When the bite shuts off.....

[JB]

Anyone care to ponder this one....
we've all seen it happen,

been there done that

....you're fishing and the bite is ON! .... ya have to work for them, but the bass are willing to bite.
Theres a nice wind and conditions are "just right" ...
All of a sudden, no more bites...now here's the question...did the pattern just change or did they just suddenly go in a negative mood...
Do you wait it out or head for the house? You try dif. depths, nothing... you vary speeds and downsize, but nothing is getting bite, you change loactions on the lake, nothing...how do you justify its not YOU and its the FISH?

[Captmikestarrett]

It is always the fish. Defeat comes from second guessing yourself. Adjust as best you can and move on. Let it go.. Learn to forget and remember what worked before. Fishing is worse than golf and the only thing that can defeat you is yourself.

Wow that had a zen to it?

Capt Mike

[JB]

mike,
thats some good stuff right there

[zooker]

wow mike that is DEEP fer sure...

never give up on a bait or color that is working. learn to adjust to a differant speed,line size,presention..

some times a bait burnt works some times long pauses. line size changin putts the bait at a differant level..

zooker

[flbassman]

I believe that if you are in a lake that has fish, and they are awake, they will bite. You may just have to get lucky, and yoou might not catch any, but somewhere, there is a bass that will bite something. In a time like this I usually break out either spinnerbaits or t-rigged worms.

[pig n jig]

They big fish bites, or general run of the mill fish bites ? Are you aware of what is happening in the water when the bite is on, or are you just having fun catching fish ? JB, Sounds as though you like to catch fish too much. The longer you go without getting bit, the closer you are to catching better fish.......... or none at all. Fish bite for a reason & and then sometimes they don't at all.P N J

[Rebbasser]

That IS deep, Mike-I think you will fit in well around here

The longer you go without getting bit, the closer you are to catching better fish.......... or none at all.

PnJ, that sums it up perfectly. If you really think about it logically, we spend thousands of dollars and countless hours getting outsmarted for the most part by a green or brown fish with a brain the size of a peanut. Ain't it great ?

[pig n jig]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

That IS deep, Mike-I think you will fit in well around here



PnJ, that sums it up perfectly. If you really think about it logically, we spend thousands of dollars and countless hours getting outsmarted for the most part by a green or brown fish with a brain the size of a peanut. Ain't it great ?

Reb, when reeling in the fish, I often wonder who's really hooked, the fish or me ? Fishing is a spin off from man woman hunting. He spent many hours and thousands of dollars in search of the one. I was always short on cash as a rule , so I usually opted out for the women with the brains the size of a peanut, until I met and later married a police officer.I remember my father sitting on the front porch sayin to her what the hell did he do this time ? I picked her up from work and went to my parents before she changed out of her uniform. P N J

[bassinbob]

I forgot what the name of the book is right now but there was an explination for bass to stop biting. Depending on where the fish are hooked causes a negitive response in bass. If you hook them inside the mouth and do not break the outside skin the other bass will still bite. Once the outside skin of a bass is broken the other fish sense something (some type of a chemical emission). The author studied bass underwater for a long period of time. His observations led him to these conclusions. It was a very informative book. He said to release the fish on the other side of the boat or keep them in your livewell. From what I remember he said that bass tend to stick to their own size. Small with small ones and so on. While I can believe this I think another factor arises in certain situations. The total number of bass grouped together and their level of hunger at any given time. He (the author) said you can keep on catching bass as long as this chemical isn't taken in by the other bass. So in effect you may catch one or any other number of bass from the spot you are fishing as long as they don't sense this release. I also gathered that you may catch the total number of fish in the group until they sense this or the bait that is keeping them there disperses or a change in the weather or other factors play out. He said once you release a bass back into the water it generally heads to the bottom and hides itself. The other bass will stay around one that is caught and does not emit this signal (chemical) and avoid one that does. His reasoning for this is one that emits this chemical leads the other bass to believe that the stricken bass is now able to draw preditors. Thus the other bass sensing this have taken on a defense against preditors and avoid the caught bass. Most of this makes sense to me. Draw your own conclusions. Hope this helps.

Bob

[zooker]

lmao pnj

zooker

[1FASTLASER]

Originally Posted by Captmikestarrett

It is always the fish. Defeat comes from second guessing yourself. Adjust as best you can and move on. Let it go.. Learn to forget and remember what worked before. Fishing is worse than golf and the only thing that can defeat you is yourself.

Wow that had a zen to it?

Capt Mike

Hit the nail on the head buddy. It was the fish by all means. When in a situation like this something has changed. Whether its the baitfish they where hitting, the sun or absence of,possibly rain or whatever something has changed. Bass are predatory by instinct and they know nothing else. When a variable in a predatory's surroundings changes they become wary so to speak or standoffish. All a person has to do is figure out WHAT did change. As some of you stated it could be the lure you are using,depth,color etc...etc.. You might have to back off the fish into deeper water and have seen the time when you had to go shallower. All in all just have to do some ciphering.

[Herdbull]

I usually stay with the same lures but change the presentation a bit.

[pig n jig]

Well I thought about it all day at work and still anit got a answer. JB, Why so many questions ?On t.v., they got this woman who claims she can communicate with animals. JB, take her fishing with ya and have her tell you why, except don't put any make up on that fishing trip, you will scare the hell out of her if you do. P N J

[jordan41]

i would try all my lures and styles then head in or go to a backup pond.

[fishin_dude]

Originally Posted by pig n jig

Well I thought about it all day at work and still anit got a answer. JB, Why so many questions ?On t.v., they got this woman who claims she can communicate with animals. JB, take her fishing with ya and have her tell you why, except don't put any make up on that fishing trip, you will scare the hell out of her if you do. P N J

LMAO!!!!!!!!!

[flfireman]

Dont care. Just happy to enjoy a day on the water. Catching bass is just a enjoyable part of it. I do tend to change up speed, lure size. I'll go w/ Zook though- if a color is producing I'll stay with that.

[bassnman30]

If the bass that your catching are hooked on the "outside" of the mouth vs "inside", they don't necessarily want that color but it's close to what they want. You may have to change color slightly. I.e green back vs blue back, change the color of the belly, etc....
Chances are that there feeling a change in the barometer. If thats the case then you can may need to slow down.

[zooker]

things never go according to the law with bass. but a top water bite normally ends about 9am. spinner baits normally work best with wind blowning. cranks and carolina rigs normally work best during late day..

yep NOTHING is ever wrote in stone. i have caught bass on top water baits. at midday in 100+ degree temps. i have caught more than a few bass on a spinner bait in slick as glass conditions. ect..ect..

zooker