How do i catch bass in 42 degree water??

[Curtis]

Hey guys..

Over the last few weeks i have become very frustrated with my fishing efforts...

The last three times i have been out i have been skunked every time. This is very unusual for where i fish because its a private lake and on a bad day i can catch 30-40 bass in the summer time. I have tried everything, drop shotting, spinner baits, trolling deep cranks and no bites. The only sign of any fish that i can find is in about twenty feet of water on the graph, most are suspended about four or five feet off the bottom.. I worked these fish hard and came up short anyone have any idea's?

[spinnerbaitking]

All my resent fish & my buddies came on Tubes

Richard

[Fishnwire]

If you figure it out...let me know. I'm experiencing the same thing. North of Sudbury it gets really hard to consistantly catch bass (smallies) by the end of September, at least on the Vermillion river and back lakes that I fish. I guess they just shut down when it gets cold, but considering they don't really start to hit good until the season opens near July, that seems like a long time to go without eating very much. I can see fish on the finder in certain spots, but they just don't want whatever I offer them. It's frustrating when you're fishing a body of water you know is loaded with big bass, but I don't have the solution. The minimal success I have in the late fall has usually been the result of trolling medium to deep diving (15-25 FOW) fat-bodied crank baits in 20-30 FOW, but I've experienced a lot of dead time in the boat doing it.

 

It has occured to me that maybe I just don't know how to fish very well. I'm sure some of you guys from down south who experience the best bass fishing of the year right now are thinking that. Anyone who wants to come up here and show me what I'm doing wrong is more than welcome to PM me. I'm serious.

[The Urban Fisherman]

I'm no pro by any means, and even though Erie is on my doorstep is seems the most late season bass fishing I've done is for largies. The smallies I have targeted came on tube jigs, and as for largies, I've had some decent success catching them on 3" drop-shotted gulp Minnow's, and also with jigging spoons. While using jigging spoons through the ice for perch the OOS largies become a pest actually. You have to keep moving to get away from them.

 

Good Luck - there's some solid fall anglers on this board.

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[Lunker777]

I think if you shrink the size of your presentations... I have heard that helps when the bass are really lathargic.

Possibly try some live bait drop shotting for the deeper bass... If you say they sit about 5 feet off the water... bait 5 feet up the line ! The other option I have read... well 2 actually... try float fishing for them with live bait.....OR for the deeper fish... Jig some spoons. I read an article a couple months back about fishin with spoons for bass and how its becoming the "next" thing... but especially in deep cold water.

 

I have also heard that natural colors right now are the ticket... I really think that if you shrink the baits you are using... small tubes etc. you may have a change in luck. I cant remember when I read it but Im pretty sure when your targeting really late bass... the smaller the bait the better... they arent in the mood to tackle a big bait fish... so they want something easy thats right ontop of there face so they dont have to do much to eat.

 

Im in no way an expert.... just tryin to help ya out with what I THINK I know hahah let me know if anything works for ya !

[uglyfish]

smaller baits, slower presentation

[troutologist]

This weekend I found bass associated with reefs and humps. They were not on the top (even of deep reefs) but were off the sides either right at the base of a 25-30ft drop or suspened at around 30-35 feet off more sheer drops. Always were near schools of bait.

 

3/8oz fin tech zon'r jig and a 3" gulp minnow. A couple of aggressive pop (12") and maybe 10sec of shaking or deadstick got the hits. Had to keep the boat above a group of fish for a few minutes before getting a strike.

[jediangler]

Live minnows.

[Whitespinnerbait]

smaller baits, slower presentation

 

 

[singingdog]

Slow, slow, slow, and very little movement. If you normally twitch a dropshot, let it sit.

 

Bass do not quit feeding in 42 degree water, but do get lethargic and very finicky. There will be the very rare day that they hit a reaction bait like a crank or a spinnerbait, but most of the time you are looking at a very light bite on slow or deadsticked presentations.

 

Quite a few different finesse presentations will work, but you have to have the confidence to believe that it is going to eventually get picked up. I switch from plastics to rabbit-hair jigs at about the mid 40s.

 

Jigging spoons, tail spins, and blade baits fished just off the bottom are another way to go. I generally don't "pop" them: just a subtle lift and drop.

[sandmann]

I was out on Lower buckhorn last Wednesday with 2 of my fishing buddies ans we all got skunked. Truly embarrassing. That place has been a gold mine for bass all summer but we just couldn't figure them out in the colder fall weather.

[uglyfish]

afternoon will be better then morning. especially if its a sunny day. the sun will warm the water. look for things that will retain heat. like rocks, and wood. bass will hold close to it. colder days or days without the sun, look a little deeper, edges of drops and what not. work a jig, shaky head worm, dropshot very slowly, long pauses. keep it in their faces as long as u can./ hit will most likely be very light and sutble... PAY ATTENTION TO UR LINE!!

 

 

 

have fun!

[bubbles]

That's easy, fish for walleye!

[River Rat]

You can maybe get the suspended fish with a jigging spoon but I'd go after the fish closer to bottom crawling a tube or craw. temps like that, you have to hit them on the head and keep it there.

 

RR

[steverowbotham]

fish deep with tubes, jigging spoons or strike zone slammers. Fish as slow as you can, and then a little slower.

[fish_fishburn]

I fish for smallies up here in the Ottawa River in the fall and they can be really hard to catch. Most of the time you have to go deeper and slow your presentation down really slow. I often go to a carolina rig and live bait (minnows) and this usually works for some really nice 4 to 5 lbers. I also use jigging spoons for fish deeper than 20 feet with some success. The main thing to remember is to slow down your presentation. Tight lines, good luck.

[Greencoachdog]

If you're a purist artificial lure type fisherman:

 

 

... or live minnows if you don't mind using live bait.

[Guest skeeter99]

Hey guys..

Over the last few weeks i have become very frustrated with my fishing efforts...

The last three times i have been out i have been skunked every time. This is very unusual for where i fish because its a private lake and on a bad day i can catch 30-40 bass in the summer time. I have tried everything, drop shotting, spinner baits, trolling deep cranks and no bites. The only sign of any fish that i can find is in about twenty feet of water on the graph, most are suspended about four or five feet off the bottom.. I worked these fish hard and came up short anyone have any idea's?

 

 

slow, when you get bored and cant stand there holding your rod.... fish slower

 

tubes..tubes...tubes...tubes....tubes..... slow...slow.....slow dredge em on bottom, u wont even feel bites just weight

 

best fishing imo is right now smallies are stack up on offshore structure, typical lake trout shoals 20 to 25 feet dropping off to 60 to 100 feet

 

and the more isolated and deeper water around the better

 

for that pond drop shot them , dont even move your bait just shake your rod to make the bait quiver and leave for 30 seconds they will take it

[mikes334]

That is some great advice. Thanks.

[OhioFisherman]

blade baits like GCD has pictured will work, heddon sonar, silver buddie, jig and worm worked slowly a hair jig and trailer, live bait also works if you want to mess with it