Either golf or bowling right Russ...   Actually, just got the skunk out of the boat the last two times I went out.  The funny thing is I caught fish on things I never really had confidence in before...spinnerbait and crankbait.  All my fish last year was on topwater and plastics.

hey Says...try this....only take two rigs....a texas rigged grub (176)......and a carolina rigged lizard green pumpkin 4-1/2"
These are very successful for this state and will keep you from throwing too many baits that keep a pattern from emerging.
This is not restricted to these two baits but rather are my go-to baits when I get in a funk.

larry.

Y2,

Take up Golf. You can allways get a few birdies.
RB

W-A-A-A-A

Quote:


I guess the squeaky wheel got greased...

Rich

I tried using a 4" yamamoto grub and that didn't work either.  Most of the time I'll catch something with that.  Where's the "rock pile" that everyone talks about?

  "If I'm still bassless...I'm going to forget to put the drain plug in on purpose." - DON'T DO THAT ! Not that this will happen though - YOU WILL GET A BIG OLE BASS SOON !

Well I would suggest two spinning outfits rigged with 8 lb line. On one I would rig a small texas rig with an 1/8 oz bullet head. I would would fix it with a 3 inch single tail grub in watermelon or green pumpkin.

The other setup would be a dropshot bait with a 4 inch worm of your choosing. I like perch and bluegill colors myself. Then find a sloping area with a hard bottom that shallows up to a place where smallies would most likely bed. I would fish anywhere from 20 to 6 feet deep. Spend a lot of time in a productive area and don't get discouraged if the bite is slow. Try the grub on the bottom with different retrieves but I would keep it pretty slow until you find out if they are biting. You can also swim the grup slowly at different depths if the fish are suspended.

This should boat you some fish.

Thanks for your replies.  I was using a number of different colors.  I rigged it with a 1/2oz football jig head.  I tried dragging it, swimming it and hopping it with no success.  Maybe I didn't do it slow enough.  I tried a husky jerk too, but didn't stick to it that long.  The line size I was using is 8lb vanish flouracarbon.

Rich...In a month, if I'm still bassless...I'm going to forget to put the drain plug in on purpose.

I concur with the others above, Says... Get shallow for smallmouth and fish a reaction bait. Find a nice shoreline with gravel, possibly reeds, or other nice spawning grounds and fish it. You can try a jerkbait or crankbait up shallow and then fish slower along the first drop off. This method will help you cover a lot of water and run across a cruising springtime fish.

Good luck,
Chris

The tournament at Duck Lake was a real tough bite and the water temps were at 55 degrees. The winning pattern was suspending jerkbaits worked slow off of weedlines. I caught my fish slow rolling spinnerbaits in 10 ft of water. Also, using deep diving crankbaits very very slow. Good Luck

Daryl

I feel your pain, Y2.  After several outings, I FINALLY picked up my first largemouth of the year yesterday.

I still couldn't seem to get them on the slow stuff so I tried swimming a 'perch' crankbait through the lily pads and (probably) got a reaction bite.  Water temperature was 58 degrees so I would think they'd be starting to get a little bit active.

My year has not gone much better, but I would suggest reaction baits.  Go with 6-8 lb line and through a craw colored crank for the smallies.  If you are on a largie lake, slow down, and then slow down some more.  Pay close attention to what your bait is doing at all times and stop swimming it around so much.  DO the ol'pitch and do a slow ten second count, then move the bait slowly across the bottom.  My two cents.

KH

WELL, Geeze Rob, you really get down to specifics.  LOL

Y2,  being skunked is what it is all about.  I am not the greatest(yet, watch out Kirk) but I do consider myself a "fair" fisherman and there are several "good" fishermen in the club that still go out and will get skunked, albeit occasionally.  And the fish haven't really come on yet.  A few days of nice, warm weather will definetely improve your chances of getting the skunk off.

Now if you come back in about a month and still claim the "SKUNK" then "YES YOU ARE A PEAS POOR BASSFISHERMAN!"

Rich

What are you throwing at em? What size diameter line are you using? How are you presenting your bait, dragging, shaking, etc.? What colors are you using?

Ok...so far I haven't caught a single bass this year in about 8 trips.  From Sawyer, Wash., Samm., and Silver...Skunk.   Today, my fishing partner and I went to Lake Sammamish to get the skunk out of the boat.  I've been looking at the tournament standings on the lake last weekend and had high hopes.  Heck, the weather was going to be in the high 60s and the water temps were in the mid 50s.  I thought today was the day to turn it around.  Nope, I was wrong.  All day...nothing.  Had the Aqua Vu out and found a bunch of nice smallies in the 16-25ft range, but couldn't get them to bite anything.  Infact, they were more curious about the blue gill camera and some stared at it.  They were probably waving their fins at us to say hi.  At one point I found a school of perches and was only able to land one (nice size too).  How sad is that when I couldn't get perch to bite.  Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Says