Bass Fishing HomeBass Fishing Forums

Go Back   BassFishin.Com Forums > Serious Conversation Only > General Bass Fishing Topics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 05-13-14, 07:28 PM   #1
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default Where are the legal sized bass?

I've been able to get out three times so far this year in the boat, and a couple times from shore. I've probably landed around 50 bass. Sounds good right? Well, the odd thing is that I have not hooked into one single bass over 13 inches. I am really not sure what to think. I catch them shallow in wood and grass, and move into deeper weed beds thinking they might be out there waiting to move shallow. I work the deep edges of the weed beds, and move out into the main lake and find weed beds out there to try. I catch bass in all those areas. Just nothing over 13 inches. Any idea what's going on? So far they are hitting jerk baits, both suspending and floating, crank baits, chatter baits, but will not touch a jig or lipless crank which really surprises me. Even tried soft plastics with no luck. And my main stay, spinner baits haven't drawn any interest for me yet. Very odd year here so far.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-14, 09:34 PM   #2
bassboogieman
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
bassboogieman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Parkesburg, Pa.
Posts: 3,762
Default

All the big bass know the footsteps of Keithdog, for he is legend among bass, both large and small mouth. When Keithdog approaches big waters from shore, the vibrations of his foot falls alert the big bass of his approach and they retreat in fear. To deep water they go and hide in any available cover with jaws locked tight until he departs. You should probably wear a disguise and tippy toe towards the water, sneak up on them, even then your ju-ju may alert the finny buggers. Keep hammering them, the little bass are like all young'uns and just don't listen to the wise elders and will learn the legend of Keithdog the hard way, with sore jaw or pierced tongue and they will grow into big bass that will fear you also.
bassboogieman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-14, 09:38 PM   #3
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

If only your praises were true, haha. I think I may be more legendary for nearly falling out of my boat! I normally take a few big boys between ice out and spawn, but I think they are flipping me the fin this year.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-14, 05:46 AM   #4
joedog
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: JANESVILLE,WI. 53545
Posts: 3,415
Default

keith I have no idea because I've been out ALOT more with the EACT same results.

Even more, I haven't seen a single bedding bass this year and know of not a single other angler who has either.

Heck the bass should be done and the sunnies should be bedding.
NADA.
No sunnies around any docks or piers either.

We aren't that far from each other....maybe a Midwest deal.

Now with lows the rest of the week in the low 40s and highs mid 50s after 3inches of rain yesterday the bass should be even more confused.

Haven't found a single bay with a water temp. higher than 52 degrees....and that was before the rain.

To ADD TO THE CONFUSION.....the vast majority I'm catching are under 12inches.
I've had numerous 10 inchers hitting 5in baits.
A few on a large popper even.
__________________
"Fishing isn't life or death... it's more important than that."
joedog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-14, 10:51 AM   #5
lilmule
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
lilmule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Buchanan,Tn
Posts: 2,685
Default

Its a late prolonged spawn for much of the us,and some will pass or drop uselessly until next year if to many fronts.As for buck bass,they are the front line troops to keep out invaders while spawn is in effect,and also goes to show what to expect in the future since so many.A good years class effects the fishing greatly when they mature enough to be legal.
Spawn just started like 2 weeks ago here and much farther south,still ongoing although many have finished as fronts stretch it out.
Was in the eighties two days ago barely will break 60 for next couple of days.
lilmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-14, 10:07 PM   #6
mikechell
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 464
Default

Because I am so forgetful, I cannot tell you where I read this. But it was an article by a former bass tournament pro, who now fishes for fun and consults for pond and lake management.
Anyway, his key piece of advise for anyone fishing still water was, "If you're catching lots of little bass, move straight out from shore." He stated that, invariably, the larger bass will be several feet to several yards farther out.

I haven't had the opportunity to verify this bit of wisdom, but he was adamant that this was his key to success.
mikechell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-14, 07:31 PM   #7
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikechell View Post
Because I am so forgetful, I cannot tell you where I read this. But it was an article by a former bass tournament pro, who now fishes for fun and consults for pond and lake management.
Anyway, his key piece of advise for anyone fishing still water was, "If you're catching lots of little bass, move straight out from shore." He stated that, invariably, the larger bass will be several feet to several yards farther out.

I haven't had the opportunity to verify this bit of wisdom, but he was adamant that this was his key to success.
That's exactly what I did, and still caught bunches of small bass. I even tried working the different levels from surface to bottom bumping and crawling jigs. I'm thinkling maybe this brood of bass was from a very strong spawn year, and they are simply hitting anything that moves before the bigger bass.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-14, 08:35 AM   #8
lilmule
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
lilmule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Buchanan,Tn
Posts: 2,685
Default

Hmmm the last time I had shortitis was smallies and on a bar 1.5 miles from shore,dont realy think their is a formula that fits.
On schoolers they are all about the same size in a group as same year class,catch 14 1/2in fish to 14 3/4 maybe one once in a while might stretch to 15.Thus one has a group of short fish all stacked up,but not a fault of locale or the fish later will make next years fishing better.
I have 2 holes here that always have short smallies on them havnt a clue why,just know ive never got them to go the extra inch and can always go there and catch them.Use it when company present and want them to catch a smallie,14 in one still fights good.
Smaller fish tend to school more than larger most lkely safety in numbers

