21 replies to this topic

[Arv]

You already mentioned most of the presentations I throw when everything gets tough on the water. A wacky senko, weightless t rigged senko, shakey head are go to in my aresnal. I will say a mojo rig/finesse carolina rig can work well in tough situations. I've also started throwing a dropshot and its produced some decent fish. Another presentation I rediscovered and had success with recently are flukes, either weightless or with a keel weighted hook. SK Caffeine Shad has a really nice action on the fall.

 

Anyways, sometimes you wind up throwing everything plus the kitchen sink in the water and still walk away with nothing to show for it. Its happened to me plenty of times, after several hours of fishing. Also, like mentioned above, just being out at this time of year deserves some props. IMO, any fish right now is a good fish. So, don't get discouraged and keep on pluggin away. You'll start hookin into them again soon enough and remember why its so fun to be out there.

[quanjig]

CP, try the deeper water areas of the pond. See if you can determine where the drop off occurs from the shallows to the deeper parts of the pond. Like Shimmy said, try a pointer 78 along the drops with longer pauses. My go to this time of year in the small lakes and ponds is a bitsy jig with a small finess worm as a trailer! 3/16 black and a small RI flirt worm.

I've fished the small ponds in NOVA the last couple weeks and have been skunked each and every te so far in 2013, but I'm still trying! You can't let it get you down, each outing is a learning g process, when you start to get discouraged, deep breath, relax, enjoy the day, slow your presentation, and concentrate on your presentation. Try to envision what your bait is doing down there and know you have fish looking at your bait. It's cold water fishing, they are not going to exert a lot of energy to chase down a meal. Give them something they can't pass up!!

[Nitrofreak]

You have got the best advice from everyone that one could get.

 

I have nothing to add to what has already been said other than, I think the most important part of everything here is for you to slow down.

 

Patience is really the most important key in what you are trying to accomplish, the water is cold, everything in the water will be moving slow, you should be doing the same, down size your baits with bitsy jigs, when you have the jig on the bottom, let it sit for 20 seconds, bounce it 3 times with very small jerks on the rod tip, just enough to get the jig to hop up an inch or two, pause for about 2 seconds in between each hop and after the third hop, SLOWLY, drag it for about 3 feet, stop and let it rest for about 20 seconds then repete the process again.

 

Remember also these bites will be very hard to feel, they just don't exert much energy this time of year and swim away with the bait, anything that feels different set the hook !!!

[bayouXpress]

Just fish with confidence.  

[jhoffman]

Never has this video been more appropriate

 

[BenB54]

Two great pond search baits for me are white spinnerbaits and chrome or white traps. Most of my pond bites have come from casting down the shoreline rather than casting out to the middle.

[mvorbrodt]

Hey everyone I just got skunked again today. I know there are fish in the ponds I fish because I have caught them before. Yesterday, I went to a small drain pond, and my friend caught 1 fish on a weightless space monkey. it was really warm, about 65-70 degrees. I got skunked. I threw a jig, a wacky senko, a shaky head, a small crank......everything. today, I went to a different pond. My friend had caught 3 fish yesterday on a tube. It was down to 50 degrees and extremely overcast and misting rain. I fished for 2 hours with 1 bite (using a small tube), and no fish. He caught a fish right after I left. I had thrown everything at them again. Is it me or do I just have awful luck? I'm sick of getting skunked and I'm starting to think that I'm just a bad fisherman. I have gotten skunked at least 5 times in a row, and when I do catch fish, I never catch more than 2.

 

Story of my life! Don't give up:

 

http://www.bassresou...dpost&p=1224905

 

http://www.bassresou...g/#entry1229318

 

http://www.bassresou...s/#entry1230322