Hi everybody,

I'm from Italy and I wanted to give a shot to bass fishing (love seeing all the crazy videos on youtube), 

I found a lake half an hour away (which supposedly held some bass) from me so I went there and and started throwing every lure I had near the lily pads and structure,

I tried senkos (4" YUM dingers and 5" wacky and texas rigged), crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and finally a small paddletail on a 5g jighead (2.75" or 7cm) and got this monster)

 

I also walked around the lake and saw some sligthly bigger bass, like double the size of this one but they just did't seem to care at what I was throwing at them...at the end of the day all I got was the baby bass in the picture and a micro perch...

 

what do you suggest? I was really frustrated...and btw, after reading this forum about the senko and its universally recognised status of "best bait for bass ever" I was kinda disappointed, it didn't get their attention at all, I worked it as it's supposed to, just letting it fall to the bottom and jerking it up and letting it fall again, really slow ( I've also ordered the original yamamoto, should get them soon)

Thanks for your help!

ciao from northern Italy!

What are your water temps there right now? That water looks real clear, if you can see them they can see you which equals hard to catch bass. If it were me I would be fishing that brush on the left side of your photo. Give a little more info, water temp, season, kind of structure and people here will help get you dialed in.

1 hour ago, Swbass15 said:

What are your water temps there right now? That water looks real clear, if you can see them they can see you which equals hard to catch bass. If it were me I would be fishing that brush on the left side of your photo. Give a little more info, water temp, season, kind of structure and people here will help get you dialed in.

Water temp is a around 60/65 max, here it's fall but oddly hot (26 degrees/79 F), it feels like the bottom is muddy with some rocks, water is fairly clear... I tossed every lure i had around structures like that bush, submerged branches and lily pads but no fun yet! 

YouTube videos are cool but keep in mind those guys have bad days but since no one wants to watch somebody get skunked they don't post those. 

 

Cool looking mountains in the background. 

Thanks...should I try dropshot? 

I know nothing about where you are. I'd think about the drop shot and t-rig some 4-5" worms, split shot some 4-5" worms. 

 

Not sure what your worm choices are. There are millions I guess. 

 

There are are dozens of ways to approach it but worms are my choice way. If I were thrown into that situation knowing you threw everything you had and came up empty. 

Hi Rock,

     What is the forage species in your lake there? Try to match the hatch. If it is crayfish, shad or minnows try those type lures. With very clear waters and bright sun it is a tough bite. You might try some top water lures like a popper or the original Rapala floating minnow. Fish them slow on light line. Another to try would be a rattle trap and go for the reaction type bite.  I would try those in early morning or evening low light conditions for the best chances.  The "magic" hours. The first hour from sun up and the last hour before sun down might be your ticket to catching some of the bigger bass.

Good luck!

Fishingmickey

2 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Hi Rock,

     What is the forage species in your lake there? Try to match the hatch. If it is crayfish, shad or minnows try those type lures. With very clear waters and bright sun it is a tough bite. You might try some top water lures like a popper or the original Rapala floating minnow. Fish them slow on light line. Another to try would be a rattle trap and go for the reaction type bite.  I would try those in early morning or evening low light conditions for the best chances.  The "magic" hours. The first hour from sun up and the last hour before sun down might be your ticket to catching some of the bigger bass.

Good luck!

Fishingmickey

Thanks, there's small shad, some crawfish and little perch...I'll try a jerkbait and dropshot next time, fingers crossed

I would suggest the NED Rig. Many posts about it. I believe in the Z-Man baits for the NED because they stick tail up off the bottom and imitate a feeding fish or worm. 

 

Remember... the goal is to catch fish. Use a real worm or insect or even a micro perch you catch... if only just to survey the lake and make sure catchable fish are there.

I'd try a Whopper Plopper 110. It just seems to catch fish even when buzzbaits and other topwaters don't. NED rig was something that someone else recommended that might work.

 

Also, the fish may just be tiny. I fished my uncles lake and he laughed when I only caught one small one like you caught. He said that his lake almost has no fish in it.

 

Ask around and see if people there catch a lot of decent sized fish there. Good luck! I've always wanted to go to Italy.

 

 

1 hour ago, tcbass said:

I'd try a Whopper Plopper 110. It just seems to catch fish even when buzzbaits and other topwaters don't. NED rig was something that someone else recommended that might work.

 

Also, the fish may just be tiny. I fished my uncles lake and he laughed when I only caught one small one like you caught. He said that his lake almost has no fish in it.

 

Ask around and see if people there catch a lot of decent sized fish there. Good luck! I've always wanted to go to Italy.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I saw larger ones, at least double the dink I caught, but not really big ones... I ordered a cheap whopper plopper knockoff just to give it a try and a couple of little hollow frogs, I'll order the original one too... 

Also, can i use ewg 2/0 hooks for giving dropshot a try? Or they're just too big? 

I'm filling tacklewarehouse cart, I'm ordering dropshot hooks, roboworms, zoom finesse worms and weights... Do you have suggestions on the DS rig? 

48 minutes ago, rock rock rock said:

Thanks for the suggestions, I saw larger ones, at least double the dink I caught, but not really big ones... I ordered a cheap whopper plopper knockoff just to give it a try and a couple of little hollow frogs, I'll order the original one too... 

Also, can i use ewg 2/0 hooks for giving dropshot a try? Or they're just too big? 

I'm filling tacklewarehouse cart, I'm ordering dropshot hooks, roboworms, zoom finesse worms and weights... Do you have suggestions on the DS rig? 

 

 

I wish I could help you out but I've never used a DS. 

 

 

If you have frog try making one homemade Teckel Frog. I caught far more fish on a homemade Teckel then I've done my last 7 years of regular frogging. I found a size 4 3 way swivel and original Teckel Sprinker Frog spare tail worked the best. 

Ds baits I'd recommend 

roboworm 4" straight or curly tail, bold bluegill or hologram shad

gulp alive minnow

yamamoto cut tail worm

zoom trick worm or finesse worm

don ivino reapers. All of these have produced for me in clear water for largemouth