When the fish aren't talking

[FishDiver]

Whether its bait size, color, retrieve, or location, I have always heard that we need to "Let the fish tell us what they want". This makes plenty of sense unless you don't get any bites at all. I am great at theory. I can tell you on any lake at any time what and where the fish SHOULD be doing. I am not as good at fishing in the moment, and making changes when I don't get bit.

How do you know what changes to make when the fish aren't talking?

[TheFish]

That's when I go to the panic box (see the other thread). As a base rule you can first start out with the Wired2Fish bait selector found here:

http://blog.wired2fish.com/blog/bid/509 ... t-Selector

But you'll find that something will change and the "rule of thumb" baits listed in the bait selector may not work. Happens all the time in the big tournaments like FLW, BASS, etc as the lakes get pounded or a bad weather system runs though. That's where developing a "panic box" comes in handy as you start to develop a set of baits/techniques that may not be geared towards a 5 bites or 1 big bite approach, but rather looking for any bite. That way you can determine how well the fish takes your bait if you have the right color, rate of fall, bait profile, etc that the fish are keying in on.

So what falls into this category? How can you either force feed the fish or entice them to bite?

Force feeding them usually involves some sort of reaction bait or an approach that where the fish isn't necessarily feeding but will bite out of a reaction as the opportunity is presented to them. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jigs, punching rigs, buzzbaits, frogs, spooks, 6-7" senko's, etc can all be used as a reaction bait. Color can also be a good clue as well as sometimes going really bright like an orange or red/orange spinnerbait or chart gets that extra reaction out of the fish.

The other approach in enticing them is to look for baits that all fish (not just bass) may be willing to bite. An example may be a hair jig, or a dart head/grub combo, drop shot, small profile jig, small profile crankbait, downsized spinnerbait, inline spinner, ripbait, etc. There's been times where going to either a more natural approach or slower rate of fall will entice those fish that have been pressured or are suspending.

The key is to gain confidence in 1 or more of these baits/approaches when the bite is really good & you're not in a tournament situation. You'll find that going simple with say a single tail grub with a 1/8-3/16oz dart head and 8lb line in green pumpkin, watermelon, smoke black/blue, natural shad or plain white will catch everything that swims (crappie, blue gill, catfish, bass, etc). Same thing can be said for gitzits, 4" dropshot baits, small senko's, etc. There's been times that I've been fishing and wanted to catch numbers of fish with one of these approaches and ended up catching a 12lb catfish or big crappie/blue gill in the same areas as bass.

It's those kinds of baits that will help you gain confidence when the bite is really easy to go through 20-30+ fish in a day when size doesn't matter. That way you can say "ok they're eating green pumpkin and watermelon today, but when the watermelon grub is used the fish eat it and swim off sometimes fighting each other for the bait whereas green pumpkin is getting bit but not as much or they bite it and spit it out". It's that sort of reaction where the fish are just jumping all over themselves or eating it and swimming off that will give you clues that they really want that bait or not. Sometimes it's more about rate of fall and less colors, other times it's bait profile size, rate of fall and color that is the difference between getting bit or not (like a 1/8oz dart head with a yum wooly hawgtail in green pumpkin for spotted bass or fairly clear water).

The best way to figure these out is time on the water or just walking the bank of local lakes that you know have bass (like parks, golf courses, etc). Here in Scottsdale, AZ seems I can catch fish on any pond 95% of the time with a spinning reel, dart head and wooly hawgtail in green pumpkin but for whatever reason those same fish won't bite a senko, jig, spinnerbait, etc.

Just remember that the fish don't have hands so they use their mouth to taste, pickup or move things. If they bite it but spit it out really quick some piece of the puzzle is missing and you need to change it up to figure out how to get them to take the bait in without second guessing that it's something that they really want.

Good luck and tight lines.

[FishDiver]

http://blog.wired2fish.com/blog/bid/509 ... t-Selector

Great tool, thanks for sharing.

[Oldschool]

Consider this simple fact; bass are actively feeding about 2 out of 24 hours. The active periods are about 30 minutes in duration. When bass are inactive it's very difficult to get them to strike an artifical lure.
During the spawning cycle bass don't eat, they will strike to protect the nest area. The smaller male bass is close to the nest area for about 15 days, the female about 12 hours and those bass are not actively feeding.
Bass anglers need to find active feeding bass to catch them with any consistancy.
Out west in deep structured lakes the primary prey are threadfin shad, crappie, bluegill, crawdads, worms and where rainbow trout are stocked, small trout are prey. Use lures that mimick those few prey choices, WHERE the prey is located and the fish should give some feed back and tell if they are feeding or not. You make the choice to stay and wait or move and find active bass.
Tom

[DanWarme]

Great info guys!
Another thing to remember, is that the fish are always telling you something,
Even if they aren't "talking" by giving you bites.

Can't see anything at all on your graph? No bait? No scratches or arches?
Start fishing where the graph can't see.
Tight on the bottom.
Tight against steep walls.
Buried deep in cover.
Super shallow.
No sonar can reliably reveal fish in these locations.

You know where they are but they won't hit?
Vary your presentation. Experiment.
Downsize.
Speed.
Force feed them with much tighter presentations. Alot of guys refuse to get tight to cover to prevent losing lures. Good way to go fish-less. But hey, you still got your "lucky lure" right? Tight to cover and a fast presentation may be what is needed to generate some reaction strikes.

When the fish aren't "talking", most of the time it is frontal conditions. And guys come up with all sorts of weird explainations as to why the fish don't bite. Pressure change is probably my favorite dumb explaination, claiming that the atmospheric pressure change disorients the fish. If that were true, a simple depth change of 2-3 feet by the fish would have them reeling. Doesn't stand up to analysis.
Other explainations include a change in UV penetration. Dee Thomas gave that one in the Bazz Clazz flippin video. More credible in my opinion.

But my vote goes to an explaination given by the late great, Bill Murphy. Those fish are full. They don't need to eat. They put on the feedbag when the low pressure front started through and now they are just kicking back digesting. Use that theory to modify your presentations and you stand a far better chance of generating some bites. A tiny "after dinner mint" as Bill Dance would say, or something to generate a reaction.

One last thing, some of the most epic bites I have had is when no one is catching fish and claiming the bite is dead. Often it isn't. The fish are just not in the locations angler's expect or are hitting. They could be tearing them up in the most illogical places. That is a bite you should experience. Heavy bags when half the field blanks feels Sooo Goood!!!