Last edited by lilmule; 05-15-14 at 08:45 AM.
lilmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-14, 08:25 PM   #9
Crankbait
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Crankbait's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 406
Default

KD hang in there i know the feeling
Crankbait is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-14, 07:58 PM   #10
Dave63
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Dave63's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Farmersburg, IN
Posts: 341
Default

You're right. It's been a funky year so far. Haven't seen a spawner or fry but they are definitely acting like they're post spawn down here.
__________________
Tavery 5: The monkey does not discriminate
Dave63 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-14, 11:12 PM   #11
joedog
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: JANESVILLE,WI. 53545
Posts: 3,415
Default

All I've been catching this year are dinks.

FINALLY Sunday.
Four more dinks and....









Man what a mess.
Pull out camera to see it blinking 'LOW BATTERY'.
Didn't even think I had a scale along.
I was alone and deep in the thickets shore busting.
As you see, this bass didn't want to stay on land.
Between trying to setup camera, the bass rolling around shore on a hill and me just being me....things got a little dirty.
The scale is approx. 10inches so I'm guessing....22inches, maybe more.
Tail clean so must be a female but didn't check for eggs or measure because this time of year my goal is to get them back fast with the least stress possible.
You can see from scale pic. I was also on a steep hill.


Thanks goes out to Bo and NuTech.
Caught on 1/4oz Pro Series with a Rage Chunk trailer.
Pitched between a gap in the trees approx. 4 feet wide with laydowns on both sides.
Can't even begin to tell you how many limbs the NuJig rolled over and through without a snag that day.
Did loose a jig in a tree about 10' up.
Hard sets in thick cover tend to send a jig flying.....especially setting on a rock.
Felt different so I set....simple as that.

I've been throwing pretty much everything....from lippless, squarebills,hard and soft jerkbaits, worms...Texas and whacky even spook puppies and different size poppers.

No ryhme or reason or pattern....PERIOD!
Still haven't seen a bed but mostly shore busting because the weather just hasn't been Kayak friendly.
Between cold and wind, crazy.
different day....different front blows through.

Two days ago, low 41.
Today high of 82.

No clue if I missed spawn or not?
Don't know if they are pre-spawn, post-spawn or spawning or maybe ALL THE ABOVE AT ONCE.

Anyway I thought I'd share my first legal bass of 2014.
Or should I say, "ONLY LEGAL BASS" of 2014.
Two weeks since opener.
__________________
"Fishing isn't life or death... it's more important than that."
joedog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-14, 10:08 PM   #12
WatterBoy
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
WatterBoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Owatonna, MN
Posts: 2,280
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by joedog View Post
All I've been catching this year are dinks.

FINALLY Sunday.
Four more dinks and....









Man what a mess.
Pull out camera to see it blinking 'LOW BATTERY'.
Didn't even think I had a scale along.
I was alone and deep in the thickets shore busting.
As you see, this bass didn't want to stay on land.
Between trying to setup camera, the bass rolling around shore on a hill and me just being me....things got a little dirty.
The scale is approx. 10inches so I'm guessing....22inches, maybe more.
Tail clean so must be a female but didn't check for eggs or measure because this time of year my goal is to get them back fast with the least stress possible.
You can see from scale pic. I was also on a steep hill.


Thanks goes out to Bo and NuTech.
Caught on 1/4oz Pro Series with a Rage Chunk trailer.
Pitched between a gap in the trees approx. 4 feet wide with laydowns on both sides.
Can't even begin to tell you how many limbs the NuJig rolled over and through without a snag that day.
Did loose a jig in a tree about 10' up.
Hard sets in thick cover tend to send a jig flying.....especially setting on a rock.
Felt different so I set....simple as that.

I've been throwing pretty much everything....from lippless, squarebills,hard and soft jerkbaits, worms...Texas and whacky even spook puppies and different size poppers.

No ryhme or reason or pattern....PERIOD!
Still haven't seen a bed but mostly shore busting because the weather just hasn't been Kayak friendly.
Between cold and wind, crazy.
different day....different front blows through.

Two days ago, low 41.
Today high of 82.

No clue if I missed spawn or not?
Don't know if they are pre-spawn, post-spawn or spawning or maybe ALL THE ABOVE AT ONCE.

Anyway I thought I'd share my first legal bass of 2014.
Or should I say, "ONLY LEGAL BASS" of 2014.
Two weeks since opener.
GREAT fish, Joe! Bass opener here is this Saturday and we're headed to our "resort" tomorrow. Plan to be out after them by 5:00 a.m. Saturday.
WatterBoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-14, 07:15 PM   #13
merc1997
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 204
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by joedog View Post
All I've been catching this year are dinks.

FINALLY Sunday.
Four more dinks and....









