Finicky Bass...

[NJ All Day 0]

I was fishing today. Here in New Jersey the bass are starting to spawn so they are up in the shallows. When i was fishing today i saw about 20 bass all from 5+

lbs to 2 lbs. And i was throwing everything in box at them. But they really didnt budge.

 

So the question is... What do you use when the bass arent really hitting anything?

 

Thanks,

Evan.

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

if they are on the beds I usually don't mess with them but have on occassion used a small baitfish pattern drug really slow over there beds it works well but the key is SLOW

[fly tryer 0]

Let them spawn in peace, they get hungry enough after.

 

Steve

[smalliestalker 0]

i agree...if they are spawning they are already stressed, catching them out of the nest exposes the fry and eggs to panfish and other predators....that's the future of the bass population....catch some gills instead...this was not meant to be an attack for the record....just a love of bass on the fly

[NJ All Day 0]

Okay I'll just let them nest. But I'm tired of catching gills, I catch 30-50 in just 2 hours. I like to feel the fight of something big. And the carp are way to spookish.

[Steve P 0]

Keep trying on those carp.... once you get one it will all pay off. The biggest key to really skidish carp is to move very slow, keep the sun in any direction except behind you, to your left, right or even in front of you in need be, make sure not to let them see your silhouette, wear a neutral color clothing, I go so far as to some times wear camo if they are really spooky. Also keep the flies as small as you can stand don't hesitate to fish a #10 or even a #12 or #14 if need be, my personal best was caught on all things a #16 EHC and my 4wt. (unintentional of course) but that body of water has some really spooky fish in it and the bigger they are the spookier they get. Give the bass some time then get after them hard, you have the right idea and trust me I know it's hard I fight the temptation every year.

 

Steve

[NJ All Day 0]

The only problem is that where all the carp are... there are tons of bluegill so if I throw out a fly it will be picked up by the bluegill before it has time to sink. I did have a nice 5+ pound carp come to my squirell nymph but the gust of wind were so strong that day that right before he ate it the wind scared him by blowing my line over him.

 

One quick story...

 

Oh about 3 years ago right before i got into fishing. Our township tried to clean up the water of this nasty crap left over by the pepsi plant that use to be there. And they put this chemical into the water and killed about 75% of the fish. If you walked up to the pond a day after all you would see is 10+ pound carp floating there dead, same with bass and the gills. it was a horrible site. And now the pond is starting to get back to normal, Also because of the pepsi plant putting horrible chemicals into the water, you cannot eat the fish out of the pond, so that is why there is such an abundence of bluegills. But I'm hoping in a couple of years the bass and carp and even bluegill will get huge from being put back and not being able to be eaten. Hopefully it will be like when my dad and uncles fished. I hear stories and see pictures all the time of huge and I mean HUGE carp my dad caught a 20 pound carp when he was younger. And when my friends and I were younger we went out for fun and first cast my friend landed a 23" bass. And then that thing happened and now is being restored.

 

Sorry for rambling.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I'm with Steve P. If you sight cast to the carp, the gills shouldn't be a problem. He is right though, when you get a carp, you may soon forget the bass at least temporarily.

 

 

[Steve P 0]

Dude ramble all day... it's your post!! Anyway, I actually have gotten so caught up in the carpin' that I am nearly 100% carp from ice out until July when the top water action in the morning and evenings just gets to hard to pass up. Sight casting is the only way to do it. Get a 2 wt and go after those gills and you'll feel a pull!! That's about the only other fishing I do other than carp this time of year, heading out tomorrow morning as a matter of fact, hope to have pics to come. Stalking carp from the bank on a national wildlife refuge in the flooded section, I have seen some absolute monsters there, was sent a picture of a supposed 21lb carp from my best fishing buddy a couple weeks ago while I was at work and he was fishing it... some friend huh!!

 

Steve

[rugbyfisherman 0]

US Bass fishing has gone down the tubes because people fish bedding bass. 10 seconds off a bed and the bass eggs are gone - via. sunfish.

[MickThompson 0]

A lot of folks don't like the idea, but the only way to get bigger bluegills in small lakes and ponds is to take some out. Fisheries personnel, especially in the south, often recommend keeping EVERY bluegill you catch, whether you eat it or not. They reproduce so quickly that they can overpopulate and stunt in a pond. I've fished ponds where almost all of the fish are too small to get the hook in their mouths and you get multiple bites on each cast, and I've seen the same thing with crappie, too.

[NJ All Day 0]

A lot of folks don't like the idea, but the only way to get bigger bluegills in small lakes and ponds is to take some out. Fisheries personnel, especially in the south, often recommend keeping EVERY bluegill you catch, whether you eat it or not. They reproduce so quickly that they can overpopulate and stunt in a pond. I've fished ponds where almost all of the fish are too small to get the hook in their mouths and you get multiple bites on each cast, and I've seen the same thing with crappie, too.

 

It's posted everywhere in english and Spanish to not take the fish out ofthe pond. Because if you do and you eat one because your stupid then there could be a lawsuit.

[FishyboY 0]

grenades? if that does not work i might opt for a c4

[MickThompson 0]

It's posted everywhere in english and Spanish to not take the fish out ofthe pond. Because if you do and you eat one because your stupid then there could be a lawsuit.

 

I wasn't suggesting you eat the fish. A lot of folks just throw the little ones over the pond levee. What I meant was don't expect good sized bluegill out of small ponds when none are being taken out.

 

Back to the original question, if you want to target the bedded fish, throw something that looks like a nest predator such as a bluegill or crawfish, and be persistent. Aggravate them into attacking.

[flyderaght 0]

maybe what should happen is open the season later. here in ontario you can't touch bass until near the end of the june as they are spawning. I've always left spawning fish alone, even when it's legal to take them.

marc