees spanning the area. i fish in the middle, a shady spot going down some stairs. pretty narrow area. i pitch my lure into an overhang on the far left then the middle the the right. after that i move on, still under the trees to a wide spot,

[crankybait]

ok just saw macs post. texposed, do i still use a weight? ive got no problem with the lure, just dont have it so ill have to buy it later. the water there is ridicuolously clear, most of the time

[JB]

cranky,
instead of throwing the lure straight out to the middle, try picking a distance like 10-15 feet out and throw parallel to the bank, and bring the lure back that way, then experiment the depth, like next cast try 8 ft out and bring it back parallell..this way you may be in the bass strike zone more than just chucking it to the middle and zooming it back to you

[wvtroutdog@aol.com]

Hey crank I love fishing to! Im 28 and they wont take me either but be careful man. This is the internet, and bad people would love to take you fishin. You know what I mean??? I can see the headlines now, 13 old missing met pedifile on Kevin's Bassfishin.com lol. Not that anyone hear would, Im just a dad. Kool?


And for you jersey boys take this boy fishing! Just make sure its cool with his parents.

[crankybait]

yeah, but i know most of the people here. seems safe. theyre all nice guys, id hate to think there was such a bad kind of person amongst us.

jb- in the post before, i mentioned the overhang. that is parallel to the shore, and ive caught all of ym fish from under it. my dad advised me to chuck it into the middle because there was no structure to get hung up on, and as much as i try to explain he doenst understand why i chuck my lure in places it can get snagged

and wheres huckfinn at? he was really nice to me, a great guy. is he ok?

[Mac3]

No Weight....None

[flbassman]

Cranky- What I like to do I'm trying to master a technique (say spinnerbaiting) is to take only one rod, tie on a spinnerbait, and put two in my pocket. Nothing else (except a knife/ leatherman) Then, I fish until I either A. Get bit, or B. Have to go home. Might not always catch, but it teaches you to slow down and fish one lure. Then, if I choose option B, I do the same thing next time, and so on, until I land a bass on this technique. I must've swam a jig at nearby ponds for three weeks straight. But one day it clicked, and I killed them. Now, I can swim a jig fairly proficiently. The other day, I tried this with a Zara spook, and got a little one on the second cast. So, you never know what's gonna happen, and this really works your patience, teaches you how to fish one lure at a time extremely well, and helps you build your confidence in untried lures.

[crankybait]

but then again, what happens if the spinnerbait bite isnt up? ive got no idea when to use what except spinnerbait in wind and plastics work at like all times

[JB]

cranky,
\ try this to be successful..throw your lure in the most likely spot on the pond that you will get hung up in, thats usually where the bass are, in a protected shady area, why listen to someone (daddy-O) that has never even bass fished? /

[crankybait]

actually... the sucky thing is my dad bass fished once. in that one time he friggin landed a bass. and from then on he acted like he knows so much better than i do. it was at lake george. he kept telling me to use livebait and artificial lures wont work. but yeah, i keep prettry much trying to get hung up to find the right spot

[Rebbasser]

Cranky, there is a unwritten rule to bass fishing that holds true no matter where you fish:

If you aren't getting hung up once in a while you are fishing in the wrong place.

For the most part bass are not open water fish. They like to be in and around cover, so getting hung up occasionally just goes with the territory. Sounds to me like you are trying to get your confidence up. One bait that consistently produces is small waters is a small jighead with a curl-tail grub. You can get them pre-rigged at places like WalMart and they aren't expensive. I think you are making it too complicated. Just keep it simple. As you gain experiene and confidence you will progress naturally, moving on to different baits and techniques.

[JB]

reb,
I agree that a grub will catch almost any fish alive, I prefer the punkin seed power grub in 2 inch, but any chartruse grub of 2-3 inches will catch bass and many other species..
cranky, you can find 1/8th or 3/16 or any size grub for about a buck, and also the grubs wont be much, I bet for 5 bucks you can get started with an assortment of white, chartruse, and any other color...all you do is throw them out and the retrieve can vary, you can swim it back like a spinnerbait, hop it off the bottom, or reel and stop, letting it sink, then reel again, many times they will hit on the drop..you may catch brim, crappie, and bass with it, but hey, its action..

[crankybait]

ok, thanks. ill make sure i try grubs and deadstickiking. how do you rig a grub? texas? yeah i am trying to get my confidence up, fishing is getting pretty boring. now instead of fishing im just chucking a bait randomly into the water and reeling it back

[flbassman]

Originally Posted by crankybait

but then again, what happens if the spinnerbait bite isnt up?

NOthing happens. You don't catch fish. But you're throwing a lure, and learning how to do it. Then, when the bite is on, you know how to do it, and you can catch them.

[JB]

cranky, ya thread a grub onto the hook like this


you could elect to go with the paddle tail worm also, heres the wife(mrs. jb) with her personnel favorite worm,
*she likes em big*

[crankybait]

rofl! ok thanks. now to figure out a way to get my mom to take me to the pond and ill be off

[Rebbasser]

now instead of fishing im just chucking a bait randomly into the water and reeling it back

Cranky, a lot of time that IS fishing-you got to find them before you can catch them. And a lot of time that is how you find them-randomly chunking and winding.

[bass kicker]

Originally Posted by wvtroutdog@aol.com

Hey crank I love fishing to! Im 28 and they wont take me either but be careful man. This is the internet, and bad people would love to take you fishin. You know what I mean??? I can see the headlines now, 13 old missing met pedifile on Kevin's Bassfishin.com lol. Not that anyone hear would, Im just a dad. Kool?


And for you jersey boys take this boy fishing! Just make sure its cool with his parents.

Hey cranky ill take you fishin

[crankybait]

reb... ive been doing that for half a year without a nibble. i was thinking i did something wrong, and thats why i came up with this thread. kicker, if you feel like coming down to nj, go for it

[Fishing4Soup]

if nothing's working...you could always go with live bait.

[1FASTLASER]

Cranky

Just read the whole post you started here and I beleive I know what is the problem. Man your putting to much pressure on yourself. I dont care how educated a fisherman is or how much money he makes fishing.......The bottom line is bass fishing is 75% luck and 25% know how. Be patient and reread some of the posts on here. JUST GO FISHING. Fish a lure that you have confidence in. As far as how deep this pond is take a weight, one that you know sinks a foot for every second and cast it out and when the line goes slack you will have a good idea of how deep it is. Sounds like there is a brushpile out in the middle t of the pond. I would suggest a small 6" or even a 7" power worm in black for a lure. Crawl it slowly through the brush pile. I promise you if there's fish in there they will bite. Hooking a worm texas style or texposed is a way of making it weedless. You bury the point of the hook in the plastic so you dont get hung up as easy. Texposaing is a variation of texas style. You go ahead and run the hook point all the way through the plastic and then just barley insert the point back into the plastic. Makes for a easier hook up. And above all else take it easy take a deep breathe and just go fishing leave the pressure at home buddy and keep the questions coming.

[Bender]

I went out the other night and had absolutely nothing for the first 1.5 hours. It was basically my first time out of the year and I was getting frustrated and trying all differnt kinds of things. Finally got one and realized what I had done, I needed to slow down, then got another. I am very guilty of fishing too fast especially when I get frustrated, not giving them the correct presentation. Follow what thse guys have said and like Mac says, SLOW DOWN, relax, and keep at it.