Man what a mess.
Pull out camera to see it blinking 'LOW BATTERY'.
Didn't even think I had a scale along.
I was alone and deep in the thickets shore busting.
As you see, this bass didn't want to stay on land.
Between trying to setup camera, the bass rolling around shore on a hill and me just being me....things got a little dirty.
The scale is approx. 10inches so I'm guessing....22inches, maybe more.
Tail clean so must be a female but didn't check for eggs or measure because this time of year my goal is to get them back fast with the least stress possible.
You can see from scale pic. I was also on a steep hill.


Thanks goes out to Bo and NuTech.
Caught on 1/4oz Pro Series with a Rage Chunk trailer.
Pitched between a gap in the trees approx. 4 feet wide with laydowns on both sides.
Can't even begin to tell you how many limbs the NuJig rolled over and through without a snag that day.
Did loose a jig in a tree about 10' up.
Hard sets in thick cover tend to send a jig flying.....especially setting on a rock.
Felt different so I set....simple as that.

I've been throwing pretty much everything....from lippless, squarebills,hard and soft jerkbaits, worms...Texas and whacky even spook puppies and different size poppers.

No ryhme or reason or pattern....PERIOD!
Still haven't seen a bed but mostly shore busting because the weather just hasn't been Kayak friendly.
Between cold and wind, crazy.
different day....different front blows through.

Two days ago, low 41.
Today high of 82.

No clue if I missed spawn or not?
Don't know if they are pre-spawn, post-spawn or spawning or maybe ALL THE ABOVE AT ONCE.

Anyway I thought I'd share my first legal bass of 2014.
Or should I say, "ONLY LEGAL BASS" of 2014.
Two weeks since opener.
boy, that is a dandy joe. i really think that everything is a month behind just about everywhere. there have been very few big bass show up here either. i have not caught one bass that has had a mark on it. there are many that profess that all the bass have spawned, but i do not think so. if i were catching skinny beat up bass yes, but that is just not the case. just stay after them, and i think the bigger ones will finally show up.

bo
merc1997 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-14, 10:02 AM   #14
nofearengineer
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
nofearengineer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Southwest IN
Posts: 5,630
Default

Keth, it is obviously climate change which is stunting the growth of game fishes....
__________________
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.
nofearengineer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-14, 06:55 AM   #15
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

Nice bass Joe! I guess they are out there. Just have to wait for them to do something. I'm planning on heading out Sunday morning to give it another go.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-14, 07:32 AM   #16
lilmule
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
lilmule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Buchanan,Tn
Posts: 2,685
Default

Oddly because of cold fronts a few bass down here still spawning less each day but had one sat chock full of eggs.Possibly that far north havnt spawned yet.
I was still burning heat a week ago.And lake dropped ten deg spreading out spawn.
Nice dark bass,shows its been shallow for a bit.
lilmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-14, 12:33 PM   #17
mikechell
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 464
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmule View Post
Nice dark bass,shows its been shallow for a bit.
That's the opposite that I've heard. Dark bass are from deep, dimly lit water, or from darkly stained water. Light bass are from shallow or clear water.
Have I been wrong all this time?
mikechell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-14, 11:00 PM   #18
3dkicker
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
3dkicker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Spotsylvania, VA
Posts: 4,483
Default

Most of the bass on Anna in VA have spawned but there are a few stragglers. The spawn is on on the Potomac. Buddy found three males on beds yesterday.

On Anna the main lake points were holding the better bass. Don't know if that helps you.
__________________
Smitty
www.smittystubes.com
3dkicker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-14, 09:32 AM   #19
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

It obviously is Bryce, mainly caused by bass fisherman with all those big out boards. Plus the big trucks with terrible mileage hauling those boats back and forth.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-14, 09:21 PM   #20
nofearengineer
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
nofearengineer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Southwest IN
Posts: 5,630
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by keithdog View Post
It obviously is Bryce, mainly caused by bass fisherman with all those big out boards. Plus the big trucks with terrible mileage hauling those boats back and forth.
Hell, Keith...I haven't been hauling my boat back and forth much at all!
__________________
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.
nofearengineer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-14, 06:55 AM   #21
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
Hell, Keith...I haven't been hauling my boat back and forth much at all!
No wonder the ozone levels in your area are so low right now. I hope you are able to get back out and start upping those levels soon!
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-28-14, 08:57 AM   #22
Thornback
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Ocala, Florida
Posts: 156
Default

I used to fish weekly with a friend. We both used plastic worms. We would catch about the same number of bass but his were always larger than mine. I suspected it was that he used a longer worm plus his technique. I would let my worm fall after the cast, rest on the bottom 20 seconds, then start a slow/jerky retrieve. He would make a cast, let his worm hit the bottom, then holding the line between his thumb and index finger he would just slowly raise his worm up about 3" and let it fall back. He did this repeatedly until he would say, "One picked it up". Then he would set the hook on a nice one. Most of my hits were on the retrieve, the small quick bass
Thornback is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Disclosure / Disclaimer
Before acting on the content posted, you should know that BassFishin.Com may benefit financially and otherwise from content, advertising, links or otherwise from anything you click on, read, or look at on our website. Click here to read our Disclosure Policy and Disclaimer.


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:34 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
© 2013 BassFishin.Com LLC