Frustrating Night
 

After getting skunked Sat. morning and Tuesday night, I decided to try again last night. I fished a stretch of shoreline that I'm pretty familiar with and that's usually good this time of year. Caught a small keeper on my 3rd cast, so I was feeling pretty good about my decision to go. Then I got nothing for the next hour and a half while walking the shoreline and casting. I worked my way back to my starting point and saw a ton of bait there. As I started casting, I noticed the water was blowing up with fish way out in front of me. Some fish were clearly attacking bait, while some seemed to be just swimming near the surface with their fins exposed. I started casting to them and as my plug would hit the water, a fish would be startled and make a big splash, like I disturbed it. I tried just about everything in my plug bag for the next half hour and didn't hook up. I had 2 follows but no strikes out of countless casts.

In the past, I've seen fish swimming around lazily and finning but not interested in lures because they weren't feeding. These fish were definitely feeding, but not liking anything I had to offer. While it was pretty cool to see all the activity, it was frustrating that I couldn't get them to hit my lures.

The only explanation I could come up with is that because the water was so clear and flat calm, they got too good a look at what I was throwing. Anyone else experienced this and have other thoughts as to why they weren't hitting lures?

Seen that before during a worm hatch.

Seems like I have a few days every month at the canal that this happens - especially times at dawn when the bait is really thick. A couple people I fish with think that the fish get so locked in that on a particular type of bait that is acting in a specific way, you don't have a chance unless you can make your artificial look and act exactly like what they're after.

I've also wondered if the reason it's so tough when there's heavy bait is due to the "defense in numbers" system that bait fish utilize. As a "bait fish" in a massive bait ball, our lures are just 1 out of thousands.

Often when you see some fish splashing but others just "finning" is because they are on dense schools for very small bait like a worm hatch or very small sand eels. Those fish are on the surface just calmly slurping down bait and can be very focused on it and won't touch a lure.

It's a tough hatch to match.

yeap, small bait, or worm hatch. saw it the other day in the river. they wouldnt even go for the red small got stryper rubber i had that looked pretty damn close to a worm. I eventually just stopped, picked out a worm on the surface and counted until it got eaten...

The fly guys do very well on the worm hatch... they can match the hatch and it is their best chance of the yr for catching 35+ inch fish

Definitely not a worm hatch where I was. Lot's of 3 to 4" bait fish close to shore, but there may have been something else like sand eels further out. The finning fish almost seemed like they were seaching around for bait and changing direction quickly.

its called "stinking"

keep practicing, you'll get the hang of it.

That hurts but if the shoe fits...by all means....:rotf2:

A teaser in front of your plug is sometimes the ticket when they're feeding like that. But I'm with you, sometimes it just doesn't seem to matter what you do.

:rotf2:

You mean if I work hard enough at it I can someday be as good at "stinking" as you? I find that hard to believe.:rotf2:

come on, I expected a better comeback. give it a few minutes and then edit your post. You're one of the funniest bstrds out here.

I love this time of year and running into that exact same scenario, as a finesse light tackle plastic nut, it fits right into my strength. This time of year I always have my Ledge Runner 4" split tail rigged on a 3/8oz Kalin Ultimate jig head, small weight and small profile is required. Sometimes you can get hits on or near the surface by working it with quick jerk-jerk-pause type retrieve and other times letting it sink below the school slurping will get you bigger fish.

I got nothing. I suck today. I'm exhausted from 2 stressful and long weeks at work, fishing late nights and being woken up way too early.

Any interest in joining me in the morning?

gee, given your recent track record, how could I refuse?

:love:

but,,,,,,I've got a date with a 40lber somewhere in Narr. bay.

Casting egg with a fly or teaser behind it......

I think you hit the nail on the head, Ross. The smaller stuff wouldn't get out to where they were and the stuff that I could reach them with was too big, I think. Of course I don't even own a casting egg.:wall:

Taking your son or daughter fishing I see.... good for you.

remind me next time we fish, I have a bunch.
it was just easter.

When you find small bait packed in at night, you can sometimes do a job on large fish by fishing a big darter very slowly with lots of pauses and small twitches just beneath the surface...... make it look like a squid hunting the small bait. The biggest fish out there are not hunting the small stuff, they are hunting the stuff the small bait attracts.

I got a hit in the worm hatch with a 3oz yellow Sharp eye swimmer.Pretty big plug.I wasn't ready and missed the hookset.That was my only hit in 3 days of fishing the hatch.

A nice 7/0 weighted treble sometimes works in those situations :jump1:

yeah, that is a frustrating situation ...