We all know that there are days when even the greatest bass fisherman can't buy a bite with there usual techniques. So, what's your favorite bait to fall back on when the going gets tough?

"What Do You Do When You Can't Buy A Bite?"

 

I go fish a different reservoir where the fishing is (comparatively) easier and get my confidence back up to where it should be.

 

Tuesday: Scratched 4 dinks (and I do mean dinks) on a ned rig after a whole lot of time on the water.

Thursday (Today): 15+ keepers in ~3 hours on a different lake I haven't fished in over a month.

Crack a brew

Texas Rig! Aint been skunked in 12 yrs

T rig .

Don't forget to bring along an ultralight rod with a beetle spin, some rooster tails or maybe even a bobber and some earthworms or crickets.  You'd be surprised at what a little panfish activity can do to stir up the bite.......

 

Personally, I'm now carrying my fly rod with a small popper or cricket tied on.  Even on the hottest and slowest days, a bluegill fight on light gear can be just the ticket to fight the doldrums.

My go-to "not get skunked lures:" 

 

-T-rig

-Shakeyhead 

-Inline spinner

-Tiny popper 

 

If those can't get you bites, well, it's probably time to go home. 

Sometimes a cold front moving through an area will turn off the bite when you have clear blue skies.

 

Other times the heat will dissipate the oxygen and the bass will go deep looking for oxygen.

 

Rain causing your body of water to become dirty can ruin your day.

 

So what to do?

 

As Hanover_Yakker penned, scale down in bait size.  Rooster Tails, small white one-inch grubs and crappie crankbaits can catch all types of fish.

 

Then, as Senko Lover wrote, the Texas Rig with a color of your choice can produce results.  Zoom finesse worms in various shades of Watermelon, Green Pumpkin and Junebug need to be tested.

 

Remember, if you have caught bass in a specific area previously they are still in the neighborhood. They have moved deeper or left or right but they usually remain in one geographical area unless the water quality is so poor that they vacate the area.

Put on a shakey head, eliminate water, and grind

Crack a brew

1 Four Loco to ease the pain and a 2nd one to forget the day lol

Eat a sandwich

When the bite gets super tough, there's only a few options:

 

1. Slow down and downsize. Things like weightless t rigs, drop shot, shakey head, very small profile baits in general. Fish them very slow and make them either look natural enough to coax a bass into biting, or keep them in the fishes face long enough it annoys them into biting.

 

2. Pull out the power fishing gear and cover water. By fishing fast, you are trying to force a reaction strike and/or find some feeding fish. It's a numbers game, but it can work.

Shakey head or drop shot for me! I always hear how drop shot is a vertical presentation but I have a lot of success actually casting it out like I would a t-rig and then fishing it the same as I would a shakey head. Only difference between the shakey head and drop shot for me is the worm is up off the bottom.

We all know that there are days when even the greatest bass fisherman can't buy a bite with there usual techniques. So, what's your favorite bait to fall back on when the going gets tough?

Change it up .. and keep changing.. presentation, lure, location

Even if it dont make sense.. change it up

Record.. you'll learn to fish "out of the box" that way

Fish dont read those articles and books we write about them sometimes.. theres too many factors out there.. such as "how they feel" .. aint no books about how they feel

Change it up .. and keep changing.. presentation, lure, location

Even if it dont make sense.. change it up

Record.. you'll learn to fish "out of the box" that way

Fish dont read those articles and books we write about them sometimes.. theres too many factors out there.. such as "how they feel" .. aint no books about how they feel

  Several times when I wasnt catching fish like I thought I should. Slowing down ,  just made it worse. Sometimes the bass dont bite because they are getting to good a look at the fake bait. Speeding up was the answer . Dont let the fish study the offering .

Change it up .. and keep changing.. presentation, lure, location

Even if it dont make sense.. change it up

Record.. you'll learn to fish "out of the box" that way

Fish dont read those articles and books we write about them sometimes.. theres too many factors out there.. such as "how they feel" .. aint no books about how they feel

So agree, cause what you are currently doing isn't working!....lol

I fished one day for 3 solid and I was about to give up. I moved further to the deep for no reason at all and then BOOM! It seems that they were not on the bank but rather 20 feet off. Mid summer, hot, no rain, not sure but this big girl showed up hungry. yes, I was in a boat but still. I fished an area that I had not fished ever at this pond. 23" 6.0 on the nose

 

What Do You Do When You Can't Buy A Bite?

 

Go Home and come back at Night.

 

A-Jay

If you have the luxury stop fishing, get on the graph and find fish out on the ledge. Don't make any casts until you locate a whole bunch of fish. When I do this it seems like it takes an eternity while I am not fishing but in reality I don't think I have ever spent more than 20 minutes on the graph at one time. 20 minutes on the graph to find fish beats three hours of no bites while fishing. Its amazing how fast time feels like it is going when you are fishing and how slowly it seems to go when you are not. I fish vertically with a drop shot. I think its been two complete seasons since I have been skunked but we have lots of smallmouth in our area which can always be caught deep.

Shakey head or drop shot for me! I always hear how drop shot is a vertical presentation but I have a lot of success actually casting it out like I would a t-rig and then fishing it the same as I would a shakey head. Only difference between the shakey head and drop shot for me is the worm is up off the bottom.

Aaron Martens said he also does this a lot too.

Accept it and go home.

My go-to "not get skunked lures:" 

 

-T-rig

-Shakeyhead 

-Inline spinner

-Tiny popper 

 

If those can't get you bites, well, it's probably time to go home. 

 

T rig and Shakeyhead are not "lures".

Tie on a 3/8th ounce jig with a small craw trailer and practice pitching to shallow cover items. I fish the jig in cover like I am trying to lose it. It's good practice if nothing else and is remarkable in managing to pull out a bite or two on a difficult day.

 

I've always been the guy to go deeper using lighter line and smaller baits, and that is still my go-to when it gets tough. Turtle135's approach has become a close second though. A small jig and craw or a t-rigged smallie beaver pitched into the nastiest cover available will often produce when nothing else will.

With a Texas rig I can go

Weightless or up to 1.5 oz

I can fish it on top, mid-depth like a swim jig, or goto the bottom.

I can select from dozens of lures in a multitude of colors.

It's effective winter, spring, summer, or fall