Hello, 

 

I've been bank fishing all season so far with very little success. All the decent bass I've caught have been off the boats of friends. As soon as I go back to my bank spots, absolutely nothing I do will catch the fish. 

 

I usually start with my spinnerbaits and jigs to cover a lot of distance down the bank. I try to lure out the more active bass hiding around pads and tree stumps and work around cover whenever I can. Then in order to lure out the lethargic or defensive fish I'll work the same areas with a finesse setup such as trick worm or senko, weighted and unweighted, rigged in a ton of different ways. I work all water depths and I make sure to stay in what seems like the strike zone.   

 

Temperature has been in the low 70s for a few weeks, these fish should be spawning by now.

 

So my question becomes: at what point do you make the judgement that your fishing spot just doesn't normally have a lot of bass in it, and it's not just you? After you've tried everything? After a few casts? How do you go about it if you're fishing the bank and getting nothing? 

 

Thanks! 

 

 

If you're catching fish out of the boat and then go to the bank spots using the lures that you mentioned and don't catch fish, I'd start second guessing the spot. Senkos and trick worms (along with lizards) are working well for me from a bank (and boat). I'd find some new spots...my $.02

think like a boater ... get a good topo map ...went to the office at the lake and got one ... find points, structure, breaklines, drop offs and depth ...  helps a lot ...  look down at the water ... see any crawfish, small fish ... process of elimination ...

 

good fishing ....

Some places the fish are hard to catch.

 

Some places there are big almost impossible to catch fish.

rig a live shiner, pitch it out there, and wait. you’ll find out if the bass are there or not. then you can either, hone your skills, or move on to another body of water.

I ask the same question every day I go fishing

Your profile doesn’t show your location so it’s difficult to reply in regards to seasonal period and bass location.

Tom 

11 minutes ago, WRB said:

Your profile doesn’t show your location so it’s difficult to reply in regards to seasonal period and bass location.

Tom 

 

This plus have been catching in those areas before?

 

I read in an earlier post that you're from RI? What lakes? I'm just north of you and have been catching them in lily pads, and out on a second weedline, points and drop offs.

 

The pond I just fished had a bluegill spawn, so they were crashing pads. The last time I checked, the gills were off the beds, so maybe think a little further out during the day. Try and fish lures that can be cast a little further like lipless crankbaits, t-rigged worms and spoons and try and fish off shore structure. In the morning and evening hours you can go topwater, spinnerbaits, jigs, weightless soft plastic stickbaits in the shallows.

Bring a buddy who is a decent angler to fish the bank with you. If you both strike out after a few times fishing that location start looking for another place to fish.

Low 70s for a few weeks could mean lots of post spawners, and the dreaded post spawn funk. Maybe try some topwater next outing.

Missing some key information, I'm going to go out on a limb and say those spots don't hold fish in numbers the majority of the time.  There are many key factors that need to be present for a spot to consistently hold fish and often times one missing ingredient will ruin it.  One example; Banks on the west side of the lake frequently fall into this category as they receive little wind driven current. The presence of forage is reduced as is their food supply. The chain continues up the ladder to the bass and other large fish.

21 hours ago, Koz said:

Bring a buddy who is a decent angler to fish the bank with you. If you both strike out after a few times fishing that location start looking for another place to fish.

x2!

Consider that if those bank spots are easy access and well manicured, everyone else is there too, so you are fishing under a lot of pressure. Or if no pressure, perhaps the lake just has better spots, when view from the bass' point of view. Can you replicate the cover or structure where you were catching from the boat?

 

While I'm not suggesting this, I cut brush for three hours last month to get to a couple of spots on a pond, because the accessible spots weren't producing. Rewarded with a 6.4lb fish. Fished it all day from the accessible spots and just got dinks. At least one of the big girls was holding off a steep bank near some floating weeds, none of which was accessible without the cutting. 

 

@greentrout suggested looking a map. Good advice.

i can relate. Seems like you need a boat to reach the fish somedays.

i've had the best luck going right at dawn or dusk to a place I know is less pressured. Then start really, really subtle. 

Yesterday at sundown I broke my week long streak of no luck by tying a flashy but detailed fly on 6lb line a few feet from a bubble bobber. I put a small chunk of worm on the hook in a way that blended with the fly. Then i just gently cast it out between some lilypads where I saw bass surfacing for flies. Sat for about 30 seconds then BOOM. 
Sometimes the pressure makes them so reluctant to give a decent bite to anything at all suspicious. try sneakin in

I have had the same issue in NJ. I guess it just being at the right spot at the right time.